Kayess has also been the director of several non-governmental organizations throughout her career, advocating for disability rights and the implementation of the UN convention in Australia and abroad.
[2] In 2004, Kayess was appointed to the Australian Government delegation that drafted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
In this role, she contributed to public commentary and analysis on the effects of unemployment, and limited access to further education, on people with disabilities.
[2] Kayess was also a speaker at the 2009 Protecting Human Rights Conference held at the Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law at the University of New South Wales.
Kayess discussed human rights violations against people with disabilities, including the lack of adequate accommodation, forced institutional care, and educational segregation.
[2] From 2010 to 2014, Kayess was a senior visiting research fellow on the Disability Rights Expanding Accessible Markets Project (DREAM).
[1] In March 2019, she was appointed vice-chair of the committee in recognition of her academic experience and expertise in Australia and internationally.