Amala joined the Human Rights Law Centre in July 2021 and works in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' rights team. Amala is deeply committed to being an accomplice towards reimagining the legal system through self-determined justice solutions.
Amala previously worked as the Legal Policy and Advocacy Adviser at NATSILS, the national peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services. She assisted the Stop Deaths in Custody campaign and worked on issues such as Closing the Gap implementation, raising the age of criminal responsibility and the National Legal Assistance Program.
Amala has previously worked on strategic litigation and advocacy to defend the rights of young people as Senior Lawyer at the Young People's Legal Rights Centre in Victoria. Prior to that she was a criminal defence lawyer at the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, travelling regularly to remote communities and becoming the first dedicated Youth Lawyer for the Katherine Region. Amala got her start as a criminal lawyer at O'Brien Civil and Criminal Solicitors, also routinely working on civil actions against the police and in Royal Commissions on behalf of survivors.
As the child of South Indian immigrants, Amala holds culture, empathy and empowerment at the forefront of a more decolonised legal practice. Amala has a Bachelor of Law and Arts but attributes much of her learning to community members and the young people of Katherine.