PROFILE

Kate O’Malley has spent much of her career working on roles related to refugee protection and migration. She is currently the Senior Protection Officer at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Canberra. Prior to this she held two global UNHCR roles engaged in promoting solutions for refugees including through resettlement to other countries. She led UNHCR’s Resettlement Service in its Geneva Headquarters from 2015-17. This role involved coordinating and delivering resettlement globally, working closely with more than 30 resettlement countries and a broad range of international stakeholders. Before her UN career, Kate spent more than 20 years in the Australian government working in migration and foreign affairs portfolios. Her experience includes development, delivery and evaluation of Australia’s refugee resettlement program as well as family migration policy and programs. She held operational roles related to refugees and migration, with postings in Vietnam, Thailand and Greece. As Minister-Counsellor Migration at the Australian Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland between 2012-2015 she was engaged in many international migration and refugee forums and led on institutional relationships with relevant UN and other organisations.