It is peaceful and quiet, deep in the bush, and perhaps recalls some of the Indigenous communities all over Australia in which Dr Strelein has spent much of her time over the past few decades.

Dr Strelein has been honoured for "outstanding public service to improving awareness across the Australian Public Service of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, and to the debate on native title."

Dr Strelein is one of Australia's foremost experts in the field of native title law and practice.

She is is an adjunct professor at the National Centre for Indigenous Studies (NCIS) and the director of research - Indigenous country and governance, which includes director of the Native Title Research Unit (NTRU), at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS).

While that may seem like a lot of acronyms and long titles, Dr Strelein summarises her career-long endeavour as "trying to create opportunities to learn and experience different ways of understanding our history."

"That's what I've spent most of my effort doing and why, after 22 years, I'm still working at AIATSIS - that's our mission, and I'm glad to be able to make a contribution to that," she said.

Within that endeavour, she nominates the development of an online educational tool as her proudest achievement.

The Core Cultural Learning; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia Foundation Course has been rolled out to the whole public service in the Commonwealth, and is now being picked up by the private sector.

"It's significant to me that thousands and thousands of public servants have done that course," said Dr Strelein.

Her interest in native title law developed early in her studies.

"I was studying law at Murdoch University in the 90s when Mabo came down," she said.

"I was doing commercial law and got sidetracked by what was a pivotal change.

"It was interesting and fascinating and compelling, as a non-Indigenous Australian, and I wanted to better understand why the law had denied Indigenous rights for so long, and what that meant in the present."

Dr Strelein came to the ACT to do her PhD at Australian National University, and has never left the Capital region.

"I love living in this region," she said.

"It's an easy place to live - all the benefits of city and great restaurants, but close to the bush and a great community."

She also cherishes what she's learned about Aboriginal people and the relationships she's built with communities around the country, as well as seeing young Indigenous staff develop and go on to significant careers.

Receiving her public service medal at a time when the Black Lives Matter protest movement has exploded around the globe has given her pause.

"It's challenging to see what's happening in the media in a time when we'd like to be celebrating reconciliation instead," said Dr Strelein.

"There's a lot of work still to be done to have any understanding of reconciliation in Australia, and that's everyone's responsibility."