Phillips was born in Brisbane, Queensland where she began her career in 1982 as a cadet newspaper journalist at The Courier-Mail where she became a feature writer and columnist.
In 2003, she moved to co-anchor ABC News NSW with Tony Eastley and later become solo presenter of the bulletin.
[4] In her 2010 book, A Pressure Cooker Saved My Life, she describes the episode as a result of a stress-induced laryngeal spasm.
In 2009, Phillips took carer's leave from the ABC to care for their children while her husband was interstate for rehabilitation from bowel cancer.
[10] In May 2013, Phillips was removed from one evening's ABC News bulletin due to a conflict of interest which arose after Combet faced an ICAC inquiry into government corruption.