Hayat Akbari is a former refugee and advocate for human rights and refugee protection and the rights of migrants and refugees in immigration detention. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (International Law and Global Governance and International Relations) from Macquarie University and is a Juris Doctor (JD) candidate at The University of Melbourne in Australia. Hayat has extensive advocacy experience at the national, regional and international levels. He is the chair of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Youth Working Group.