Tom Calma, Social Justice Commissioner
Mr Calma is an Aboriginal elder from the Kungarakan tribal group and a member of the Iwaidja tribal group whose traditional lands are south west of Darwin and on the Coburg Peninsula in Northern Territory, respectively. He has been involved in Indigenous affairs at a local, community, state, national and international level and worked in the public sector for over 30 years.
Mr Calma has broad experience in public administration, particularly in Indigenous education programs and in developing employment and training programs for Indigenous people from both a national policy and program perspective. He served three terms as a Director of Aboriginal Hostels Ltd and as a Company Director for a private tourism and hospitality venture in the Northern Territory.
Until his appointment as Commissioner, on 12 July 2004 for five years, Mr Calma managed the Community Development and Education Branch at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services (ATSIS) where he worked with remote Indigenous communities to implement community-based and driven empowerment and participation programs. In 2003, he was Senior Adviser Indigenous Affairs to the Minister of Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs.
From 1995-2002, he worked as a senior Australian diplomat in India and Vietnam representing Australia’s interests in education and training. During his time in India, he also oversaw the management of the Australian international education offices in Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka. He moved to Canberra in 1992 and undertook various assignments, including Executive Director to the Secretary and Senior Executive of the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DEETYA).
Mr Calma has also been appointed National Race Discrimination Commissioner annually since July 2004. Mr Calma, was awarded the prestigious number 1 position in the Indigenous category for the Bulletin magazine's Power 100 for 2007.
Biography adapted from http://www.hreoc.gov.au/about/president_commissioners/calma.html