Dr. Stephanie Fletcher-Lartey has been appointed Honorary Consul Designate for Jamaica in Australia, taking on a new role after more than a decade of building and supporting Jamaica’s community in the country.
The appointment was announced at the Annual General Meeting of the Jamaican Association of Australia (JAA) on July 30, 2026, by former Honorary Consul Emeritus Professor Diane Austin-Broos.
Fletcher-Lartey, who founded the JAA and served as its long-standing president, handed leadership of the association to a newly elected executive committee as she prepares to take on her diplomatic responsibilities.
From Clay Ground, St. Ann, to Australia
Fletcher-Lartey was born in Clay Ground, a hilltop community in Bamboo, St. Ann.
Her early education included Bezer Basic School, Bamboo Basic School and Bamboo Primary and Junior High. She passed the Common Entrance Examination at age 10 while in Grade 5 and went on to attend St. Hilda’s Diocesan High School in Brown’s Town. She graduated with the Class of 1992.
After high school, she spent a year at Brown’s Town Community College before working at the St. Ann Regional Library in St. Ann’s Bay.
In 1994, she received a Government Scholarship to train as a Public Health Inspector at the West Indies School of Public Health on Slipe Pen Road in Kingston. She graduated in 1997.
Her academic path later took her to the University of the West Indies, Mona, where she earned a Master of Public Health with Distinction in 2007.
The following year, she received an international research scholarship from the University of Technology Sydney. She moved to Australia in 2009 and completed her PhD in Epidemiology between 2009 and 2013.
Building the Jamaican Association of Australia
When Fletcher-Lartey arrived in Australia in 2009, she found that Jamaicans were spread across a large geographic area with limited ways to stay connected as a community.
She first created a Facebook group for Jamaicans in Australasia. The online group later became the starting point for a wider community organization.
In 2012, as Jamaica celebrated its 50th anniversary of Independence, Fletcher-Lartey brought together a founding group of 10 Jamaicans in Sydney to establish the Jamaican Association of Australia.
The association was created to provide a central point of contact for Jamaicans in Australia, support incoming students and families, preserve Jamaican culture for children born in Australia and give the community a unified voice.
Reflecting on those early years, Fletcher-Lartey told Jamaicans.com that staying connected to Jamaica was important when she first arrived in Australia.
“When I first arrived in Australia, finding a connection to home was essential, not just for myself, but for every Jamaican trying to navigate life in Australia.”
The JAA went on to become a platform for Jamaican cultural activities, community support and engagement with Australian and Jamaican institutions.
From Community Leadership to Consular Service
Fletcher-Lartey’s work extended beyond the JAA.
From 2023 to 2025, she served as the Representative for Asia and the Pacific on the Global Jamaica Diaspora Council. During that period, she worked with Jamaican diplomatic representatives in the region on issues involving diaspora engagement, disaster relief, civic participation, consular access and bilateral relations.
Her experience gave her an opportunity to represent the interests of Jamaicans living across a region that includes Australia and other countries in the Asia Pacific.
That work now provides a link between her community leadership and her new consular responsibilities.
What Her New Role Means
As Honorary Consul Designate, Fletcher-Lartey is expected to assist Jamaican nationals in Australia and foreign nationals, while supporting trade, cultural exchange and closer relations between Jamaica and Australia.
The position also places her in a role where she can help strengthen connections between the Jamaican diaspora, the Jamaican government and Australian stakeholders.
For Fletcher-Lartey, the appointment is a continuation of her community service in a formal diplomatic capacity.
Speaking to Jamaicans.com about the appointment, she said:
“I am truly humbled and deeply honored to step into this role as Honorary Consul Designate for Jamaica in Australia.”
She said her 16 years in Australia have included work to support and celebrate Jamaican culture and community. She also pointed to her previous regional experience as preparation for the new role.
Fletcher-Lartey has said she hopes to build on those relationships while supporting greater cooperation between Jamaica and Australia in areas such as commerce, investment and cultural exchange.
Why Australia Became Home
Fletcher-Lartey initially moved to Australia to pursue her doctoral studies at the University of Technology Sydney.
After completing her PhD in 2013, her original plan was to spend time in Australia before eventually returning to Jamaica to pursue a career in public health leadership.
Her plans changed after she started a family.
She has described Australia’s multicultural environment, social support and health systems as factors that influenced her decision to make the country her permanent home. She also said she valued the opportunity to maintain her Jamaican identity while living among people from different cultural backgrounds.
A Career in Public Health
Fletcher-Lartey brings a background in public health and epidemiology to her new diplomatic position.
Her professional training began in Jamaica as a Public Health Inspector before she pursued graduate studies at UWI Mona and doctoral studies in epidemiology at UTS.
Her career has included work in public health research, infectious disease management, environmental health and emergency response.
The combination of her professional background and years of community leadership has shaped her work with Jamaicans in Australia and across the Asia Pacific region.
Looking Ahead
The appointment marks a new stage in Fletcher-Lartey’s involvement with Jamaica overseas.
After founding and leading the Jamaican Association of Australia for more than a decade, she has now passed leadership of the organization to a new executive committee.
Her new role as Honorary Consul Designate will focus on consular assistance, trade, cultural exchange and relations between Jamaica and Australia.
The Consulate of Jamaica in Sydney is located at 4 Sanananda Road, Bardia, New South Wales 2565, Australia.
