Barbara Wels was born of German descent and gained a Bachelor of Education degree in upper primary/ lower secondary teaching from Sturt College of Advanced Education in South Australia. She holds a Graduate Diploma in Museum Studies from Deakin University and also studied 'Foundations of Professional Writing' at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
Wels has worked for the Museum of Victoria. Her work was read on Radio 3RRR FM in 1990 and she has read at the Wave Festival, the Malthouse, Melbourne, La Mama Theatre and at Lord Newry Hotel, Fitzroy. In 1993 she was granted a fellowship at Varuna Writers Centre and in 1994 took part in the International Feminist Book Fair in Melbourne.
