About

Cátia Malaquias OAM is an Australian lawyer with more than two decades of legal practice. She has also made significant contributions to equality, disability rights and inclusion across governance, law reform, public policy, research and international engagement.

As a first-generation Australian from a culturally and linguistically diverse background, and the parent of a son with intellectual disability, Cátia brings professional expertise and lived experience to her work. Together with her legal career, including extensive work with First Nations peoples, these experiences have shaped her commitment to equality, justice and the dignity and inclusion of all people.

Cátia has worked to strengthen the institutions, policies and systems that enable people to participate fully in society, and to translate human rights principles into practical, evidence-informed reform that delivers meaningful and lasting change.

A Foundation Board Member of Bob Hawke College since its establishment in 2020, Cátia has served as Chair of the Board since 2023. She has also been appointed to a number of State and Commonwealth advisory bodies and expert panels, including the Expert Panel for the review of the School Education Act 1999 (WA), the Western Australian Department of Education’s Disability and Inclusion Advisory Group, and the Australian Government committee supporting the Independent Review of Australia’s Disability Strategy.

She is Founder of Starting With Julius, an initiative promoting authentic representation of people with disability in advertising, media and education; Co-founder of All Means All – The Australian Alliance for Inclusive Education; and led the establishment of the Australian Coalition for Inclusive Education (ACIE), a national coalition of 25 organisations representing more than 1.2 million Australians. She is also Co-founder of the Global Alliance for Disability in Media and Entertainment (GADIM).

Her previous governance roles include more than a decade as a Director of Down Syndrome Australia, together with appointments as Director of the Attitude Foundation and Director and Deputy Chair of Down Syndrome WA.

Cátia has contributed to legislative reform, government reviews, academic research and United Nations human rights processes, and is currently undertaking a PhD through Curtin University’s Centre for Human Rights Education. She is also an External Affiliate Member of the Centre for Inclusive Education at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). 

Cátia has been recognised through numerous honours, including the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM), an Australian Human Rights Award from the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Australian Financial Review 100 Women of Influence Award for Diversity and Inclusion, recognition as one of Australasian Lawyer‘s Most Influential Lawyers, and being named Western Australian Portuguese Citizen of the Year. She was also a finalist at the Western Australian of the Year Awards.

Through Starting With Julius, Cátia has worked with organisations including Kmart, Target, ANZ, NAB, ABC ME, Northern Pictures and Wesfarmers to promote authentic representation of people with disability and support organisations to develop lasting approaches to diversity, equity and inclusion. Click here to watch Cátia speak about inclusive advertising in Wesfarmers’ Corporate Sustainability video.

Through All Means All – The Australian Alliance for Inclusive Education and the Australian Coalition for Inclusive Education (ACIE), Cátia has also worked to advance recognition of inclusive education as a fundamental human right and to promote evidence-informed approaches to educating students with disability alongside their peers. She has contributed to law reform, public policy, research and national reform efforts to support the implementation of inclusive education in Australia.

Internationally, Cátia has spoken several times at the United Nations in New York and Geneva on disability rights, inclusive education and disability representation, including in the Human Rights Council’s Social Forum on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities.