Michelle Pule, from Perth, said she arrived in Iraq last week and would stay because she wanted to help the thousands of innocent Iraqis who would perish in any war.
"I'm planning on staying and I think I will try and help in whatever way I can and whatever happens, happens," Ms Pule told ABC Radio.
She has basic medical training but cannot speak Arabic.
She said two other human shields left Iraq last week, but another Australian had since arrived in country.
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"Once war has started I assume people like myself won't be able to do much if there is a bombing campaign which I believe there will be," she said.
" ... but after bombing has stopped I assume there will be people that will be needing assistance, even if it's a simple task of being a witness of what's actually happening at the grassroots level in Baghdad."
Her father, Jerry, said he and his wife, Mimi, held grave concerns for their daughter's safety.
"I disagree with her decision and I feel for her safety and particularly now, because she has indicated that whilst all the others are leaving she is not going to leave," Mr Pule told AAP.
"That is of grave concern to us."
Describing his daughter as a "very passionate young lady", Mr Pule said he was very surprised when he found about what she was planning to do.
"The first we heard of it was on our radio station at 6PR," he said.
"We didn't even know ... and then she kept herself incommunicado from us because all we wanted to do was talk to her and make her understand the gravity of the situation she would be heading into."
But he said Ms Pule, who works for WA's Family and Children's Services, was very committed to the anti-war effort.
"Michelle sees our concern for her as political interference against her decision but of course we respect her choice ... and we're not saying that she shouldn't have a choice we are just concerned about her welfare."
Ms Pule said her parents had tried to prevent her departure.
"My parents certainly tried their best to stop me which caused immense difficulties for me trying to leave Perth ... I felt that it was not their place to make that decision," she said.
"I am an adult, that was my choice, I am aware of the consequences and it is my decision to be here."
She said the activists in Baghdad had come to the realisation their work would not stop the war but she said the greater sorrow was for the thousands of Iraqis who would die in the action.
"I feel extremely sad for the Iraqi people ... the greater sorrow is that Baghdad is full of civilians, there are thousands of innocent people here all over the place and these are the people who will suffer the most," she said.
Also on ABC Radio today, Adelaide's Ruth Russell said she would stay as a human shield at a grain silo at Taji, near Baghdad.
She would stay in Iraq until "after the bombs" and was prepared to die for the anti-war cause.
"It's just been overwhelming, the amount of people from every single country that is coming to support Iraq and say that this is wrong."
