She leads Short Black Opera, based in Melbourne, which provides training and opportunities for emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musical artists.
[5] In 1997, Cheetham wrote the autobiographical play, White Baptist Abba Fan, which tells of her experiences of coming to terms with her homosexuality and racial identity while trying to reunite with her Aboriginal family.
[13] In 2018, Cheetham was one of 52 people who contributed to Anita Heiss's book Growing Up Aboriginal In Australia, along with Adam Goodes, Miranda Tapsell, and Celeste Liddle.
[14] Cheetham wrote Australia's first requiem based on the frontier wars between First Nations people in south-western Victoria and settlers between 1840–1863.
[15] The first performance of the requiem on 15 June 2019 featured Cheetham with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the MSO Chorus and the Dhungala Children's Choir.
[15] In 2021, Cheetham's work The Rivers Sing (created with artists Byron J Scullin and Thomas Supple) was presented as part of the RISING: festival in Melbourne.
[20] In November 2019, Cheetham was appointed Professor of Practice at the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music at Monash University.
[21] Cheetham was appointed to the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in February 2023 as inaugural Elizabeth Todd Chair of Vocal Studies.
It provides "training and performance opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander singers, composers, conductors, and instrumentalists", including running workshops for schoolchildren.
[34] In 2020, Cheetham received the JC Williamson Award, the LPA's highest honour, for their life's work in live performance.