Amelia Barker

Director of Guardianship at the Office of the Public Guardian, Queensland, Australia

Amelia Barker is the Director of Guardianship at the Office of the Public Guardian overseeing the
delivery of guardianship services to around 3,500 adults across the state for whom the Public
Guardian has been appointed as substitute decision-maker for personal and/or health care
decisions. Amelia oversees the delivery of these services spread across six regions in Brisbane,
Greater Brisbane, Ipswich, Central Queensland, Townsville and Cairns. The Guardianship program also encompasses the Health Care Team and the Queensland Civil and Administrative Pre-Advocacy Team.

Amelia has also acted as Deputy Public Guardian on a number of occasions, where she managed the organisational performance of two OPG service delivery business units including Guardianship, Legal Services and Investigations. Additionally, Amelia supported the Public Guardian in leading OPG with over 300 staff, including a remote workforce of community visitors and administering a $25 million budget.
 

Amelia has a Bachelor of Laws and was admitted as a Lawyer in the Supreme Court of Queensland in 2014. Amelia also holds a Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice from Griffith University. Amelia is passionate about innovation and best practice and advocating for the human rights of vulnerable Queenslanders. Amelia has always worked within the Queensland Public Service commencing with Legal Aid Queensland then the Queensland Courts in various positions including Deputy Registrar. Since 2013, Amelia has worked with the Office of the Public Guardian as a Senior Guardian, Team Leader, Regional Manager and Executive Officer to the Public Guardian.

In 2016, Amelia was employed as the Executive Officer on the Barrett Adolescent Centre
Commission of Inquiry and was responsible for managing the systems and processes that were
necessary to support the conduct of the Inquiry. As a result of this Inquiry, the Government
committed to improving mental health services for young people in this State and accepted all six
recommendations made by the Commissioner, including the development of a new bed-based
service for young people with severe and complex mental illness.