29 Facts About Larissa Behrendt

Larissa Behrendt's mother, who was non-Indigenous, worked in naval intelligence, while her father was an air traffic controller and later an Aboriginal Studies academic.

Larissa Behrendt established the Aboriginal Research and Resource Centre at the University of New South Wales, Sydney in 1988, around the time when Behrendt commenced studying there.

Larissa Behrendt was the first indigenous Australian to graduate from Harvard Law School.

Larissa Behrendt earned a Graduate Diploma in Screenwriting and Graduate Diploma in Documentary at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Larissa Behrendt returned to Australia to become a postdoctoral researcher at the Australian National University, moving to University of Technology, Sydney in 2000.

Larissa Behrendt is a republican, opposing the institution of monarchy in Australia.

Larissa Behrendt has been involved in several pro bono test cases involving adverse treatment of Aboriginal peoples in the criminal justice system, including appearing as junior counsel in the NSW Supreme Court case of Campbell v Director of Public Prosecutions [2008].

Larissa Behrendt worked inside the NSW prison system between 2003 and 2012 in her role as Alternative Chair of the Serious Offenders Review Council.

Larissa Behrendt has held judicial positions on the Administrative Decisions Tribunal and as a Land Commissioner on the Land and Environment Court.

Larissa Behrendt is a fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and a Foundation Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law.

Larissa Behrendt has been active in issues around Indigenous education including literacy.

Larissa Behrendt has served on the board of Tranby Aboriginal College in Glebe, Sydney and has been ambassador for the Gawura Campus of St Andrew's Cathedral School since at least 2012.

Larissa Behrendt was a founder of the Sydney Story Factory in 2012, which established a literacy program in Redfern.

Larissa Behrendt has played an active role in creating and supporting arts organisations and initiatives and is a consistent advocate of increased funding for the arts.

Larissa Behrendt was the inaugural chair of National Indigenous Television, the first broadcast television network in Australia dedicated to Indigenous programming, from 2006 to 2009.

Larissa Behrendt was appointed to the board of Museums and Galleries NSW in 2012, a role which continues as of 2020.

Larissa Behrendt has served on the board of the Sydney Writers' Festival since 2015, the board of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, chairing their Indigenous Advisory Panel.

Larissa Behrendt was a board member of the Australian Major Performing Arts Group from 2013 to 2014, was a judge of non-fiction on the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards and has been a member of the Australia Council Major Performing Arts Panel since 2015.

Larissa Behrendt has written extensively on legal and Indigenous social justice issues.

Larissa Behrendt's books include Aboriginal Dispute Resolution and Achieving Social Justice.

Larissa Behrendt directed Maralinga Tjarutja, a May 2020 television documentary made by Blackfella Films for ABC Television, which tells the story of the people of Maralinga, South Australia, since the 1950s British nuclear tests at Maralinga.

Larissa Behrendt worked on, and released the documentary One Mind, One Heart in 2024, which follows the long political campaigns to preserve culture and maintain Aboriginal land rights, through the story of the Yirrkala Bark Petitions.

Larissa Behrendt married US artist Kris Faller in 1997 while at Harvard.

Larissa Behrendt had a long-term relationship with Geoff Scott, a senior Indigenous bureaucrat, former CEO of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, and current CEO of NSW Aboriginal Land Council.

In 2009, Larissa Behrendt began a relationship with Michael Lavarch, former Attorney-General of Australia; they married in 2011.

Larissa Behrendt maintains that she was referring not to Price, but to the acrimonious tenor of a debate on the television program Q+A.

Larissa Behrendt apologised both publicly and privately to Price, who did not formally accept her apology.

Larissa Behrendt said that the throwaway comment has made her a target for a campaign of character assassination, with several commentators agreeing, most notably Robert Manne.

The disparagement of Larissa Behrendt was characterised as a coordinated response to a court case in which she and eight others were simultaneously involved against News Corp, known as Eatock v Bolt.