A conversation with members of the Digital Platform Regulators Forum
DATE: Friday, 4th October 2024
VENUE: Dexus Place, Level 15, 1 Farrer Place, Sydney
TIME: 1.30pm-3.00pm AEST
A light lunch will be available from 1.30 pm with a 2 pm (sharp) start.
In 2022, the ACMA, ACCC, eSafety Commissioner, and OAIC came together to establish the Digital Platform Regulators Forum (DP-REG). This initiative aims to foster collaboration and information sharing among the four regulators to ensure that Australia’s digital economy remains safe, trusted, fair, innovative, and competitive. In July 2024, DP-REG released its strategic priorities for 2024-25. At this event, the heads of these regulatory bodies will discuss their key priorities, as well as the achievements and challenges they have encountered over the past two years.
Confirmed Speakers:
Gina Cass-Gottlieb – Chair, ACCC
Gina Cass-Gottlieb commenced her 5-year appointment as Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on 21 March 2022.
Before she joined the ACCC Gina was a senior and founding partner of Gilbert and Tobin’s competition and regulation team. Gina has over 25 years’ experience advising on a large number of merger, competition and regulatory matters in Australia and New Zealand. She is widely recognised as one of Australia’s leading competition and regulatory experts.
Gina was appointed by the Commonwealth Treasurer to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Payments System Board in 2013 and re-appointed in 2018. The Payments System Board is the regulator of access to payment systems. Gina was appointed to the Financial Regulator Assessment Authority in September 2021.
Gina has received numerous accolades from Chambers Asia Pacific, Legal 500 Asia Pacific, Who’s Who Legal, Lawyers Weekly Awards, Beaton Client Choice Awards and Best Lawyers Australia, for her competition and legal expertise.
Gina was a Fulbright Scholar at UC Berkeley from 1986 to 1987, majoring in US competition law, financial institutions regulation and securities regulation.
Gina is the first female Chair of the ACCC since it was established as an independent statutory authority in 1995.
Nerida O’Loughlin – Chair, ACMA
Nerida O’Loughlin was appointed Chair and Agency Head of the Australian Communications and Media Authority from 14 October 2017 for five years. Nerida was reappointed for a further two years from 14 October 2022.
Prior to joining the ACMA, Nerida was Deputy Secretary in the Australian Department of Communications and the Arts providing policy advice across telecommunications, broadcasting, online content and the arts. Nerida has also been responsible for major projects in the communications portfolio, including leading the Digital Television Switchover Program. Over her career, Nerida has also held senior positions in the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments, predominantly across the technology and cultural sectors.
Nerida is an Associate Member of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. In 2019, Nerida was awarded an Australian Public Service Medal in the Queen’s Birthday honours for outstanding public service.
Julie Inman Grant – Australian eSafety Commissioner
Julie Inman Grant is Australia’s eSafety Commissioner. In this role, Julie leads the world’s first government regulatory agency committed to keeping its citizens safer online. ?
The Commissioner’s career began at the US Congress in Washington, DC before joining Microsoft, where Julie spent 17 years in various corporate affairs roles. At Twitter, she set up the company’s policy & philanthropy programs across Australia, New Zealand & Southeast Asia and drove APAC-wide Government Relations for Adobe.
As Commissioner since January, 2017, Julie has overseen significant increases in the eSafety office’s budget, increased staffing levels and launched innovative programs such as the Safety by Design and Women in the Spotlight initiatives. Ms. Inman-Grant has established herself as a nimble and anticipatory regulator, establishing the innovative tech trends horizon scanning program in 2020.
Julie serves on the Advisory Board of the Technology Policy Design Centre. She served as co-founder and inaugural chair of the Global Online Safety Regulators Network and is a long-serving Board Member of the WePROTECT Global Alliance. She also serves on the World Economic Forum’s Global Coalition for Digital Safety; represents Australia on the Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Harassment & Abuse and serves on France’s Laboratory for Women’s Rights Online. Julie was recently deemed one of the top 150 women in the global cyber profession for the third year running.
More information can be found at www.esafety.gov.au.
Carly Kind – Privacy Commissioner, OAIC
Carly Kind commenced as Australia’s Privacy Commissioner in February 2024 for a 5-year term.
As Privacy Commissioner, she regulates the handling of personal information by entities covered by the Australian Privacy Act 1988 and seeks to influence the development of legislation and advance privacy protections for Australians.
Ms Kind joined from the UK-based Ada Lovelace Institute, where she was the inaugural director. As a human rights lawyer and leading authority on the intersection of technology policy and human rights, she has advised industry, government and non-profit organisations on digital rights, artificial intelligence, privacy and data protection, and corporate accountability in the technology sphere.
She has worked with the European Commission, the Council of Europe, numerous UN bodies and a range of civil society organisations. She was formerly legal director of Privacy International, a non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting data rights and governance.
Ms Kind has a Masters of Science, International Relations (Hons) from the London School of Economics, a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice, and a Bachelor of Arts (International Relations) (Hons) and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Queensland.
The discussion will be moderated by
Dave Poddar – Partner, Quay Law Partners
Dave Poddar is a partner with Quay Law Partners, a specialist Australian regulatory firm. He has over 20 years’ experience as a partner in private practice. Mr Poddar’s practice focuses on competition (antitrust) and consumer matters in Australia. Mr Poddar’s experience managing significant clearances for Australian and international M&A, joint ventures and alliances including for Emirates in its partnership with Qantas as well as competition and consumer litigation under the Australian Competition & Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)(CCA).
He has worked on infrastructure access and regulatory matters, including for Glencore in access applications and arbitrations in relation to access under Part IIIA of the CCA to the Port of Newcastle, as well as advising on investigations and cartel matters involving the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC).
He is a member of and former chair of the Law Council of Australia’s competition and consumer committee and a past co-chair of the International Bar Association’s antitrust committee and is on its Advisory Board.
Mr Poddar’s has acted in many high-profile mergers and acquisitions in Australia such as for SABMiller in relation to the acquisition of Fosters, Oracle’s acquisition of Aconex and Cerner and various acquisitions for Bunnings Group in Australia.
Mr Poddar’s has acted for various global tech companies in relation to the ACCC’s Digital Platform Investigations and resulting consultation by the Australian Treasury in relation to the proposed mandatory Codes of Conduct for Digital Platforms. He has been published in various law journals and newspapers on antitrust matters including in relation to Artificial Intelligence.
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This event is kindly hosted by
