Her songwriting career began in Melbourne, where she attended boarding school and balanced her time between academics and music. Higgins' sister got ahold of "All for Believing," one of Missy's earliest songs, and mailed a copy to Australia's Triple J radio station without her sister's consent. The song ended up winning an unsigned artist competition named Triple J Unearthed, which effectively sparked Higgins' career as a singer/songwriter.

After signing with Eleven, the same Australian record company used by such homeland heroes as Silverchair, Higgins issued a self-titled EP in November 2003. The Scar EP appeared in August 2004 and set the scene for her full-length debut, Sound of White, which appeared the following September. Sound of White proved to be remarkably successful, remaining on the Australian charts for two years and going platinum nine times. Higgins then set her sights on America, where she made her debut in January 2005 with the domestic-only All for Believing EP. Released through Warner Bros., it included the title track and four other songs cherry-picked from the Sound of White LP (which was reissued in the U.S. shortly thereafter).

Missy Higgins issued her sophomore album, On a Clear Night, in 2007, with an American release following in early 2008. While Sound of White had emphasized Higgins' flair for piano, On a Clear Night featured a new emphasis on guitar, which Higgins had used to compose the majority of the tracks. "Steer," the album's leadoff single, became her second number one hit in Australia.

After finishing up with touring and promoting the album, Higgins took some time off from music. In 2010, she enrolled in college at the University of Melbourne and acted in the Australian film Bran Nue Dae. She never strayed far from music, though, and after meeting fellow singer/songwriter Butterfly Boucher while playing Lilith Fair shows in the summer of 2010, went to Nashville to record her next album with Boucher's help. The Ol' Razzle Dazzle was released in June 2012, promptly debuting at the top of the Australian charts (her third straight album to reach number one). Higgins' next work was an album of Aussie cover versions, titled OZ, that also became the name of an accompanying book as well as a tour. It appeared in September of 2014. ~ Andrew Leahey & Johnny Loftus