Dr Anna Cody is one of Australia’s foremost human rights lawyers, a celebrated academic, and a passionate advocate for gender equality with a deeply intersectional lens. Currently serving as Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission, she brings more than three decades of experience in law, education, and community justice to one of the nation’s most influential human rights roles.

“We are stronger, smarter, and more compassionate when every person is empowered to be who we are and given the opportunities to participate and thrive.”

Dr Cody’s career spans over 25 years of educating Australia’s future lawyers. She served as Dean of Law at Western Sydney University for four and a half years, championing diversity and the intersection of law and justice. As Director of the Kingsford Legal Centre at UNSW for more than 20 years, she led transformative work in clinical legal education, discrimination law, and human rights practice. She has also worked with First Nations women in Alice Springs to establish a domestic violence service, and held leadership roles as Chair of Community Legal Centres Australia and Director of the NSW Legal Aid Commission Board.

Her international work spans human rights advocacy in Mexico, development work in East Timor and Indonesia, collaboration with the Centre for Economic and Social Rights in New York, engagement with United Nations human rights committees, and community legal education in El Salvador.

Dr Anna Cody holds a PhD in Law from UNSW, awarded with excellence, a Master of Laws from Harvard University, and a Bachelor of Arts and Law from UNSW.

At the Commission, her priorities include eliminating violence against women, strengthening women’s economic security, and advocating for LGBTIQA+ rights. She leads key institutional partnerships with the Australian Border Force, the Department of Defence, and the Australian Federal Police, driving safer and fairer workplaces across Australia.