Michelle Cohen

Michelle joined PIAC as a Senior Solicitor in 2014 and became a Principal Solicitor in 2019. 

Michelle has more than 15 years’ experience working a lawyer in NSW, Queensland and Victoria. She has expertise advising and representing clients in a broad range of areas of civil law, including managing complex civil litigation in the areas of discrimination and human rights, administrative law, the NDIS, consumer rights, child protection, police accountability and native title. Michelle is also experienced in policy development and analysis, and regularly contributes to regulatory, legislative and systems change reform processes. 

Michelle currently supervises PIAC’s work on:

• A Fairer NDIS: to improve outcomes under the scheme for people with disability and ensure it lives up to its promise of providing choice and control for participants. This includes policy work, advocacy and litigation in relation to the Scheme;
• Equality and non-discrimination: Michelle leads PIAC’s strategic litigation work on discrimination and has acted for clients in unlawful disability discrimination claims, including against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Coles, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Michelle represented Mr Graeme Innes in his landmark disability discrimination claim against NSW Trains, Innes v Rail Corporation of NSW (No 2); and
• Climate change and social justice.

Before joining PIAC, Michelle worked at the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission and as a child protection solicitor in Melbourne. Prior to this, Michelle worked at Cape York Land Council where she played a key role in the negotiation of native title and Indigenous Land Use Agreements, and set up land holding corporations on behalf of her clients. Michelle has also worked as an Associate in the Federal Circuit Court.