[3] Scott's first published work was a 1984 volume of poetry Flesh and Blood, followed by the play Say Thank You to the Lady, for which she won the prestigious Bruce Mason Playwriting Award in 1986.

[5] Scott campaigned extensively on human rights issues in Australia, saying, "My writing is fuelled by me as a totality, but also by my political feelings.

"[6] With Tom Keneally, she co-edited an anthology of refugee writing, Another Country, for which she was nominated for the 2004 Human Rights Medal.

She taught creative writing at the University of Technology Sydney, as well as working as a mentor for young and novice writers.

[10] In 2016 Scott was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for significant service to literature as an author, and to human rights and inter-cultural understanding.

Writing in The Australian in 1990, John Macgregor described Nights With Grace as "one of the finest Antipodean novels of recent times".