Jill was sent to live with two unmarried aunts in the Sydney suburb of Seaforth, who raised her until adulthood and inspired several of her better-known poems, including "Living With Aunts", which is included in The Puncher and Wattman anthology of Australian Poetry.
An avid writer throughout her life, Jill Hellyer was a consistent contributor of poetry and prose to literary magazines such as Southerly, Overland, Meanjin and Heat.
In her 1989 auto-biographical piece "The luxury of Dreaming" she hints that the title she was given of 'part-time secretary' did not properly reflect the work that she had put into the organisation.
Others offered poignant portraits of Australian life (O'Regan's Bride, Miss Petty's Sunlight).
However, Hellyer's most enduring and engaging work related to her subjective experiences of love, loss, and intensely felt details of everyday life (Alone, Living with Aunts, Young Girl Awakening, The Exile).