Richards attended Brighton Beach Primary School in Melbourne, Australia, and then the Firbank Girls' Grammar School from Year 7, but transferred to Morongo Girls' College (now Kardinia International College) for the last term of Year 10 until graduation.
She then enrolled at Monash University in 1972, taking an Arts degree, with a double major in Sociology and English.
Richards deferred her English Honours year in 1976, and concentrated her efforts into building a mudbrick house in the Macclesfield area, located in the Dandenong Hills region, above Melbourne.
Richards presented Earth Beat, and environmental program on Radio National for a short period of time.
She now works as the co-editor of a local, independent news magazine called "YourTimes", and also as the producer for the Intelligence Squared Australia Debates (also known as iq2oz).