She teaches at the University of Auckland, and as an architect has worked on many buildings within the Pacific region including the refurbishment of the Fua'amotu International Airport in Tonga.
Her father's Tongan heritage is from Tatakamōtonga village in Mu’a, Tongatapu and he also has family links to Ha’apai and Fulaga, Lau Islands, Fiji.
[4] In an interview with Karamia Muller in the book Making Space 'Ilaiū Talei acknowledges her parents especially her father in their support of her studies, she said: "My Dad has been such a key role in terms of research and education".
[3] In Brisbane, ‘Ilaiū Talei worked in the role of Architectural Discipline Lead for the practice Kramer Ausenco Pacific Limited,[5] which included commercial, educational, healthcare and residential projects in the Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.
[2] In 2009 'Ilaiū Talei and Nina Tonga curated an exhibition at the Fresh Gallery called Koloa et al: Your Art is my Treasure.
[7] Some of her influences include Hassan Fathy, Alvar Aalto, Malaysian architect Ken Yeang and Zaha Hadid.
[8][2] At the University of Auckland ‘Ilaiū Talei is part of Māpihi: Māori and Pacific Housing Research Centre which is hosted at the Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries.
[11][12][13] It is an interdisciplinary approach, and other members include Sam Manuela (Psychology), Kilisimasi Latu (Engineering), Lena Henry (Urban Planning), Claire Charters (Law), Sereana Naepi (Sociology) and Tia Reihana (Dance Studies).