The Australian Women's Register

Cheyne was born in Cairns, Queensland on 30 December 1986. She graduated from Rockhampton Grammar School in 2003 and studied for a Bachelor of Arts/Journalism at the University of Queensland. During that period, she became a member of the Australian Labor Party.

After graduating, Cheyne took a position at the Queensland Department of the Premier and Cabinet, before moving to Canberra in 2008. She worked for the Attorney General’s Department from 2008 to 2016 and the Department of Finance in 2016 until her election to the Legislative Assembly. She has been active in the Canberra community and arts sectors for over a decade, including as President of the Belconnen Community Council in 2014–15 and as a board member of the Belconnen Arts Centre. In her inaugural speech to the Assembly in August 2016, Cheyne recalled her proudest achievement of that period was encouraging the local community to have their say on the Belconnen Town Centre Master Plan.  In 2011, she published a popular blog ‘In the Taratory’ which promoted and reviewed services and events in the Canberra region. Initially a collaborative project, Cheyne took over as sole author in 2012. In 2013, she graduated with a Master of Business Administration from the University of Canberra.

Cheyne has held a variety of ministerial portfolios, including Arts, Multicultural Affairs, Business and Better Regulation (2020–23); Human Rights, Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, City Services, Government Services and Regulatory Reform (from 2023). As the Minister for Human Rights, she championed the Australian Capital Territory’s Voluntary and Assisted Dying Bill, which was passed by the Assembly in June 2024. She has served on various committees, including as Deputy Chair of the COVID-19 Pandemic Response (2019–20) and End of Life Choices in the Australian Capital Territory (2016).