Graduating from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Laws, Noela L’Estrange was admitted as a Solicitor to the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1976. She taught law at the Queensland University of Technology for the next 13 years.

Active in the advancement of women in the law, she was a founding member of the Women Lawyers’ Association of Queensland and office bearer for many years. Noela was also involved in the National Council of Women at both the state and national level.

In 1989, she took a position as a Human Resource Lawyer at Deacons Graham and James, Brisbane.

Since 1993, she has chaired the Queensland Classification of Films Tribunal, managed a consultancy firm and is presently the General Manager of Business Development for the Australian Government Solicitor.