The deputy chair of the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body will run as a candidate for Independents for Canberra.
Paula McGrady will run as a candidate in the electorate of Murrumbidgee, alongside senior public servant Anne-Louise Dawes.
The two have been unveiled as part of the final announcement of candidates to run for Independents for Canberra in October's territory election.
The group's co-founder Thomas Emerson has been confirmed as a candidate in Kurrajong alongside Braddon restaurant owner Sara Poguet.
Ms McGrady, who is a Goomeri/ Bigumbul woman, has lived in Canberra over the past 20 years and said she was motivated to run because she was tired of the system failing people.
She has worked in the community sector, including in family and domestic violence, sexual abuse, youth justice, homelessness, education, counselling and support.
"To feel safe and to live without fear is something we all deserve as a human right. We know we are failing the most vulnerable and marginalised people across our community but nothing ever seems to change," Ms McGrady said.
"People should feel that what affects them does matter and I will be there making sure that is the case as their representative."
There is set to be an election for the next three-year term of the Elected Body in July.
Nominations to run in the election opened last week and will close at noon on Monday, June 3.
Ms Dawes is a career bureaucrat who said her experiences supporting ministers had motivated her to run as a candidate.
"A lifetime of supporting ministers, good and bad, as a senior public servant showed me how much can be achieved if people are honest, authentic and act with integrity. Sadly, these qualities are increasingly rare in politics," she said.
"Independents for Canberra feels different. Nobody is trying to prove that they're the smartest person in the room. It's not about ego."
Ms Poguet is the owner of Chez Freds. She said she wasn't convinced the current governing parties were acting in the best interests of the community.
"During election campaigns, I've noticed the Labor-Greens members roll out grand plans and ambitious commitments that repeatedly fall short," she said.
"That's why I've joined Independents for Canberra. We will be there to hold the government to account."
Mr Emerson founded Independents for Canberra, alongside Clare Carnell who has since stepped away, citing health issues.
He has been officially endorsed as a candidate. He is a staffer for ACT senator David Pocock and also runs movement studio, Praksis.
"People are tired of politicians who prioritise the party line over the views of the people they've been elected to represent," said Mr Emerson.
"We need MLAs who are there for us and aren't distracted by internal party politics or political careerism."
The group chose to start a party to bolster the chances of getting independents elected.
Candidates are independents but are chosen to run under the Independents of Canberra banner based on commitments to there being no vested interests, integrity, evidence-based policy making and long-term thinking.
