Speakers

Graeme Innes AM is a lawyer, author, and company director.

He is the Chancellor of Central Queensland University, a member of the board of the National Disability Insurance Agency, and a member of the board of the State Insurance Regulatory Authority of NSW.

Graeme’s autobiography Finding a Way achieved popular acclaim in 2016.

He has been a human rights practitioner for more than forty years, and is a conference presenter and facilitator.

Graeme was a Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission for almost nine years, responsible for issues relating to disability, race and human rights. On the international stage, he was a member of the Australian delegation that participated in negotiating the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.

Graeme led the merger of four blindness agencies to form Vision Australia, and chaired the board of that agency. He is currently the chair of the Attitude Foundation, a start-up aimed at using media to change attitudes towards Australians with disabilities.

Graeme was awarded an AM for his work on the development of the Disability Discrimination Act, was a finalist for Australian of the Year, and, on the international stage, he was a member of the Australian delegation that participated in negotiating the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. He was awarded Honorary Doctorates by the University of Canberra in 2014, RMIT University in 2016, UNSW in 2017 and Edith Cowan University in 2018, in recognition of his work as a human rights activist.

Since 2014, Graeme has received four Honorary Doctorates in recognition of his human rights advocacy.

Graeme is married with two adult children, loves cricket as a spectator and sailing as a participant, and relaxes by enjoying fine Australian white wine.