Professor Susan Richardson (’63) is one of Australia’s prominent academics in the research field of labour economics. Sue is Principal Research Fellow at Flinders University’s National Institute of Labour Studies (NILS) and is a member of the Minimum Wage Panel of the Fair Work Commission. In 2014 she was elected to the Council of the Australian Conservation Foundation.
From 2000 to 2008, Sue was the Director of NILS, following three decades on the staff of the School of Economics at the University of Adelaide, where she was also a member of the University Council and Chair of the Academic Board.

While being an academic all her life, Sue has combined this with many advisory and policy positions. She was a Commissioner of the Industry Commission from 1993 to 1996 and the Essential Services Commission of South Australia from 2004 to 2009. In 1994, she was elected a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, and in 2004, President.

Sue has also been on the boards of companies in the fields of venture capital and high-pressure natural gas pipelines, and the Australian Centre for Child Protection and has been a member of policy committees advising the South Australian and Commonwealth Governments on issues such as technological change, energy policy, skill needs, population and immigration. She was a member of the Commonwealth’s National Sustainability Council and its expert group on adapting to climate change.
Sue’s primary research interests in inequality and the functioning of the labour market has seen her attend Cambridge University, Columbia University and the Australian National University as a visiting scholar. She has also authored and co-authored numerous books, book chapters and refereed journal articles, and was co-editor of the Economic Record, Australia’s principal economics journal.

To unwind, Sue goes sailing and also enjoys a range of physical activities including Taekwondo, gym and cycling.
Sue has one son and loves spending time with her husband, family, friends and catching up with her three sisters. She thoroughly enjoys intellectual life, lively discussions with friends and quiet time in the bush, garden and on the beach.

Updated January 2016