Peter Cousens AM
About
Peter is a senior cultural leader and newly qualified lawyer, with a career spanning over four decades as a performer, and executive leader of institutions engaging directly with the public.
Peter’s areas of interest include litigation, advocay, commercial and entertainment law. He is committed to developing his legal practice with integrity, care and close attention to both the law and the people it serves.
Peter brings rare lived experience of organisational failure and recovery, providing deep insight into governance breakdown, fiduciary responsibility, reputational risk, and institutional reform.
He has completed a Juris Doctor (2025) and is completing a Graduate Diploma in Legal Training (PLT). He holds a Master of Arts (Creative Writing) and a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.
Alongside his legal work, Peter continues his lifelong contribution to the arts and remains an advocate for the role of story and song in human wellbeing and community life.
His work has included the founding a not-for-profit theatre company; directing the feature-film "Freedom" (starring Cuba Gooding Jr.); and writing and directing of the recently released documentaty "Don't Waste It" (2025) for the Daniel Morcombe Foundation.
Peter is a long-standing leader in arts education and creative development. For eight years (until July 2025), he created artistic values-based programs for The Talent Development Project that developed the creative skills of emerging contemporary singer-songwriters and musical performers; balancing artistic excellence with duty of care and professional accountability.
Peter is the creator of Music & Memories and Life Songs,(2023-2025), developed in collaboration with Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA). These initiatives translate narrative, identity, and lived experience of individuals with early onset dementia, into songs that support memory, wellbeing, and intergenerational connection.
In 2019, in recognition of his services to the arts and the community, Peter was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).
Peter brings to legal practice a distinctive combination of executive judgment, advocacy presence, emotional intelligence, and deep understanding narrative, and how institutions affect real lives—particularly when human reactive behaviours fail.