David Barras is a Malgana and Yinggarda man from north-west Western Australia. An Assistant Director with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, he has more than 20 years’ experience in the Australian Public Service (APS). Most recently, David has lead national biosecurity initiatives which embed First Nations perspectives, genuine partnerships with community, policy co-design, and culturally informed environmental stewardship. He completed a Master of Business Administration at Edith Cowan University in 2025.

David is completing a Master of Philosophy through the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University. His research examines how APS risk frameworks assess impacts on First Nations communities. He will analyse federal government policies across environment, disaster, Indigenous affairs, and biosecurity. Using various research methods, the study looks to identify structural gaps in governance, knowledge use, and authority. The research will develop proposed approaches to embed Indigenous governance, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, and rights-based decision making in federal risk management across the Australian Government.

Supervisor: Associate Professor Elise Klein