Michelle (Swee Ming) Dieu is from a Chinese Malaysian background. She migrated to South Australia in 1992 as an independent skilled migrant, joining her parents who had migrated four years earlier.

Michelle is the Convenor of SAMEAC's Youth Advisory Committee.

She speaks fluent Chinese, Cantonese and Bahasa Malaysia and the dialects Fuzhou and Fujian:

She is currently employed as Integrated Humanitarian Settlement Strategy (I.H.S.S.) Program Manager at the Migrant Resource Centre of S.A.

A qualified teacher with a Bachelor of Education from Flinders University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, Michelle worked as an educator and migrant settlement volunteer in the Chinese community for the Chinese Welfare Services after arrival.

She then worked for more than 10 years for the Overseas Chinese Association of S.A. Inc. (OCA), co-ordinating the Community Settlement Services Scheme and managing several programs including the Settlement Grants Program,  OCA Joblink Services and  Coaching for Multicultural Taxi Driver Training Program for Chinese and humanitarian entrants.

In that time, the OCA’s Coaching for Multicultural Taxi Driver Training Program received several awards, including Outstanding Program and Best Service Provider, from the South Australian Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology (DFEEST) and Adult Community Education.

In 2003 Michelle was appointed an Ombudsman Referral Delegate under the Justice Access Referral Program by the State Ombudsman’s Office.

She is a registered migration agent, and a Member of the Migration Institute of Australia.