Cirrus@Austlit

During her childhood and adolescence Patricia Austin was very involved in amateur and professional theatre in New Zealand. In Australia she worked in television and film and acted in amateur theatre. She studied acting at NIDA for a year, then moved to Perth, where she continued to act in university productions.

Austin completed an Honours degree and Masters degree in clinical psychology at the University of Western Australia (1973-1979) then moved back to Sydney, working as a psychologist in HIV/AIDS for eight years. During this time she attended a creative writing course and wrote the radio play 'Positive Commitment'. She was appointed Manager of Bereavement Services as Sacred Heart Hospice, St Vincent's Hospital, and also researched the mental health of asylum seekers in immigration centres in Australia.