Dushan Ristevski was born in Bitola, Macedonia. In 1985 he gained a Diploma in Social Welfare and a Bachelor of Social Science degree in 1991. He has been active in the cultural life of the Macedonian community and in multicultural affairs and, since 1987, a part-time Ethnic Affairs Commissioner with the New South Wales State Government.

Ristevski has also been president of the Macedonian Literary Association, 'Grigor Prlichev', since 1978, a member of the Writers Association of Macedonia (1988) and of the Journalists' Association of Macedonia (1989). He has read at various Macedonian cultural gatherings in Sydney. He co-edited (with Beatriz Leoncini and Gorjana Milosevski) Macedonian Young People : A Report on Their Needs and on Issues That Affect Them (1998). He has written regular columns for the newspaper Makedonija, and other Macedonian newspapers in Australia, as well as being editor-in-chief of the Macedonian literary journal Povod.