Helen Pausacker worked in many office jobs, and gained her M.A. from Monash University in 1994 after submitting her thesis on Wayang plays, a form of Indonesian drama. She continued her interest in Indonesia when she co-edited Chinese Indonesians : Remembering, Distorting, Forgetting (2005), as well as writing a chapter for it. She also co-edited Women in Engineering Have Their Say (1994), a series of interviews aimed at advancing the role of women in the professions.
