About

We work to raise awareness and advocate for better policy to address digital threats to Australian democracy in two ways:

First, we develop and promote a public policy agenda that sets fair rules and standards for Big Tech companies that align with democratic values in Australia. Our integrated strategy drives policy reform across content moderation, data privacy, elections, security, child safety and protection from foreign interference. We support research that builds the case for change.

Second, we work to build public support for an internet that serves democracy – explaining the issues, co-creating solutions and building public support for change.

We are an Australian affiliate of Reset, an initiative working to counter digital threats to democracy across the world. Reset Australia is a not-for-profit charity registered in Australia with close ties to our international partner. We share a common mission and organisational values. Our teams are coordinated in our goals and activities, and we benefit from the knowledge, relationships, and financial resources of Reset’s international network.

Board

Reset Australia benefits from an expert Board that offers strategic counsel as well as institutional guidance. The Board holds responsibility for fiscal and administration oversight and supports the coordination of programmatic activity between Reset and Reset Australia.

Dr Catriona Wallace

Dr Catriona Wallace

Dr Catriona Wallace loves robots and thinks they will likely take over one day.

Catriona is the CEO of Ethical AI Advisory and the Founder of Flamingo AI, an Artificial Intelligence software company based in the US and Australia. Catriona also sits on the Board of Boab AI. Dr Wallace is acknowledged by the AFR as one of the most influential women in business and entrepreneurship. Interestingly, Catriona is also an Adjunct Professor, was once a police officer and nightclub owner, and now is one of the world’s most cited commentators on AI and Ethics. Catriona is a philanthropist, human rights advocate, environmentalist and mother of five.

Amit Singh

Amit Singh is a consultant specialising in economics and policy and advises clients in financial services, government and the tech sector. He is a managing director at the consultancy, AlphaBeta. He was previously head of global economic and work policy at Uber in San Francisco. He has also served as senior economic adviser to two Australian Prime Ministers. Earlier in his career, he worked as a capital markets lawyer and co-founded a consumer aggregator with over 350,000 members. He has delivered papers and presentations on digital marketplaces and the future of work at the OECD and ILO.

Ben Scott

Ben is executive director at Reset, where he is responsible for strategic direction, overseeing the coordination of policy, technology and civic engagement work, providing expert counsel on policy development and advocacy. His mission is to push financial, knowledge and relational resources into a global network of organisations working to achieve shared aims. Before starting Reset, he co-led the Stiftung Neue Verantwortung (SNV) in Berlin, helping develop the organisation into a leading tech policy voice in German politics. He was also a Senior Adviser to New America in Washington DC, helping design the Public Interest Technology Initiative, and led the technology policy advisory group for the 2016 Clinton US presidential campaign.

Chris Cooper

As the Executive Director of Reset Australia, Chris brings over a decade of experience in strategic communications, advocacy and creative content production. Through his early career in media production and international development, he developed a deep interest in the role of culture and storytelling in shaping values, behaviours and systems, and how they can be leveraged to enable change and drive progress. Chris has co-designed, built and implemented issue-driven programs and campaigns across numerous continents and issue areas.

Simon Goff

Simon has deep experience working on some of the world’s most complex problems - crafting new ways to channel the power of culture toward positive social change. Through his career he has built unique partnerships to harness the potential of powerful storytelling to mobilise people to action. He is currently Managing Director and Partner at Purpose, where he has led projects with clients including The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the LEGO Foundation, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, Google, Unilever, the World Health Organization, the Red Cross, AGL, and The Fred Hollows Foundation on issues including early childhood development, digital rights, climate change, avoidable blindness, and women’s empowerment.

Partners

We partner with a range of organisations and institutions for different initiatives, and our partners are listed below.

The Ethics Centre

The Ethics Centre is a not-for-profit organisation developing and delivering innovative programs, services and experiences, designed to bring ethics to the centre of personal and professional life.

Luminate

Established in 2018, Luminate is a global philanthropic organisation with the goal of empowering people and institutions to work together to build just and fair societies.

Purpose

Purpose uses public mobilisation and storytelling to help the leading organisations, activists, businesses, and philanthropies to shift policies and change public narratives when it matters most.

Minderoo Foundation

Minderoo Foundation is proudly Australian and one of Asia’s largest philanthropies. Reset Australia is supported by the Frontier Technology initiative.

Staff

The day-to-day operations of Reset Australia are managed by a small Australian team.

Rys Farthing

Data Policy Director

[email protected]

Dhakshayini Sooriyakumaran

Tech Policy Director

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Dylan Williams

Communications Lead

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Elena Yi-Ching Ho

Policy Fellow

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Alex Mcintosh

Strategy Lead

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Brigitte Harbrow

Operations Lead

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Registered Charity

We are a not-for-profit charity registered with the ACNC and are currently philanthropically funded. Since inception, we have received grants, funding and support from Luminate, Minderoo Foundation, Susan McKinnon Foundation, Purpose Asia Pacific and the Australian Communities Foundation Impact Fund.

Previously we were called Responsible Technology Australia.