The UTS Juris Doctor led Ashvini Ambihaipahar to a career as a trade union lawyer and then beyond it.
When Ashvini Ambihaipahar was elected as the federal member for Barton in 2025, it was the latest detour in a career built on unconventional moves.
A scientist by training, Ash had spent years working as a lab and teaching scientist before realising she’d run out of road.
“I really enjoyed science, but eventually I started to get a little bit bored. I was often teaching the same thing day in, day out,” she says.
While most people might switch teams or change jobs, Ash took a running leap into a brand-new career. During her time in the university sector, she’d become interested in the Union movement and found herself fascinated by the concept of dignified work and the protection of workers’ rights.
In 2013, she enrolled in the Juris Doctor, a postgraduate law degree for non-law professionals, at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). It was the first step in a years-long journey that has taken her into the world of trade unions, local government and - finally - Federal Parliament.
From science to the law
When Ash first embarked on the UTS Juris Doctor, she had her sights set firmly on working in the trade union sector. But first, she needed to master the fundamentals of the law.
At UTS, and despite never having studied law before, she quickly found her feet. In part, this was because the UTS Juris Doctor is structured to help non-law graduates quickly absorb foundational legal knowledge.
“UTS was very supportive; they recognise that students might not have all the background knowledge because this is a whole new area for so many of us,” Ash says.
“The teachers and my fellow students also made it a very good environment to just not be too fearful about that change.”
Being able to tailor the degree with subjects like Employment Law, part of the Private Law Electives Stream, helped her build expertise in her chosen area of law.
After leaving UTS, Ash wasted no time putting her law degree to good and varied use as an industrial officer and lawyer in the trade union sector, and later, as a lawyer for an employer association and a law firm.
“The degree really starts to translate once you do the actual, practical work,” she says.
Her career path was set, or so she thought. But then, politics came calling.
Serving the community
In 2021, Ash was listed second on the ticket for the Georges River Council election. Having spent years in trade unions and employment law, she was fascinated by the role of politics in supporting concepts like equity and justice that were amplifed when studying law.
In running for council, her only goal was to deepen her knowledge of the electoral process. But, in a quirk of fate, the person elected ahead of her stepped down and Ash found herself thrust into their place.
She quickly realised that politics and trade unions had more than a bit in common—both were about working with and for people’s rights. An understanding of the law and policy was essential to delivering fair and equitable outcomes for everyone involved.
“Politics is almost an extension of the work I was already doing as a solicitor, which is advocacy work. Something that’s a steady stream with law is also the act of service; that as lawyers, we are choosing to serve others in whatever we do. It was something that I embraced and really enjoyed.
Her council role was short-lived, but her interest in politics had been well and truly sparked. In May 2025, she was elected as the federal member for Barton in Sydney’s inner south-west. Now, rather than representing trade union members or a small LGA, Ash works with and for a diverse community in the same area in which she grew up.
As a politician, having a legal background continues to add depth and richness to her work. So too does the diversity of professional experiences she brings to the role.
“Watching the law in motion as an MP has been quite interesting. It has given me a deeper appreciation of how laws are made and the process behind it,” Ash says.
Her path to this point might have been anything but linear, but for Ash, the opportunity to constantly seek out new opportunities has been a gift. Over and over, she’s seen firsthand where a bit courage, and a law degree, can take her.
“A lot of people say, ‘You can’t go from science to law to politics?’ And I always say, ‘But why not?’”
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