Tammy Franks MLC is a progressive Independent South Australian politician known for championing social justice and environmental causes.
Elected to the State Parliament’s Upper House (Legislative Council) in March 2010 then re-elected in 2018 representing The Greens (SA), Tammy became a prominent South Australian voice on issues such as reproductive rights, marriage equality, animal welfare, Aboriginal Affairs, industrial relations, climate and environment, sex work and drug law reform, mental health and the Arts.
An expert legislator and Parliamentary all-rounder Tammy has Chaired and/or served on numerous Parliamentary Committees, progressing the political debate in areas as diverse as live music, medicinal cannabis, sex work, organ harvesting, poverty, emergency services, the Adelaide Desalination plant deaths, TAFE and Skills, Education, Disability, Health, Prisons, Stolen Generations, Water Security, Wage Theft, Companion Animal Shelter reform and duck hunting.
Tammy was trusted by her peers to play a pivotal role as the Chair of the South Australian Parliament’s Covid 19 Committee during the pandemic: a rare show of trust and respect for a crossbench member, especially during those testing times.
Tammy’s record of successfully achieving law reform from the cross bench (rather than Government) is unrivalled in the South Australian Parliament.
In May 2025, after 15 years with the Greens in Parliament, Tammy resigned from that party and now sits as a “progressive independent” for the remainder of her current term, which concludes in March 2026.
Directly before entering state parliament, Tammy worked as a policy officer for the Mental Health Coalition of South Australia and had previously held roles with human rights organisations Amnesty International and the YWCA, including serving as a YWCA of Australia’s NGO delegate to the UN Beijing +10 conference on women’s rights.
Tammy also worked for many years as an advisor for former Senator Natasha Stott Despoja and was employed by the Australian Republic Movement for the ‘Yes’ campaign during the 1999 Republic referendum.
In her younger years, Tammy had previously been involved in community radio, student media and was a former State President of the National Union of Students.
Born July 1968 in Dubbo, raised and high school educated in Sydney Tammy studied Sociology, Australian Studies, and Community Arts at the University of South Australia, as a young mother. This was where her activism began— notably opposing the closure of the Salisbury campus. She remains staunchly committed to accessible quality education for all regardless of postcode or bank balance.