National Financial Wellbeing
Summit 2026
From evidence to action
Join leaders from government, industry, education, research, consumer and community sectors at the 2026 National Financial Wellbeing Summit. Together we will explore the interconnected forces shaping financial wellbeing — and the practical actions needed to strengthen the financial capability and wellbeing of Australians across all life stages.
With national momentum growing, the Summit will focus on moving from evidence to action and how policy, regulation, education and practice can work together as part of a more integrated national approach to financial wellbeing.
Agenda
| 8.30am – 9.00am | Registration | Tea and coffee available |
| 9.00am – 9.15am | Welcome Effie Zahos, 9News Money Editor and Ecstra Board Member Acknowledgement of Country and opening address Caroline Stewart, CEO, Ecstra Foundation |
| 9.15am – 9.30am | Minister’s address The Hon. Dr Daniel Mulino MP, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services |
| 9.30am – 10.25am | Panel | Integration in practice Alix Pearce, General Manager, Climate, Social Policy and International Engagement, Insurance Council of Australia Dr Anna Price, Principal Research Fellow, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Ciara Sterling, CEO, Thriving Communities Australia Moderated by Dr Jozica Kutin, Research & Insights Manager, Ecstra Foundation |
| 10.25am – 10.45am | Regulator address Alan Kirkland, Commissioner, ASIC |
| 10.45am – 11.15am | Morning tea |
| 11.15am – 11.35am | Keynote | Money and mental health Rebecca Gardner, Head of Strategy, Policy and Advice, Beyond Blue |
| 11.35am – 12.00pm | The student voice | Why money matters Panel discussion with students from Hurlstone Agricultural High School Moderated by Effie Zahos |
| 12.00pm – 1.00pm | Panel | Financial capability and education across life stages Kelly Taylor, National Programs Manager, White Box Enterprises Dr Wendy Mockler Giles, Virtual Learning Coordinator, Catholic Education Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn Anne Palmer, GM Education, Financial Advice Association Australia Moderated by Roset Khair, Financial Education Manager, Ecstra Foundation |
| 1.00pm – 2.00pm | Lunch |
| 2.00pm – 2.15pm | Spotlight | Global Sisters Mandy Richards, CEO, Global Sisters |
| 2.15pm – 3.15pm | Panel | Technology, trust and financial wellbeing Erin Turner, CEO, Consumer Policy Research Centre David Spriggs, CEO, Infoxchange Dr Steven Threadgold, Associate Professor, University of Newcastle Moderated by James Kirby, Associate Editor-Wealth, The Australian and Ecstra Board Member |
| 3.15pm – 3.30pm | Spotlight | Supporting multicultural communities Manasi Wagh, Coordinator Multicultural Capability, Financial Counselling Australia Shazia Syed, Mentor, Multicultural Capability, Financial Counselling Australia |
| 3.30pm – 4.00pm | Q&A with Prof Roslyn Russell | Building financial wellbeing for all Moderated by Caroline Stewart |
| 4.00pm – 4.15pm | Closing remarks |
| 4.30pm – 6.00pm | Summit drinks |
Agenda subject to change without notice, timing approximate.
Speakers
The Hon. Dr Daniel Mulino MP
Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services
The Hon. Dr Daniel Mulino MP
Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services
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 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 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 at Ecstra Foundation
Caroline Stewart
Chief Executive Officer at Ecstra Foundation
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.
Hon. Professor Roslyn Russell
Wellbeing Research RMIT University
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.
James Kirby
Associate Editor-Wealth, The Australian
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.
Rebecca Gardner
Head of Strategy, Policy and Advice at Beyond Blue
Rebecca Gardner
Head of Strategy, Policy and Advice at Beyond Blue
Rebecca Gardner is Head of Strategy, Policy and Advice at Beyond Blue, where she leads the organisation’s strategy, policy, advocacy and research translation work. With a background in public health, she works with governments, researchers, industry leaders, community and people with lived experience to address complex social and mental health challenges. Rebecca has played a leading role in Beyond Blue’s work on financial wellbeing and mental health, bringing together evidence, lived experience and cross-sector collaboration to advance practical solutions that support earlier intervention and prevention.
Dr Wendy Mockler Giles
Virtual Learning Coordinator, Catholic Education Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn
Dr Wendy Mockler Giles
Virtual Learning Coordinator, Catholic Education Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn
Dr Wendy Mockler Giles is Virtual Learning Coordinator for Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn and President of Economics and Business Educators NSW (EBE NSW). A NSW Education Standards Authority Highly Accomplished Teacher with a Doctor of Education from the University of Illinois, she is a published researcher specialising in equity-focused learning futures, sustainable assessment, AI in education, and economics education. Wendy advances teacher development through professional learning, mentoring, and research-informed leadership across school and system contexts.
Dr Jozica Kutin
Research and Insights Manager at Ecstra Foundation
Dr Jozica Kutin
Research and Insights Manager at Ecstra Foundation
Dr Jozica Kutin is a research and insights specialist with over twenty years’ experience across forensic psychology, applied social research and program evaluation. She has worked in diverse settings including forensic psychiatry, drug and alcohol services, prisons and asthma epidemiology, bringing a strong evidence‑based approach to understanding complex social issues. Jozica’s research has also focused on preventing economic abuse in young adult relationships. Her award‑winning relationship‑based financial capability website, you, me & money, received multiple national design awards. She has developed and evaluated financial capability and financial abuse resources across industry and community sectors, and contributed to research and advocacy aimed at improving financial wellbeing and responses to financial abuse. Jozica is passionate about translating research into practical tools that empower individuals and drive systemic change. Jozica holds a PhD from RMIT’s School of Economics, Finance and Marketing and a Master’s degree in Forensic Psychology from Monash University.
Anne Palmer
GM Education, Financial Advice Association Australia
Anne Palmer
GM Education, Financial Advice Association Australia
Anne Palmer is the General Manager of Education at the Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA). Her areas of responsibility include the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® designation, continuing professional development for financial advisers, university engagement, and financial literacy programs. Anne has worked in both the financial services and the higher education sectors for over a decade and so she understands the needs of both students, universities, and the financial advice profession. She has pioneered many programs at the FAAA such as scholarships programs, global initiatives, and financial literacy programs.
Roset Khair
Financial Education Manager at Ecstra Foundation
Roset Khair
Financial Education Manager at Ecstra Foundation
Roset Khair is an educator, textbook author, researcher, learning and curriculum designer, and consultant specialising in financial literacy education. She also works at a university, where she teaches the next generation of educators. She currently serves as Vice President of Economics and Business Educators NSW and is the NSW Affiliate to Business Educators Australasia, advocating for improved financial, economic, business, civics and citizenship, and legal literacy. As part of her roles in both organisations, Roset has extensive experience in designing and delivering professional learning for teachers, focusing on assessment, literacy, innovative and contextual approaches to financial and business education. Roset is deeply passionate about financial literacy and entrepreneurship. She has held a range of leadership roles in NSW schools and has extensive experience teaching Commerce, Business Studies, Legal Studies, Economics, and English. Beyond her professional work, Roset is an active community volunteer, regularly delivering contextualised financial literacy education to community groups. Prior to her career in education, she worked in corporate banking and the legal sector, bringing valuable real-world insight into her practice. Roset holds a Master of Education (Learning and Leadership), Master of Teaching (Secondary), a Bachelor of Commerce (Management), a Diploma of Business (Frontline Management), and a Certificate IV in Financial Services.
Alix Pearce
General Manager, Climate, Social Policy & International Engagement, Insurance Council of Australia
Alix Pearce
General Manager, Climate, Social Policy & International Engagement, Insurance Council of Australia
Alix is an award-winning campaigner, policy advocate and executive leader who has committed her career to accelerating Australia’s trajectory to net zero and strengthening national and community resilience. She is currently the General Manager of the Australian insurance industry’s climate and social policy team, drawing on the industry’s critical role in the economy to drive down climate risk and better protect communities. Alix’s leadership and work has been recognised with numerous awards, including a prestigious Churchill Fellowship to travel around the globe in 2025, exploring how to tackle the insurance protection gap being widened by worsening disasters. She has a history of building unique alliances to drive change, her career has seen her work with global security leaders, first-responders, front-line communities, consumer groups, major companies and all tiers of government. As the Head of Campaigns for the Climate Council, Alix led the organisation’s advocacy and government relations team, focused on driving down emissions this decade. As the Director of Policy and Campaigns for the Consumer Action Law Centre, she led a team of policy professionals, and campaigners in the wake of the Banking Royal Commission. She also worked as the Founder and Director of the Cities Power Partnership, the biggest climate and energy program for cities in the country. She is also a published author, working with Australia’s premier climate experts, economists and policy analysts on landmark reports that have shifted the national conversation.
Dr Anna Price
Principal Research Fellow, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
Dr Anna Price
Principal Research Fellow, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
Dr Anna Price is a Principal Research Fellow at the Centre for Community Child Health, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, and an Honorary at the University of Melbourne. She works in partnership with policymakers, Child and Family Health services, and communities to strengthen services and improve outcomes for children and families. Her research focuses on understanding the financial and emotional wellbeing experiences of Australian families and identifying practical ways to support families experiencing adversity in the early years (pregnancy to school). She has extensive experience in the design, implementation and evaluation of Child and Family Health services, including sustained nurse home visiting programs. Anna currently leads work on the Healthier Wealthier Families initiative, which is examining how financial wellbeing support can be embedded within Child and Family Health services to improve outcomes for families.
Mandy Richards
CEO, Global Sisters
Mandy Richards
CEO, Global Sisters
Mandy Richards is Founder and CEO of Global Sisters, the national not-for-profit she has built into a decade-strong movement. Global Sisters has supported nearly 11,000 economically vulnerable women—many of them solo mothers, domestic violence survivors or women with disability—to earn sustainable income through flexible self-employment. A relentless innovator, Mandy built a model that pairs practical education, coaching, sales, community and advocacy to tackle systemic economic barriers. Mandy has mobilised more than $10 million in pro bono business support and 15,000+ hours of free coaching for low-income women, backed by partners across government, philanthropy and corporate Australia, including AMP, eBay, Google, Visa and Mecca. In 2024, she won Australia’s only grant in the Citi Foundation’s Global Innovation Challenge—US$500,000 to develop ‘Little Green Houses for Her’, which gives low-income women modular, energy-efficient home-and-land packages and a mortgage pathway to home ownership. That same year, she presented Global Sisters’ SIMNA Award-winning Impact Roadmap© at APEC. In 2025, Mandy’s work was recognised with a place in Pro Bono Australia’s Impact 25, the UTS Chancellor’s Award for Excellence, the UTS Community Alumni Award, CEO of the Year and Social Impact Excellence at the Third Sector Awards, SIMNA’s Award for Excellence in Social Impact Measurement, and the ASBFEO Small Business Community Ally Award. Mandy’s vision is radically simple: remove barriers and build pathways to economic security for women nationwide. By tackling the mutual dependency of income and housing together, Global Sisters is unlocking lasting, generational change.
David Spriggs
CEO, Infoxchange
David Spriggs
CEO, Infoxchange
David Spriggs is the CEO of Infoxchange, a not-for-profit social enterprise driven by the vision of technology for social justice. He is passionate about creating a more digitally inclusive society and the role technology can play in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the community sector. In addition to his role at Infoxchange, David is Chair of the Australian Digital Inclusion Alliance (ADIA) and Deputy Chair of Specialisterne Australia, working to create careers for people on the autism spectrum. David is also a Non-Executive Director of the Alannah & Madeline Foundation, a charity dedicated to keeping children and young people safe from violence wherever they live, learn and play. David holds a Bachelor of Information Technology from the University of Queensland, a Certificate in Theology from Trinity College at the University of Melbourne and is a Graduate of the Harvard Business School Executive Education Program and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Ciara Sterling
CEO, Thriving Communities Australia
Ciara Sterling
CEO, Thriving Communities Australia
As founding CEO and Director of Thriving Communities Australia, a for-purpose charity, Ciara Sterling convenes over 350 organisations across sectors, together with people with lived experience, to forge deeper understanding of vulnerability and drive ecosystem change through social design innovation. Ciara is also the Chair on the Board of Consumer Action Law Centre (CALC), a founding member of the Economic Abuse Reference Group (EARG) and sits on various corporate, government and regulatory advisory committees. She has over 20 years’ experience collaborating across corporate, government, regulators, Ombudsman, community sectors and lived experience to address the root causes of vulnerability, domestic abuse, and inequality. A key example of this is the development the One Stop One Story Hub a world-first cross-sector digital wrap around support platform enabling frontline workers in corporate, community and government organisations to connect and refer people to a range of supports through a single access point. She believes in the power of cross-sector collaboration to create genuine systemic change.
Shazia Syed
Multicultural Capability Mentor at Financial Counselling Australia
Shazia Syed
Multicultural Capability Mentor at Financial Counselling Australia
Shazia Syed is a Multicultural Capability Mentor with FCA and a Financial Counsellor with over nine years of experience in the financial capability sector. Her work focuses on strengthening culturally responsive practice and supporting migrant and refugee communities. A 2024 Victorian Multicultural Honour Roll inductee and author of language textbooks, she brings lived experience, bicultural insight, and frontline expertise to her role.
Kelly Taylor
National Programs Manager, White Box Enterprises
Kelly Taylor
National Programs Manager, White Box Enterprises
Kelly has over 20 years’ experience working across community, social enterprise and government sectors both in Australia and the U.K. Kelly’s approach is deeply underpinned by community development principles of practice. Her diverse skill set includes participatory design with communities, cross-sector collaborative projects and partnerships, sector and systems change innovation and strategic leadership. Kelly is currently leading White Box’s Financial Wellbeing Program which aims to sustainably embed financial wellbeing education within job-focused social enterprises and not-for-profit organisations across the country. In her spare time Kelly sings in a band, cycles both recreationally and competitively, and loves spending time on adventures with her family.
Steven Threadgold
Associate Professor, University of Newcastle
Steven Threadgold
Associate Professor, University of Newcastle
Steven Threadgold is Associate Professor of Sociology at University of Newcastle, Australia. His research focuses on youth and class, with particular interests in unequal and alternative work and career trajectories; cultural formations of taste; fintech and financial practices; and algorithmic culture. Steve is the Director of the Newcastle Youth Studies Centre. Youth, Class and Everyday Struggles won the 2020 Raewyn Connell Prize for best first book in Australian sociology. He is currently leading an ARC DP called Young People, Fintech Use and Future Financial Security.
Erin Turner
CEO, Consumer Policy Research Centre
Erin Turner
CEO, Consumer Policy Research Centre
Erin Turner is the CEO of the Consumer Policy Research Centre, a think tank that champions ideas to make markets fairer for Australians. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a board member of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) and Way Forward. Erin is the Chair of ARC Justice, the community legal centre in Central and Northern Victoria, which includes her hometown Shepparton on beautiful Yorta Yorta Country.
Manasi Wagh
Coordinator Multicultural Capability at Financial Counselling Australia
Manasi Wagh
Coordinator Multicultural Capability at Financial Counselling Australia
Manasi Wagh is a specialist in financial capability with over 16 years’ experience in program design, grass roots community engagement and sector wide initiatives that improve access, and economic equity. As a Victorian Honour Roll Inductee, Manasi is a passionate educator and advocate and has created measurable social changes in health, family violence, and financial capability sectors.