Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Dr Anna Cody

Dr Cody started as Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner in September 2023.

Before this, Dr Cody had a distinguished career as an academic, as a lawyer specialising in discrimination and as a passionate advocate for human rights.

Dr Cody was previously the Dean of the School of Law and Professor at Western Sydney University for 4.5 years, leading education and research impact within the School to better reflect the diversity of the community and the intersection of law and justice.

She was the Director of the Kingsford Legal Centre at the University of New South Wales, where she worked for over 20 years, providing leadership in clinical legal education, discrimination law and human rights.

Before her appointment as Commissioner, Dr Cody was the Chair of Community Legal Centres Australia and a Director of the NSW Legal Aid Commission Board and Advisory committee of Law Access. Her work over the years has included substantial advocacy to various United Nations human rights committees when they have reviewed Australia’s fulfilment of its human rights obligations and other nations.  

Anna Cody has worked in human rights in Mexico, specialising in disability and migrant rights, in international development work in East Timor and Indonesia, and for 2 years was with the Centre for Economic and Social Rights in New York developing their program on the right to health, focussing on mining and human rights issues. Dr Cody previously worked with Indigenous women in Alice Springs establishing a domestic violence service, and in community legal education in El Salvador. 

Dr Cody has a PhD in Law from UNSW, awarded with ‘excellence’ and a Masters in Law from Harvard University and Bachelor of Arts and Law from University of New South Wales.