Peta MacGillivray, Kalkutungu and South Sea Islander lawyer, and Senior Research Fellow on the Yuwaya Ngarra-li Partnership at UNSW Sydney was named First Nations Legal Researcher of the Year at the 2024 Ngalaya Ball and First Nations Law Awards.
Throughout her career Peta has worked as a researcher on a range of criminology, legal services and community development projects in NSW and across Australia. Peta was a Field Researcher and Project Manager on the ARC Linkage Project Indigenous Australians with Mental Health Disorders and Cognitive Disability in the Criminal Justice System (IAMHDCD). She is the current Chairperson of the Community Restorative Centre NSW, the lead provider of specialist throughcare, post-release, and reintegration programs for people transitioning from prison into the community in NSW, and former company member and Director of the Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT. She is also an Executive Member of Maiam nayri Wingara Indigenous Data Sovereignty Collective and member of numerous advisory and working groups related to First Nations justice reforms in Australia.
Reflecting on her work, Peta's nominee wrote:
Though impressive, in my opinion Peta’s greatest contributions to First Nations justice are not found in traditional academic outputs or the pages of her resume. Her greatest achievements can be seen in her integrity and genuine commitment to capacity building in community people – particularly elders, women, and young people - so that they can speak on behalf of their community and be powerful in their advocacy.
Ngalaya's Executive Director, Jason O'Neil, was thrilled to recognise Peta's legal research work and its impact in community by presenting her with the First Nations Legal Researcher of the Year award.
