Lifschitz was born on 30 March 1970 in Cape Town, South Africa to Jewish parents. In 1981 his family relocated to Australia, settling in the suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Of his family's time in Cape Town, Lifschitz is quoted as saying “It was an interesting enclave ... We weren’t observant. There was cooking and Yiddish and community in a way that I haven’t really experienced since.” Lifschitz's father took a position as principal of Masada College on Sydney's upper north shore, where Lifschitz was in the school's first graduating class. He studied history and English at the University of New South Wales, graduating in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts. He then applied to the prestigious Graduate Directing Program at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Kensington, Sydney.
