June Oscar AO is a proud Bunuba woman from the remote town of Fitzroy Crossing in Western Australia’s Kimberley region.
June is an international advocate for First Nations social justice and women’s issues, and the impacts of intergenerational trauma and the need to restore societal wellbeing through the revitalization of cultural practices, languages and connection to land and water.
She has held a number of influential positions including Deputy Director of the Kimberley Land Council, chair of the Kimberley Language Resource Centre and the Kimberley Interpreting Service, Chief Investigator with WA’s Lililwan Project addressing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and led a successful community driven campaign for alcohol restrictions in Fitzroy Crossing.
In April 2024, June completed her seven-year term as Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner. As Commissioner she published the landmark Wiyi Yani U Thangani (Women’s Voices) Report in December 2020. In March 2024, June launched the Wiyi Yani U Thangani Institute for First Nations Gender Justice, based at the Australian National University. The Institute, a global first, will continue the vital work of Wiyi Yani U Thangani and advance and respond to the rights and aspirations of First Nations women and girls, inclusive of cis and trans women and gender diverse mob.
