Hiles has been a qualified accountant for over 30 years. She holds a Masters in Human Rights from the University of Sydney. She was the mother of a four-year-old[4] when she viewed the ABC TVFour Corners program about six-year-old refugee child Shayan Badraie, who had been held in immigration detention for two years. In response, Hiles co-founded the organisation ChilOut, an abbreviation of "Children Out of Detention", in 2001.[6] She became known as its spokesperson,[4] and as its representative, she visited detention centres on Christmas Island[7] and in the Northern Territory, and publicised conditions of children and families held there.[8][9] She has been critical of the bipartisan agreement of the ALP and LNP to off-shore processing of asylum seekers, and the detention of children.[1][2]
^ abAustralian Broadcasting Corporation. Radio National (17 April 2011), Children in detention: breaking the rules, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (published 15 April 2011), retrieved 9 December 2018
^"Detention of children 'cruel and inhumane'.(news)(Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission )", Australian Nursing Journal, 12 (1), Australian Nursing Federation: 6(1), 1 July 2004, ISSN1320-3185