Elizabeth (Liz) Little

Awarded for service to community, advocacy and inclusion, government, public services; human rights; justice; prevention of family violence

Born: 20 March 1952

Entered on roll: 2023

"Leading Tasmanian women's policy"

Elizabeth (Liz) Little advanced the rights of Tasmanian women and children, and assisted the rural community navigate drought, the impacts of bushfires and floods, and the drop in dairy prices.

In 1990, Liz was appointed as the inaugural Director of the newly created Tasmanian Office of the Status of Women, where she was instrumental in developing women’s policy. In 1995, the Tasmanian Sex Discrimination Act came into effect. Liz was appointed the inaugural Sex Discrimination Commissioner, a position she held for four years. She was awarded a United Nations Day Certificate of Recognition for furthering the rights of women during her time as Sex Discrimination Commissioner and Director of the Office of Status of Women.

From 2001 to 2009, Liz worked for the Department of Justice, where she was instrumental in developing the Tasmanian Government response to family violence: Safe at Home. In 2009 she was invited to China by the Chinese Government under the Australia Human Rights Technical Cooperation Program to work with senior Chinese justice officials developing a framework for Cooperative Mechanisms Against Domestic Violence.

Liz also worked under the Australia – Vietnam Joint Programme on Gender Equality on improving responses to domestic violence in Vietnam. In 2011 she was invited by Cambridge University to a symposium on Women Changing the World and spoke at the House of Lords in London on the elimination of violence against women.

From 2010 to 2015, Liz was Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sexual Assault Support Services, where she oversaw work to develop collaboration between services to address sexual assault and problem sexual behaviour. She was the Chair of the National Association of Services Against Sexual Violence from 2012 to 2015.

Liz served as the CEO of Rural Alive and Well from 2016 to 2019 and built resilience and capacity in rural communities.

Liz has undertaken a range of consultant positions, including national Ethics Case Reviewer with the Australian Association of Social Workers; Family Group Conference Facilitator with Child Safety; and Official Visitor – Tasmanian Prison Service in 2019-2021.