Belinda is a lawyer with extensive governance and senior management experience across a number of sectors – including justice, tertiary education, Māori development, defence, Treaty issues and ACC. She has conducted a number of strategic and high-profile reviews.

Belinda has held a number of senior roles in government in both New Zealand and Australia. She served as Commissioner of the Law Commission Te Aka Matua o te Ture between 2017 and 2020, and as Victorian Public Sector Commissioner between 2014 and 2017. Before that, she was Chief Executive at the Tertiary Education Commission (NZ) between 2011 and 2013, and Chief Executive at the Ministry of Justice (NZ) between 2001 and 2011.

As a lawyer, Belinda began her career in banking law with Minter Ellison Rudd Watts and is a recognised authority on Treaty issues. She was the inaugural Director of the Office of Treaty Settlements and was at the forefront in developing Treaty settlement policy and the negotiation of Treaty claims. Belinda is presently the Chief Crown Negotiator for the Ngāpuhi Treaty Claim.

Since leaving the public sector, Belinda has worked as an independent reviewer and served on a range of boards. Notably, in 2022, she worked on reviews of the governance and transformation programme of Te Pūkenga and led the independent review of the Fire and Emergency New Zealand in 2022. She was subsequently appointed to the board of that organisation. Belinda has served as a board member of ANZSOG since 2020.