Premier's Council for Women

The Premier's Council for Women was established in December 2002 to provide leadership and advice to the South Australian Government in respect to the needs and interests of women through the provision of well-informed and strategic advice on policies, programs and matters of significance to women.

About us
Premier's Council for Women Members
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About us

How we started

The Premier's Council for Women, comprising leaders of various fields, was created in December 2002 to provide leadership and advice to ensure that the interests and needs of women are at the forefront of the South Australian Government's policies and strategies.

Who we are

The Council's members are influential women with expertise in a range of areas such as health, education, disability, business, government, social policy, agribusiness and the arts and include Aboriginal women and women from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

The Office for Women provides executive support to the Premier's Council for Women.

Biography of members

What we do

The Premier's Council for Women works at a strategic level to effect change. Its overarching role is to:

advise the Premier and Minister for Women and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence
advocate on behalf of women
monitor how policies and programs impact on women.

The Council is dedicated to continuous improvement and effective action. It commits time and effort to considering relevant issues and how to exercise influence and make an impact for South Australian women.

Terms of reference

The role and responsibilities of the Premier's Council for Women are to:

Respond to Government with timely advice on matters referred to the Council by the Premier or the Minister for Women and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence;
Provide recommendations, information and advice to the Premier and the Minister for Women and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, to facilitate a whole of Government approach to ensuring that programs and services match women's needs;
Monitor Government policies and programs related to women; and
Report once a year to the Premier and the Minister for Women and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence.

Premier's Council for Women Members

Fiona Dorman- Chair

Fiona has been involved in the formation and development of numerous successful South Australian businesses. She is a passionate advocate for women’s issues including gender equality, leadership, financial security, locally and nationally, and is passionate to find ways to enable and advance women's participation.

Maria Hagias - Deputy Chair

Maria has extensive experience in domestic violence and associated issues. Through her position as Chief Executive Officer of Women's Safety Services SA, undertaking community education, as well as the many board and committee positions she has held, she has raised the awareness of these and women's issues generally.

Maria served as South Australia's representative on the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Domestic Violence Advisory Panel.

Marli Smith

Marli has extensive experience in procurement and currently heads procurement at ASC Pty Ltd which is Australia’s largest locally owned defence prime contractor based in South Australia and Western Australia. Marli is an active participant in a number of diversity and inclusion matters. She has also worked in procurement for Santos, OneSteel and other mining and resources companies.

Kelly Baker Jamieson

Kelly Jamieson founded Edible Blooms with her sister Abbey, which began as a small business start-up in 2005 and has grown to be the current winner of Canstar's 2022 Australian Online Gift Delivery Company award. Kelly and her team are also previous National Telstra Business Award winners. An advocate for women leading in business, Kelly was named the 2011 SA Telstra Business Woman of the Year and is a 2018 inductee to the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur Winning Women program. In her spare time, Kelly can be found jumping off the Port Elliot jetty fully clothed, challenging her team to how many chocolates they can eat in a day or busting embarrassing disco moves with her husband and two children.

Shingi Mapuvire

Shingi is a Nursing and Health Promotion graduate. Currently employed in the mental health sector.

Shingi is passionate about advocating for issues affecting young women, with a focus on addressing, cultural, racial and gender bias affecting young immigrant women.

In 2017, Shingi was involved in the creation of the African student Council, an initiative to promote networking for University students to increases chances of employment at a graduate level. Shingi is also a council member for the Council of Migrant and Refugee Women of SA. A council which aims to bring together strong community voices with institutional reach, and policy advocacy networks to facilitate opportunities for migrant and refugee women to directly engage in driving positive change at the state and national level.

Karen Briggs

Karen is a Yorta Yorta woman. Karen has a Bachelor of Design from the University of South Australia and a Diploma in Applied Design (Multimedia) from TAFE SA and runs her own business, KLB Creative. In her work as a graphic designer, Karen comes with well-established solid working relationships with Aboriginal Elders, Aboriginal community and other Aboriginal workers across Government.

Nerida Saunders

Nerida is the Executive Director of Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation in the Department of the Premier and Cabinet. Her previous positions have included Director of Culture and Heritage in the Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation Division, General Manager of the Aboriginal Housing Authority and Executive Director of Children Youth and Family Services within the Department of Families and Communities.

Nerida has a long involvement with social justice issues and was previously a member of the Aboriginal Justice Consultative Committee.

In 2016 Nerida was awarded the Public Service Medal for outstanding public service in the provision of leadership and advocacy in the area of Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation.

Kirsty Mundy

Kirsty has over 25 years’ experience in the in the information technology industry, including 16 years working in regional Asia and Asia Pacific roles. While Adelaide based, she is currently working in Microsoft Industry Solutions as their Worldwide Sales Excellence Director, with Worldwide and Asia region responsibilities.

She has qualifications in arts, politics and legal studies from Flinders University and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Natalie Wade

Natalie Wade is a prominent disability rights lawyer and advocate. As the Founder and Principal Lawyer of Equality Lawyers, Natalie is a leader in providing premium legal advice and representation to people with disabilities and their families. Natalie has been involved in several law reform and human rights campaigns concerning women and girls with disabilities including the Every Woman Treaty campaigning for an international treaty to end violence against women and girls, and was a Management Committee Member for the Working Women's Centre SA.

Isobel Marshall

Isobel Marshall was awarded the 2021 Young Australian of the Year award for her work co-founding TABOO, a social enterprise dedicated to ending period poverty. Isobel has focused on advocating for reproductive healthcare, gender equality and the role of social enterprise, with a goal of reforming the social and structural factors that perpetuate period poverty. Having stepped back from this role, Isobel is now focused on her medical studies at the University of Adelaide and was a panel member for the first Independent Review into Australia's response to COVID-19.