Australia’s national association for fintech startups has appointed its first ever CEO, with an industry head at Fairfax set to take the reins with the aim of making the local ecosystem a world-leading hub.

Current industry head of banking and financial services at Fairfax Media Danielle Szetho is now the CEO of Fintech Australia after a unanimous decision by the group’s board.

Szetho has spent most of her career working in the media industry, including for News Limited and Fox Sports.

THE NATURAL CHOICE

Fintech Australia president Simon Cant says Szetho is the natural choice to lead the group going forward.

“We needed someone that could really build and drive the community – we interviewed a number of candidates but Danielle is the perfect person for this role,” Cant tells StartupSmart.

“She’s a natural connector and that’s exactly what this role needs, someone that brings a vision and has the energy to get stuff done.”

Szetho says her interest in fintech was sparked by her work at Fairfax.

“My role was about understanding the landscape, our clients, the trends and making sure Fairfax itself was positioned to deliver on this,” Szetho tells StartupSmart.

“Inevitably if you work across this ecosystem and talk to the banks you hear about fintech. I threw myself into fintech and it has been so fascinating to see how this is developing.”

After signing up with Fintech Australia as a volunteer, she soon applied for the position of CEO when it was advertised earlier this year.

“I got into the ecosystem and found out about Fintech Australia,” Szetho says.

“I thought it was absolutely fantastic and I was really encouraged by its ability to self-organise in a short space of time and pull together a really compelling submission that drives actionable outcomes.

“That ability to drive outcomes has to be what it’s all about.”

THE OVERALL VISION

Szetho says she has lofty ambitions for the group and Australian fintech in general.

“My vision is to make Australia one of the world’s leading markets for fintech innovation,” she says.

“Realistically I do think we have a strong shot and a strong role to play in Asia.”

The top priority for Fintech Australia now is a national census on fintech startups.

“Unless we have some really good, solid data about the size, composition and maturity of the market and where the gaps are it’s difficult to argue about what we need to be doing,” Szetho says.

“There’s a big piece to play in terms of how we get talent into the ecosystem too.”

Before consolidating into a formal association, Fintech Australia, as a group of 30 or so players in the sector, produced a policy priorities paper for the government after meeting with treasurer Scott Morrison.

“He caught the bug and could see the potential of it,” Cant says.

“We decided as a group to get something done first and then set up the group. We’ve had great momentum and impact in a short space of time before we were really even an association.

“People were really galvanised by the impact but we were really conscious that we wanted to create something really sustainable.”

KEEPING FOCUS

With more than a month left in the election campaign, Cant says he hopes fintech remains an ongoing focus.

“It’s important that we don’t lose sight of the potential of fintech,” he says.

“I’d love to see the momentum continued after the election. This is a bipartisan mission, both sides 

get the power and importance of fintech and how important it is for the government to ensure that they clear away the obstacles.”

Szetho adds that it’s important for Australia to overcome city rivalries and work together as a true ecosystem.

“Our vision is about Australia, and if you can’t get behind that then who can you get behind?” she says.

This article was originally sourced from Start Up Smart and was written by Denahm Sadler.

Findings from the Australian Associations National Survey announced today reveal that associations are inadequately prepared for the future, but that the threats they face are similar across 60 diverse industry and professional sectors.

Government Funding/Policy and Changing Member Needs ranked as the two biggest future threats, followed closely by Increasing Competition with virtually all associations affected by one of these. 48 per cent of associations reported the extent of disruption they faced as either high or extreme, with another 42 per cent reporting moderate disruption.

The survey also identified the challenges currently holding associations back from peak performance. Unsurprisingly, Insufficient Resources ranked highest but the next three challenges were all controllable factors around skillsets, capacity and culture - Board Capability (41 per cent), Traditional Mindsets (40 per cent) and Resistance to Change (39 per cent).

Australian associations generally perform better on day-to-day operational matters such as immediate Mission Goals and Member Needs than on future focused activities. The worst four traits of association performance are Future Focus, Managing Change, Innovation and Commercial Growth – with 80 per cent of associations self-ranking themselves as poor or mediocre on commercial growth.

“The survey is the first of its kind to benchmark the challenges and opportunities facing Australian associations, and also identified key governance requirements”, said Omer Soker, CEO of The Ethics of Success Corporation and author of The Future of Associations.

26 per cent of Associations self-reported as having inadequate Governance Structures. Association Chairs ranked highest on Capability, with 55 per cent rated Excellent or Good, but Board Capability on Strategic Leadership and Risk Management was low, with 66 per cent and 67 per cent of Boards respectively rated as either Poor or Mediocre.

The survey was conducted online. A total of 1,000 associations were contacted with emails sent to CEOs, board directors and department heads of large, medium and small member serving associations across 60 sectors. Replies were tallied after the first 100 responses had been received. No incentives were provided to respondents.

This media release was sourced directly from News Maker online.

A national alliance of community housing and welfare groups is campaigning the government to abolish “unfair” negative gearing and put housing affordability at the centre of this federal election.

The alliance – made up of Homelessness Australia (HA), National Shelter, the Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA) and the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) – has created a petition calling for tax reforms that “put ordinary people ahead of the interests of investors”.

“Australia is in the midst of a housing crisis and current tax policy has fuelled Australian housing prices to record and unaffordable levels,” ACOSS CEO Dr Cassandra Goldie said.

“Tax settings that encourage speculative investment and inflate house prices – like negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount – must be addressed in a new national strategy to address housing affordability.”

She said these “unfair tax concessions” cost the federal budget more than $7 billion every year with over half of these tax breaks going to investors in the top 10% of income earners.

The petition is arguing that the savings from binning negative gearing could be redirected to improve affordability, including a tax rebate for new affordable housing, and significantly increased investment in public and community housing.

“ACOSS stands with the community in insisting that governments do all that they can to ensure everyone pays their fair share of tax to enable us to fund our services properly into the future and to help end the housing crisis that is pushing people into financial hardship,” Dr Goldie said.

This article was originally sourced from Australian Broker and was written by Julia Corderoy.

Thirty students representing 25 postgraduate organisations met at the Council of Postgraduate Association (CAPA) Special Council Meeting to discuss issues faced by postgraduate students in a corporatised university setting.

CAPA is the peak, not-for-profit body that represents 320,000-plus postgraduate students, through its 33 postgraduate affiliates and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Postgraduate Association (NATSIPA).

The two-day meeting was addressed by Jeannie Rea, national president of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) who reported the federal budget was holding onto fee deregulation through its sneaky policy of universities being able to charge anything they desired for “flagship courses”.

“The Turnbull government did not step away from their $100,000 degree policy,” she said. “The flagship courses were proposed in a report by Julia Gillard and are a gateway to fee deregulation and university managements charging whatever they want. Instead, the union is campaigning for well-funded public education across the system.

“We are the only union in the country that has fought for enterprise bargaining agreements that include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment targets — it would be good to have other unions emulate this.

“Our last round of bargaining focused on creating 1000 ongoing positions in universities for those who have been academic casuals, as one in two people in universities now have insecure jobs.

There are 80% of people employed in research who are now only are on short term fixed positions, employed from one project to the next.

“It is scandalous because funding is allocated for six years so universities know they have the money. It is also terrible when some vice-chancellors are making in one week what a casual academic makes in a year”.

Council of International Students Australia (CISA) representative Maximilian Obiakor, based at University New England, said: “The government just launched a report International Education Strategy which aims to increase international students from 500,000 to 1 million by 2020-2025. The rhetoric was very appealing but the courses are extremely expensive and they haven't granted concession cards in NSW and Victoria for postgraduate international students.”

Sharlene Leroy-Dyer, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Postgraduate Association (NATSIPA) liaison officer and Socialist Alliance candidate for the NSW Senate said: “Universities are whitestreaming. They are shutting Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander services and centres and reducing funding to Indigenous specific curriculum. Abbott introduced the Indigenous Advancement Strategy which means universities have to bid for funding for their Indigenous programs. One university's program had their funding halved.”

National President of CAPA Jim Smith said Melbourne University postgraduate students face “massive debt”.

“We already have $100,000 degrees. Deregulation of postgraduate fees already exists as there is no Commonwealth supported places for some courses. A lot of courses are not approved for Centrelink purposes so students face lots of debt and insufficient income support.”

Smith said university administrations don't treat postgraduate students very well. “For example Melbourne University trialled using Cadmus, which was purported to be an anti-plagiarism program, without letting students know. It monitored every key stroke that students made and operated with the principle of punishing people. It is not in line with educative response, and if universities teach people referencing skills they won't plagiarise. They were spying on students. Student organisations acted and demanded an end to the trial and the university agreed.

“There is a Federal election coming up and CAPA is looking to inform students on each political party's policy regarding higher education. While we don't think any parties are perfect on this issue, but we want to inform students about what each party's stance is and create a scorecard. So we are looking to share the experiences of postgraduate students on social media and print posters for all our affiliates with our election scorecard findings.

“CAPA stands for free education, so we want to make arguments about why education is a public good and call on political parties to commit to increased funding.”

CAPA general secretary and president of Monash University Postgraduate Association Peter Hurley said: “We want to win a higher rate for Australian Postgraduate Awards [scholarship for research students] because universities get a good deal out of students. We produce a lot of research output for the universities, who get a lot of grants for research but students are paid poorly.

“Monash University is really pitching the corporatisation of education. It tries to link everything to employability, not to learning and research. At Monash there is a compulsory training pitch in an elevator — you come across a venture capitalist in a lift and have to convince them of your research's 'worth'. 'Well this does not benefit society. Education should not have to justify itself to some kind of market paradigm. We need to value learning for learning's sake.”

The CAPA Conference occurred on National Sorry Day and, after being informed by Leroy-Dyer about the high rates of Aboriginal children being stolen still, the conference held a photoshoot calling on state and federal governments to “Stop Stealing Aboriginal Children”. 

CAPA also endorsed Moreland's No to Racism rally, national Palm Sunday Welcome Refugee rallies, national Rainbow Campus NOW campaigns, and Marriage Equality Now rallies.

This article was originally sourced from Green Left Weekly and was written by Rachel Evans.

MOST of us say “hey guys” to our colleagues several times a day and give it little thought.

But today Australian of the Year David Morrison, who has long fought for gender equality, says the term should no longer be used in the workplace.

The retired Lieutenant General, who made international headlines in 2013 for his rousing speech criticising the military’s sexist culture, has partnered with the Diversity Council of Australia (DCA) to launch a campaign called #WordsAtWork.

“Research has told us for years how language cuts people out or cuts them down, and yet it still happens,” he says in a DCA promotional video. “When it comes to words at work, we’ve all got to walk the talk.”

Words like “abo”, “retard”, “poofter”, “fag”, “dyke” and the term “so gay” are obviously offensive. A man who addresses a group of women with “hello ladies” or “hello girls” might raise a few eyebrows. But the DCA says “guys” is a gendered word that can make women feel left out.

“We want to get people thinking about the language they use in the workplace and whether it’s inclusive or excludes people,” Diversity Council of Australia’s CEO Lisa Annese told news.com.au.

“We’re not telling people what to say, we’re encouraging people to think about the words they use at work so everyone feels respected, valued and included. We know from research that when more inclusive language is used at work, people are greater engaged and more proactive.”

Ms Annese suggests using phrases like “Hi everyone” or “Hi team”.

“A really good test is reversing the gender. Would you walk into a mixed gender group and say  ‘Hello ladies’ or ‘Hello girls’? No, because men would be offended,” she said.

“I used to use the word guys. I have both genders in my team and I out of respect for everyone, I think it’s much better if I say ‘Hi team’ as it includes everyone. It’s a small change.”

Mr Morrison told the ABC he no longer uses the term “Hi guys” when speaking to a group of people.

“I have now removed that from my lexicon as best I can. I think it’s important,” he said.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has defended the phrase and says campaigners shouldn’t try to interfere in free speech at workplaces.

“I think we can take this kind of concern too far,” she said during a doorstop interview in Sydney today.

“There are some generic words that should not cause offence. It would depend on the circumstances but I don’t think we should try and interfere with the freedom of speech in this country to a point where people are too concerned about day-to-day conversations.”

This article was originally sourced from News online and was written by Rebecca Sullivan.

When it comes to helping children struggling to deal with trauma, violence or even low self-esteem, the Be Centre has a very simple solution. Playtime.

"[Especially] within the Aboriginal community the level of childhood trauma is high," executive director of the Be Centre Foundation Marisa Chilcott said.

"Play therapy helps a child make sense of situations so that childhood issues are resolved in a timely manner to ensure they do not continue to impact the child's life."

The centre, with sites in Warriewood and Manly, has just been awarded a $10,000 grant from the Westpac Foundation, which has allowed the charity to upgrade facilities and employ an Aboriginal community liaison officer.

"An Aboriginal community connect worker has also been employed to liaise and advise on cultural sensitivities for the project," Ms Chilcott said.

The Westpac Foundation was started in 1879 by Thomas Buckland, who was the president of the Bank of New South Wales (now known as Westpac), and originally focused on helping families of deceased employees.

Today, it awards financial grants to community-based projects all over Australia.

"Westpac has a very proud history of supporting the Australian community. Grants are awarded to local not-for-profit organisations with big, and small, ideas to change lives for the better. These grants give a crucial funding boost to local organisations, many of whom are volunteer-led," said Westpac Foundation CEO, Sinclair Taylor.

With 64 community grants in 2014, 92 in 2015 and now 100 in 2016, the foundation has helped 450 different organisations, including the Be Centre.

Mr Taylor said the selection board was impressed with Be Centre's track record for success.

"Be Centre Foundation had a few qualities that stood out. With a variety of Australia's leading childrens play therapists, [they] offer programs to help children who are experiencing emotional, behavioural and psychological difficulties," he said, outlining the positive impact the charity has on the Australian community.

The Westpac Foundation, which runs a number of grant programs with tailored criteria, are also involved with the most Australian organisation of them all: Surf Life Saving.

"The Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service is one of our longest corporate partnerships. Westpac has supported the service for more than 42 years where no one in the community has ever paid for a rescue," he said.

This article was originally sourced from the Sydney Morning Herald and and was written by Francesca Wallace.

The not-for-profit organisation Women in Games has hired Marie-Claire Isaaman as its new CEO.

She is replacing Jenny Richards-Stewart, who held the position for 18 months.

Isaaman formerly was a researcher and education consultant at Norwich University of the Arts for the past eight years. She worked as course leader on the BA Games Art and Design course and subject leader on the MA Games course. Isaaman has also been a long-standing member of the WIGJ executive team.

She commented: “I am delighted to be named as the new CEO of Women in Games, an inspirational and increasingly influential organization.

“I recognise the many achievements of my predecessors in the role and am fully committed to realising the organization’s vision of doubling the percentage of women working in the UK game industries by 2025. Ultimately, I want the UK to be a global exemplar for gender equality in making games.”

Founder of Women in Games David Smith added: “We welcome Marie-Claire to this busy role as the demands for more diversity in the games industry grow. We thank Jenny Richards-Stewart for all her hard work and congratulate her for her fantastic achievements over the last 18 months.”

This article was originally sourced from MCV and written by Marie Dealessandri.

New research from the Bridgespan Group highlights how requirements that nonprofits have low overhead could be making it harder for them to effectively fulfill their missions.

When it comes to nonprofits, mission is paramount. But overhead is still a necessary part of the equation, and charitable groups are often encouraged to keep their spending very low.

A new study from the Bridgespan Group, however, has a fresh take on the issue: Nonprofits shouldn’t have to starve their infrastructure spending in the name of keeping overhead low. Instead, the study argues, foundations should “pay what it takes” to build out that infrastructure.

The argument already has some fans among major philanthropic firms.

“All of us in the nonprofit ecosystem are party to a charade with terrible consequences—what we might call the ‘overhead fiction,'” noted Ford Foundation President Darren Walker in comments to the Stanford Social Innovation Review. “The data included in this article along with comparable data for our grantees convinced us that we had to make a change.”

Walker’s group doubled its investment in overhead as part of its most recent funding round, based on the study’s research. What’s in the study that inspired such a dramatic change? Well, here are a few of the key points:

Indirect costs are higher than budgeted. The study, which analyzed 20 high-performing nonprofits in a variety of sectors, found that indirect costs (the study’s more inclusive term for “overhead”) made up an average of 40 percent of the organization’s total costs—in some cases, far beyond the 15 percent overhead rate allotted by most foundations.

Different types of nonprofits have different needs. A research lab and a global NGO with a wide network of affiliates tend not to have a lot in common, other than the fact that they’re both in the nonprofit space. Because these organizations are so different, they often have different spending needs, with network and field management the most important cost for the NGO, and equipment the biggest cost for the research lab. By putting a firm cap on indirect spending by each organization, it can limit how well these organizations conduct their respective missions. The study showed that one of the research organizations analyzed had indirect costs that teetered near 89 percent, with physical costs the biggest point of pressure.

The focus on low overhead hurts charitable efforts. One group cited by the study, the head of a girls’ mentoring organization, said that the philosophical focus on keeping overhead low has led to disinterest in the real picture by foundations. “They don’t want to listen,” the CEO said. “So we have to have two budgets: one that has the real numbers, and another that shows the funders what they want to see. If you don’t give them what they want, they won’t give you any money.”

By making the point in the study, Bridgespan hopes to encourage a rethinking of how overhead is perceived by foundations and other donors.

“If nonprofits would commit to understanding their true cost of operations and if funders would shift to paying grantees what it takes to get the job done, the starvation cycle would end,” Bridgespan Manager Michael Etzel, a study coauthor, said in a news release. “The grantmaking conversation would shift from an emphasis on what it takes to fund a program to what it takes to build strong organizations and achieve impact.”

The full study can be read on the Stanford Social Innovation Review website.

This article was originally sourced from Associations Now and was written by Ernie Smith.

Western Australian obstetrician and gynaecologist, Dr Michael Gannon, was today elected new President of the Federal AMA, replacing Professor Brian Owler whose two-year term has come to an end.

Dr Gannon, the AMA WA President and former AMA WA Vice President, is the head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the St John of God Subiaco Hospital, where he was born.

He has been passionately involved with the AMA since he was a medical student, and has been Chair of the AMA’s Ethics and Medico-legal Committee for the past two years. He was inducted into the AMA Roll of Fellows at this year’s National Conference.

Dr Gannon said the Australian health system was at a crossroads, making the role of the AMA and its relationship with Government more important than it has ever been.

“The AMA needs strong leadership with an appetite to engage constructively with Government, whichever political party is in power,” Dr Gannon said.

“There are currently reviews into the Medicare Benefits Schedule, private health insurance, and primary health care underway.

“It is vital that the profession has a strong voice in Canberra, and is willing to embark on constructive interaction with Government in responding to the recommendations that these reports will inevitably include.

“If the Government does not talk to the AMA, and vice versa, we are both poorer, and it is our patients who suffer most.”

Victorian GP, Dr Tony Bartone, was elected Vice President. Dr Bartone is the outgoing President of AMA Victoria. He is a member of the AMA Federal Council, and was inducted into the AMA Roll of Fellows on Friday.

Both were elected at the AMA National Conference, which concluded in Canberra today. Their two-year terms commence immediately.

This press release was sourced directly from Australian Medical Association online. 

Registrations are now open for the 2016 ASAE Annual Meeting and Exposition in Salt Lake City. AuSAE is pleased to announce we will be hosting a delegation for all Australian Association Executives who would like to attend.

The meeting, which attracts thousands of delegates will be held August 13-16 at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, UT. This year’s program promises to deliver opportunities to gain valuable ideas to help manage your association more effectively, build fellowship, and learn about current trends within the industry with international colleagues.

Registration as part of the AuSAE delegation will provide you with a US$500 discount off the normal registration fee.

To register for the event and join the AuSAE delegation please email Toni Brearley toni@ausae.org.au for the unique delegation code.

We look forward to seeing you there!