The National Justice Project is delighted to welcome Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt AO as our new Board Chair from January 2025. Larissa is an Euahleyai/Gamillaroi woman and the Laureate Fellow at the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research at the University of Technology Sydney.
CEO Adjunct Professor George Newhouse said Larissa first joined the National Justice Project Board as a Director shortly after receiving an Order of Australia in 2020 for distinguished service to Indigenous education and research, to the law, and to the visual and performing arts.
“We have been fortunate to benefit from Larissa’s knowledge and passion since 2021 as she has shared her expertise and insights from a strong background in Indigenous law and policy, education and research,” he said.
“We look forward to this new chapter for the National Justice Project as we mark our tenth year fighting injustice and discrimination with strategic legal action and advocacy under Larissa’s leadership.”
Professor Behrendt thanked outgoing Board Chair Steven Castan for his term as Board Chair over the past five years and welcomed him continuing his role as an active Board Director of the National Justice Project.
“I am delighted to take on the role of Chair with the National Justice Project and look forward to continuing supporting the dedicated team as they continue their important work promoting justice, accountability and human rights,” Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt AO.
Larissa Behrendt AO is a Native Title holder and member of the Yuwaalaraay Euahlayi Aboriginal Corporation, and a member of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council and Land Commissioner, for New South Wales Land and Environment Court. She is also currently Chair of the National Library of Australia and the Murrup Foundation, on the board of Sydney Dance Company and a Trustee of the Australian Museum.
She will be supported in this new role by Karen Iles as Deputy Chair of the National Justice Project Board. Ms Iles is a Dharug woman and has been a prominent member of the Board since January 2023 and is also on the Board of Our Watch and the Expert Group for the Australian Law Reform Commission Inquiry into Justice System Responses to Sexual Violence.
