After moving with her parents from the Northern Territory to the north-west coast of Tasmania, Clair Andersen gained a Bachelors of Education from the University of Tasmania in 1973, and began work as a secondary-school teacher, teaching in both Brighton District High School and Bridgewater High School during the 1970s.
In 1981, she was appointed as Coordinator for Aboriginal Education for the Education Department. She was also a founding member of the Aboriginal Adult Education Group, secretary of the Wayee Radio and Cultural Aboriginal Corporation (from 1989 to 1991), and treasurer of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre (from 1989 to 1990).
Other groups of which she has been an active member include Karadi Aboriginal Women's Corporation, the South East Tasmanian Aboriginal Corporation, young offenders/prison education advisory group Mabble Largenner, and the national Indigenous Higher Education Advisory Council.
Since 2001, Clair Andersen has been director of the Riawunna Centre for Aboriginal Education at the University of Tasmania.
Andersen entered the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women in 2005 for her service to education.
