[1] She arrived in Australia with her family at a young age and grew up on the New South Wales North Coast.
She later operated a small business and then from 1997 to 2001 worked for the New South Wales state government as a senior project officer in the Premier's Department.
[1] Stephens joined the ALP as a result of the dismissal of the Whitlam government in 1975, during which she travelled to Canberra to attend protests.
She was chosen as a shadow parliamentary secretary in 2004, continuing in the role under opposition leaders Mark Latham, Kim Beazley and Kevin Rudd until Labor's victory at the 2007 election.
[1] In 2005, she was one of only three ALP senators – along with Stephen Conroy and Helen Polley – to vote against greater availability of the abortion drug RU486.
[5] In 2012 she submitted a report to the ALP caucus in which she stated same-sex marriage could have unintended consequences, such as allowing neighbours to marry for tax benefits.
In 2005, while serving in the Senate, she was awarded the degree of Doctor of Public Administration (DPA) by the University of Canberra for a thesis on "best practice in service delivery models and the impact of National Competition Policy reforms on regional and rural communities".