The Hon. Dr Daniel Mulino MP

Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services (pre-recorded address)

Born in Brindisi, Italy, Daniel was a young child when he moved with his family to Australia. He grew up in Canberra and completed his first degrees – arts and law – at the ANU. He then completed a Master of Economics (University of Sydney) and a PhD in economics from Yale. He lectured at Monash University, was an economic adviser in the Gillard government and was a Victorian MP from 2014 to 2018. As Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer of Victoria, Daniel helped deliver major infrastructure projects and developed innovative financing structures for community projects. In 2018 he was preselected for the new federal seat of Fraser and became its first MP at the 2019 election, re-elected in 2022 and 2025. From 2022 to 2025, Daniel was chair of the House of Representatives’ Standing Economics Committee in which he chaired inquiries; economic dynamism, competition and business formation and insurers’ responses to 2022 major floods claims. In 2025, he became the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services. In August 2022, Daniel published ‘Safety Net: The Future of Welfare in Australia’, which aims to explore the ways in which an insurance approach can improve the effectiveness of government service delivery.

Alan Kirkland

ASIC Commissioner

Alan commenced as an ASIC Commissioner for a five-year term on 20 November 2023. He has more than 20 years’ experience in consumer protection, social services, law reform and justice in the public and not-for-profit sectors.

Most recently, Alan was the CEO at CHOICE where he represented the interests of Australian consumers for more than 11 years.

Earlier, Alan was the Executive Director of the Australian Law Reform Commission, the CEO of Legal Aid New South Wales, Chair of the National Legal Assistance Advisory Body, and Executive Director of the NSW Council of Social Service.

From 2016 to 2017, Alan was a member of the panel for the Ramsay Review, which led to the establishment of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority and Compensation Scheme of Last Resort.

He holds degrees in Arts and Law from the University of NSW, an Executive MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management, and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Appointment as Commissioner, Treasurer’s media release, 25 August 2023.

Effie Zahos

9News Money Editor

Effie is one of Australia’s leading personal finance commentators with more than two decades of experience helping Australians make the most of their money. She is a regular money expert on Channel 9s Today show and on radio stations across Australia. Effie is the 9News Money Editor at the 9Network where she works across 9News, A Current Affair, Today, and Today Extra; and an independent director of InvestSMART and Ecstra Foundation. Effie was previously InvestSMART’s Chief Content Officer and was Editor-at-Large of Canstar for four years. She was also the editor of Money magazine until 2019, having helped establish it in 1999. Effie is the author of A Real Girl’s Guide to Money, Ditch the Debt and Get Rich, and children’s financial literacy book, The Great $20 Adventure. She has a degree in Economics from the University of Queensland.

Caroline Stewart

Chief Executive Officer

Caroline is the CEO of Ecstra, working to improve financial capability and wellbeing in Australia through education, collaboration, evidence and systems change. Since joining Ecstra, she has led the organisation’s growth as a national funder, program partner, convener and advocate, including the expansion of the national financial literacy in schools program, Talk Money with Ecstra Foundation. Her focus includes strong engagement across government, community, research, education and financial services on issues related to financial wellbeing and inclusion. Caroline brings extensive experience across philanthropy, financial services, law and the community sector. Prior to joining Ecstra, she led the UBS Australia Foundation, a corporate private ancillary foundation, and earlier worked as a banking and finance lawyer. Caroline is a board member of The Achieve Foundation and a member of the Advisory Committee for the Financial Counselling Industry Fund. She has previously served on the boards of Philanthropy Australia, where she chaired the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, WAGEC (Women and Girls Emergency Centre) and Lenity Australia, and was a member of the ACNC Sector Forum. She also works with community organisations on a pro bono basis. Caroline holds a BA (Syd Uni), is admitted as a Solicitor in NSW and ACT and is a graduate of the AICD.

Dr Cassandra Goldie AO

CEO ACOSS and Adjunct Professor UNSW Sydney

Dr Cassandra Goldie AO, CEO of ACOSS and Adjunct Professor with UNSW Sydney, has held senior roles in the NFP and public sectors, including with the Australian Human Rights Commission, where she worked on the inquiry into pay equity and paid parental leave, Darwin Community Legal Service and Legal Aid in WA. In 2023, Cassandra was awarded an AO for distinguished services to social justice through leadership and advocacy, promoting the rights of marginalised and disadvantaged people. Cassandra is Co-Chair of the ACOSS and UNSW Sydney Poverty and Inequality Partnership and a member of the Federal Government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee.

Miles Larbey

Head of Financial Consumer Protection, Education & Inclusion Unit, OECD (pre-recorded address)

Head of the Financial Consumer Protection, Education & Inclusion Unit at the OECD. In this role, he is responsible for the OECD’s research, policy analysis and international co-operation to support policymakers and other stakeholders in developing effective financial consumer protection, financial education and financial inclusion policies. This includes supporting the OECD Working Party on Financial Consumer Protection, Education & Inclusion; FinCoNet, an international network of market conduct supervisors; and OECD International Network on Financial Education (OECD/INFE). Particular areas of focus include promoting implementation of international standards and best practices, the impact, opportunities and risks of digitalisation and technological advances, consumer vulnerability and financial well-being, demographic changes, consumer credit and over- indebtedness and financial scams and frauds. Before his role at the OECD, Miles held positions as Senior Executive Leader responsible for financial capability and for banking and insurance supervision at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, was the General Manager of the Investor Education Centre in Hong Kong and worked on consumer protection policy and law reform at the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK.

Hon. Professor Roslyn Russell

Wellbeing Research RMIT University

Dr Roslyn Russell, Honorary Professor at RMIT University and founder of Wellbeing Research, has spent nearly 25 years studying Australians’ financial capability and financial wellbeing. Her work, largely commissioned by government, finance, and community sectors, has informed policy and practice to promote fairness, equity and inclusion. Roslyn’s research covers financial challenges experienced by women, people with disabilities, young and older Australians, people living on low incomes, and survivors of family violence and economic abuse. She has led evaluations of prominent financial education programs, and investigated the use of payday loans, consumer leases, and Buy Now Pay Later services.

Leah Bennett

Managing Director, First Nations Foundation

A proud Wiradjuri woman with a hugely successful career spanning over 14 years, Leah is a long-standing Board Director for First Nations Foundation, drawing on a depth of experience across superannuation and wider financial services, modern slavery, financial crimes, data breaches, industry legislation, risk and compliance to provide leadership and guidance to the Foundation.

Originally one of the only First Nations women working in superannuation, Leah has worked with the Foundation as it evolved from a team of two, to an industry-leading organisation of over 15 ambitious and highly experienced staff who have since gone on to connect First Nations people with $30 million in lost super by way of the Financial Wellness Week, launch several highly impactful community and corporate training programmes, a groundbreaking women's programme, two successful educational podcasts and more.

Now, the First Nations Foundation team holds a place at the table during parliamentary and legislative conversations, a role in shaping the banking and finance sector to support and nurture First Nations people, and a defined and measurable impact on the financial wellbeing of Australia’s First Nations communities.

Leah is a passionate advocate for empowering the young Indigenous generation through driving accurate and authentic representation of First Nations culture and history. By shining a light on past and current Indigenous leaders and changemakers, Leah aims to create pathways for young or emerging Indigenous leaders to make a positive impact in Australia, and ensure generations to come are seen, heard and championed.

Fuelled by a determination to see more First Nations equipped with greater capacity and capability in order to thrive, Leah is driven to create opportunities for Indigenous people; to see a systemic shift towards ensuring workplaces are culturally-safe, respectful and have the tools to attract, retain and effectively nurture Indigenous talent Leah is available for commentary and interview opportunities, to speak about financial education and wellness for Indigenous Australians, cultivating empowered communities to achieve financial wellness and economic independence, intergenerational wealth transformation, First Nations culture and history.

For more information on the First Nations Foundation, visit: https://firstnationsfoundation.org.au/ or view the Foundation’s 2024 Impact Report

Roset Khair

Vice President, Economics and Business Educators NSW

Roset Khair is the Vice President of Economics and Business Educators NSW and has convened and presented many of their Commerce & Business Studies courses around assessment, literacy, and creative approaches to financial literacy learning.   She is also the NSW Affiliate for Business Educators Australasia, the professional organisation representing all states relating to Business and Economics education in schools. Currently she is also the Head of Teaching and Learning at Unity Grammar. Prior to this she worked in corporate banking and in the legal field. Beyond this Roset is an educational consultant to organisations such as ASX, Financial Basics Foundation, and is an advisory panellist to Ecstra Foundation.  She also often presents financial literacy programs to the community and is a regular presenter and researcher on how financial literacy should be taught in schools.

Xavier O’Halloran

CEO, Super Consumers Australia

Xavier O’Halloran is the founding CEO of Super Consumers Australia. He is a consumer advocate whose role it is to keep industry and regulators focussed on the needs of consumers in financial services markets. He works with a team of consumer finance experts to better understand how people engage with these markets and how these markets can be designed to meet consumer expectations. He is excited by cutting through spin and making the complex simple, so everyone can confidently make decisions about their financial well- being. Previously, he worked at the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) as a Policy Officer working on telecommunications consumer protection and competition policy.

He also led the team responding to the Financial Services Royal Commission at CHOICE, Australia’s largest consumer advocacy group. Xavier has represented consumers on several government and industry advisory bodies. He also developed an online ‘chat bot’ to help younger people engage with their super.

Janet Liu

Group Head of Social Impact and Community Partnerships, ANZ

Janet Liu is an accomplished sustainability professional with over 15 years’ experience in ESG matters. Janet is responsible for the strategy, governance, delivery and reporting of ANZ’s social sustainability programs.

Janet is a trained partnership broker, a Director of Australia’s largest digital inclusion charity Good Things Australia, and the Chair of Business for Societal Impact Steering Committee.

Phil Gardner

CEO and Director, Australian Business and Community Network (ABCN)

Phil is the Chief Executive Officer and a director of the Australian Business and Community Network (ABCN), a not-for-profit supporting educational and career outcomes for students in low socio-economic schools across Australia.

He began his career in the finance sector, first with Macquarie Bank in Sydney then working for Goldman Sachs in London, Singapore and Sydney.  He joined NSW Treasury in 2015 where his final position was as Deputy Secretary, Commercial and Procurement Group. During his time with NSW Treasury, Phil was on the boards of the NSW Telco Authority and NSW Treasury Corporation (TCorp).   Phil is currently on the board of Breakthrough T1D Australia, a charity leading research, advocacy, and community support for type 1 diabetes (T1D)

Gerard Brody

Commissioner and Chairperson, Essential Services Commission Victoria

Gerard was appointed commissioner and chairperson of the Victorian Essential Services Commission in August 2024.

A leading consumer rights lawyer, Gerard has deep consumer policy, regulatory and legal experience, and a longstanding passion for improving the consumer experience.

Gerard is a former CEO of the Consumer Action Law Centre, an independent, not-for-profit consumer organisation.

Prior to taking up this role, Gerard served as Chair of both Community Legal Centres Australia and the Consumers’ Federation of Australia and has also served as a director for the Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman and the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.

Gerard holds degrees in Arts, Law and Public Policy from the University of Melbourne and is a Graduate of the AICD Company Directors Course.

Georgie Harman AO

CEO, Beyond Blue

Georgie Harman is one of Australia’s most influential and trusted figures in the mental health sector.

As the CEO of Beyond Blue, she believes passionately in doing better for people and communities affected by mental health issues and suicide. Like for most of us, it’s personal. Georgie has steered Beyond Blue through significant change – expanding its services and supports, strengthening advocacy and community connection, and harnessing digital innovation.

She is Deputy Chair of the Australian National Advisory Council on Alcohol & Other Drugs and serves on the Board of mentoring organisation, Kilfinan Australia. She is a Patron of Out for Australia and was an inaugural Board member of the Victorian Pride Centre, the first purpose-built place for Australia’s LGBTIQ+ communities. Previously Georgie served on the Board of Mental Health Australia.

In a previous life, Georgie helped set up the National Mental Health Commission, where she was Deputy CEO, providing independent advice to government on reform and system performance.  From 2006-2012, she was a senior executive at the Commonwealth Department of Health, with responsibility for mental health, suicide prevention, AOD, tobacco control, cancer and chronic disease policy and programs.

She started her career working in the HIV/AIDS sector in London before moving to Australia in 1999 when she was appointed as the inaugural Executive Director for the Bobby Goldsmith Foundation in Sydney.

Michelle Wright

Deputy Head of Communications and Education, RBA

Michelle currently works in the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Communications Department, focussing on the role of central bank communication in monetary policy transmission and broader economic literacy outcomes. This includes work to promote the study of economics in secondary schools as the Executive Lead of the Bank’s Public Education program. She also has experience in research on the international monetary and financial system, commodity and foreign exchange markets, and the Australian banking sector and housing markets. Michelle holds an MSc Economics from the London School of Economics and has worked at the Bank of England.

James Kirby

Associate Editor-Wealth, The Australian

With a career spanning decades of expertise in business, economics, and investment journalism, James is currently the Associate Editor – Wealth at The Australian and host of the popular twice-weekly ‘Money Puzzle’ podcast. He is a former managing editor and co-founder of Business Spectator and Eureka Report and has previously worked at the Australian Financial Review and the South China Morning Post. In addition to his career in journalism, James has previously been actively involved in governance and advocacy, serving on the boards of the Walkley Awards, the SVA Leadership Council (Vic), and First Nations Foundation. He is also the author of several business biographies.