Chairperson

Professor Megan Davis

Megan Davis is a Cobble Cobble Aboriginal woman from the Barrungam nation in South-West Queensland, who has lived in Sydney since 2001.

She has a deep commitment to justice in decision-making that affects the welfare, cultural connection and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, families and communities. Megan has dedicated much of her time in recent years to advocating for the rights of the child, and working for better legal and human rights for Aboriginal women and children.

Megan is a Professor of Public Law and Public International Law at University of NSW (UNSW) Faculty of Law, and for ten years was the Director of the Indigenous Law Centre at the UNSW Law School. Professor Davis has recently been appointed as Pro-Vice Chancellor Indigenous, UNSW. She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law. Her scholarly research work is focused on law reform in the areas of constitutional law and Aboriginal women.

Professor Davis was an expert member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples for six years. She is a member of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a subsidiary body of the United Nations Human Rights Council providing expert advice to member states on the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Professor Davis has also appeared before the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Megan is an Acting Commissioner of the NSW Land and Environment Court and a member of the NSW Sentencing Council. She was a member of the Prime Minister's Expert Panel on the Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in the Constitution, and since 2016 has been a member of the Prime Minister’s Referendum Council leading the Aboriginal community dialogue process.

In 2016 Professor Davis was appointed as co-Commissioner for the Independent Review of Queensland’s Youth Detention Centres.

Professor Davis supports the North Queensland Cowboys.