She grew up near Yass in southern New South Wales, daughter of Greg Cusack (born 1930), a former Australian motor racing and motor rally champion. She joined the Young Liberals while studying Economics at Sydney University and was elected their first female president in 1985. Cusack worked for Greiner government minister Virginia Chadwick in the Community Services and Education portfolios. She left in 1992 to work in the private sector, moving to the NSW Far North Coast in 2000 following the appointment of her husband to the Northern Rivers Area Health Service.
Cusack
Virginia Chadwick