Lumsden began her career in 1979, working as a technical officer surveying the vertebrate fauna of the Western Port catchment, with the Museum of Victoria.
From 1991-1994 Lindy undertook a major project on the conservation of insectivorous bats in remnant vegetation in rural environments in northern Victoria.
From 1995 to 2000 she was part of an extensive collaborative project in the Box-Ironbark region of Victoria investigating extinction processes affecting vertebrate fauna.
[1] Lindy has contributed to 16 scientific expeditions overseas or in remote areas of Australia, to investigate the ecology and conservation of the bat fauna in these region.
This has included helping to train bat ecologists in other countries in new research techniques and approaches (e.g. in Taiwan and Swaziland).