Emma Garlett

Ms Emma Garlett is a proud Nyungar-Nyiyaparli-Yamatji woman from Geraldton and a leading First Nations executive, corporate strategist, and legal academic. She is the Managing Director of Garlett Group, a 100% First Nations-owned impact consulting and specialist communications firm focused on sustainability, digital solutions, and strategy. With an extensive professional footprint spanning law, academia, media, mining, and corporate governance, Emma is widely recognised for her expertise in complex stakeholder engagement, strategic development, and driving meaningful First Nations inclusion across government and corporate sectors.

An experienced board director, Emma contributes her strategic vision to several high-profile organisations. She currently serves as a Council Member for Curtin University, a Non-Executive Director for the Perth Bears NRL and Anglicare WA, and is an active member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, where she sits on the First Nations Governance Forum. Her previous governance contributions include serving as a Tribunal Member for the West Australian Football Commission and sitting on both the Commercial Law and Indigenous Legal Issues Committees for the Law Society of Western Australia. Additionally, Emma was a Member or the Taxonomy Technical Expert Group for the Australian Sustainable Finance Institute to develop Australia’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy.

Prior to founding Garlett Group, Emma honed her commercial acumen practicing as a solicitor in planning and environment law at a top-tier law firm in Perth and working in strategy and planning for BHP. This corporate background equips her with deep experience in designing and delivering business improvement initiatives, streamlining processes, and implementing internal company policies.

Emma is also a prominent voice in Australian legal and social commentary, known for her regular weekly columns in print and online for The West Australian. Her commitment to education and research is reflected in numerous academic appointments, which include serving as an Adjunct Professor at Federation University—where she sat on the Advisory Board for the National Centre of Reconciliation, Truth and Justice—as a Teaching Fellow at the University of Western Australia Law School, and as an Industry Fellow at the Sustainable Minerals Institute at the University of Queensland. She also maintained a strong connection to her alma mater as a Sessional Legal Academic at Curtin Law School.

As a published author in peer-reviewed academic journals, Emma has presented her legal research globally, including to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as at prestigious international and domestic conferences hosted by UCLA, the University of Arizona, ANU, NELA, and the EDO.

Educated in Australia and New Zealand, Emma holds an elite suite of academic and professional qualifications, notably making history as the first Aboriginal person to graduate from both the Curtin Law School and the Curtin Business School with a double degree. She earned a Master of Laws with Honours from the University of Auckland, alongside a Bachelor of Laws with Honours and a Bachelor of Commerce from Curtin University. Her professional credentials further include a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice, a Diploma of Business, and a Certificate IV in Community Development. She is also an AMDRAS nationally accredited mediator. Emma routinely delivers specialised training to corporate and government entities.