Community & Business
25 June, 2023
Lawyer seeks to inspire others
A young indigenous Mareeba woman, who has just become a graduate lawyer, hopes her story will inspire others to pursue their dream.
A young indigenous Mareeba woman, who has just become a graduate lawyer, hopes her story will inspire others to pursue their dream.
Shaquille Chong, who is connected to the Muluridji and Wakaman tribes, started her education at Mareeba High School, and after many years of study and experience in a variety of organisations and government agencies, she passed the bar earlier this month and is now working for a Cairns law firm.
“In the future, I am hoping to become a Barrister, as there are only two Indigenous female Barristers in Queensland,” Shaquille said.
“I am hoping to work on coronial cases, deaths in custody, Native Title, criminal law, and commercial business.
“I am hoping that my story will inspire many people in the community, including the next generation of our young people to chase their dreams, no matter who you are or where you come from.”
During her schooling years, Shaquille not only excelled in her studies, but also on the sports field.
“I was a representative soccer player for the U17s Queensland Soccer team. After school, I received a scholarship with the Australian Institute of Sports as a representative player with the U20s Women’s National Squad in Canberra, and a train-on player with W-League Canberra United,” she said.
“I was also privileged to play for the U20s Western Australia National Squad and received a contract with the W-League Perth Glory squad. During my professional sporting career.
“I was also approached and monitored by the Women’s Matildas squad.” But soccer did take a toll, with Shaquille having to undergo several knee surgeries, before she began her professional career with the Australian Public Service in Canberra.
“The highlights of my career included working as a fraud investigator with the Department of Social Services, where I travelled around Australia to pursue search warrants with the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Taxation Office Forensic Team to investigate and assist prosecuting fraud matters against the Commonwealth Government,” Shaquille said.
“I later worked on a high-profile government initiative, the Cashless Debit Card Program, which involved travelling across Australia with Ministers to implement the program in locations of welfare intergenerational dependence, alcohol, drug and gambling issues and high rates of unemployment.
“In this position, I was privileged to work closely with Aboriginal corporations to assist them with government funding through self-determination to improve the social outcomes of their communities.”
Shaquille later went on to working with the Department of Defence as an Auditor.
“In this role, I worked on key audits to ensure consistent compliance across the Navy, Air Force and Army, which saw me providing Ministerial briefs to the Chief Minister of Defence, for example, ensuring the security of the Defence Force explosive weapons,” she said.
“Through the experiences and opportunities I was privileged to have in Canberra over eight years, I developed a key interest in policy and law.
“Through that time, I studied a Bachelor of Laws degree from Charles Darwin University and went on to studying my Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice with College of Law.
“I am currently employed with a law firm in Cairns as a Graduate Lawyer, where I am privileged to work with a variety of clients on legal matters including Native Title, commercial business, debt recovery, contract advice and so forth.”
Shaquille said reaching her goals would not have been possible without her family.
“I would like to acknowledge and thank my family for supporting me throughout my career,” she said.
“I was admitted as a lawyer on 2 June 2023 in the Supreme Court of Queensland in Cairns.”
