Mailman portrayed the lead role of MP Alexandra "Alex" Irving on the Australian political drama series Total Control.

Her other well known films are Rabbit-Proof Fence, Bran Nue Dae, Oddball, The Sapphires, Paper Planes, Blinky Bill the Movie, Combat Wombat, H Is for Happiness, Scarygirl, and The Book of Revelation.

[3] Mailman played the role of Kate in a La Boite Theatre production of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew in 1994.

[citation needed] Mailman was part of the Leah Purcell documentary Black Chicks Talking (2001), where she discussed her Aboriginal heritage.

[8] In 2006, she took part in a four-part television documentary series with Cathy Freeman called Going Bush, where the pair set off on a journey from Broome to Arnhem Land spending time with Indigenous communities along the way.

[18] In 2019, she starred as politician Alex Irving in the series Total Control, produced by Blackfella Films and screened on the ABC.

[19] In 2024, Mailman guest starred in the Bluey episode "The Sign", voicing one of the two Sheepdogs looking for a house with a swimming pool.