[citation needed] Upton's career began as a banking and finance lawyer with legal firms Freehill, Hollingdale & Page and DLA Phillips Fox, after being admitted as a solicitor to the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the High Court of Australia in 1988.

This speech noted that every day in Australia six to seven people die by suicide, which was 40 per cent higher than deaths caused on the country's roads – a statistic she described as "completely unacceptable".

Due to the resignation of Barry O'Farrell as premier in April 2014,[12] and the subsequent ministerial reshuffle by the new Liberal Leader, Mike Baird,[5] Upton was appointed as the Minister for Family and Community Services and relinquished the portfolio of Sport and Recreation.

"[20] In response, the Chair of the Save Our Sirius Foundation noted that her determination was "an ignorant decision made by an out-of-touch government [...] Upton's only argument and the only thing she cites in her decision is the opinion of a group of private companies the government hired to tell them what they want to hear.

[25] The package included additional natural habitat for koalas, funding to tackle diseases, improve research and address roadkill hotspots.

[27] The month before, Upton came under fire for allowing a significant delay in determining applications for new items to the New South Wales State Heritage Register, with the exception of Hadley Park in Castlereagh, the original home of the family of conservative radio commentator Ray Hadley, thereby fulfilling her obligations under the Heritage Act 1977 "almost entirely in the breach".

[28] Attention also focused on the "toxic environment" of her 12-staff office, with 16 staff members having left in the 18-month period up to September 2018, and one former staffer receiving compensation for severe stress.

[31][32] To guide the development of an Action Plan she appointed an Advisory Council chaired by David Gonski[33][34][35][36] Upton has also written on the potential for NSW to be the home of technological innovation.

[38][39][40][41] $26 million was announced as a kick-off funding to support a Small Business Innovation Research program and matchmaking platform.