Federal budget 2026-27: UNSW experts available for comment

On 12th May 2026, the Australian government will deliver the 2026-27 federal budget. The following UNSW experts are available for comment on relevant themes. 

Experts who are available for comment on various federal budget topics 

Richard Holden, Professor of Economics at the School of Economics, UNSW Business, is available to comment on any aspect of the budget, including its economic impact. He can be reached at [email protected]. (Please note: Prof. Holden will be in the budget lockup).   

Peter Swan, Professor of Finance at the School of Banking and Finance, UNSW Business, is available for comment. He can be reached at [email protected]. Prof. Swan is available to speak about cost-of-living, tax reform and intergenerational fairness.  

Cost-of-living 

Dr Nalini Prasad, Senior Lecturer at the School of Economics, UNSW Business, is available for comment. She can be reached at [email protected]. Dr Nalini says she can talk about “how cost-of-living measures are implemented and their effects on the overall economy. Measures to improve productivity are important for generating long-run growth.” 

Dr Chris Martin, Associate Professor at the City Futures Research Centre, UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture, is available for comment. He can be reached at [email protected]. His research interests are in rental housing and housing affordability. 

Hal Pawson, Emeritus Professor and former Associate Director at the City Futures Research Centre, UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture, is available for comment. He can be reached at [email protected]. His main area of research is housing policy governance and strategy. Prof. Pawson says, “Despite Rent Assistance increases in 2023 and 2024 that will have significantly eased financial pressures for inflation-hit tenants, a further hike in maximum receivable amounts would be apt to offset the renewed rent spike emerging in 2025-26, as well as RA's long-term devaluation compared with actual rents in the market.” 

Tax Reform 

Jeff Coulton, Associate Professor at the School of Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, UNSW Business, is available for comment. He can be reached at [email protected]. He can comment on matters relating to dividends and imputation (franking) credits. A/Prof. Coulton says, “I research the economic impact of taxation measures on the value to investors of dividends and associated imputation credits.”  

Ann Kayis-Kumar, Professor at the School of Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, UNSW Business, is available for comment. She can be reached at [email protected]. Prof. Kayis-Kumar can comment on Tax Reform, specifically any changes that may come through on ‘coerced directorships’.  

Dale Boccabella, Associate Professor of Tax at the School of Accounting, Auditing & Taxation, UNSW Business, is available for comment. He can be reached at [email protected]. A/Prof. Boccabella can speak to debt, deficit, tax policy and intergenerational fairness.  

Productivity 

Petr Sedlacek, Professor at the School of Economics, UNSW Business, is available for comment. He can be reached at [email protected]. He can comment on productivity and business dynamism. Prof. Sedlacek says, “I research how business dynamism – the process of firm entry, growth and exit – impacts the macroeconomy, especially through productivity growth. I will be able to speak to how initiatives in the budget may influence business dynamism and productivity growth.” 

Dr Sue Keay, Director of UNSW’s AI Institute, is available to comment on how artificial intelligence can help improve domestic productivity. She can be reached on [email protected] 

Industry and Manufacturing 

Chun Wang, Professor and Head of the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing, UNSW Engineering and the Director of the ARC Research Hub for Connected Sensors for Health, can comment on advanced manufacturing. He can be contacted at [email protected]. 

Sami Kara, Professor at the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing, UNSW Engineering, can comment on sustainable manufacturing and life cycle engineering. He can be contacted on [email protected].  

Health and Aged Care 

Julian Trollor, Scientia Professor and Director of the National Centre of Excellence in Intellectual Disability Health at UNSW, is available for comment.  He can be reached at [email protected]. Prof. Troller can comment on changes to the NDIS and their impact on health and wellbeing for people living with disabilities. His research is focused on addressing the health inequalities experienced by people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Prof. Trollor says, 'for people with intellectual or developmental disability, the NDIS enables engagement with critical supports and services essential to their needs and participation in society. Reform must be grounded in inclusion, human rights, evidence and improved access to integrated supports." 

Joel Rhee, Associate Professor and Head of the Discipline of General Practice, at the School of Clinical Medicine, UNSW Medicine & Health, can comment on primary health care. He can be reached at [email protected].  

Peter Gonski, Conjoint Professor at the School of Clinical Medicine, UNSW Medicine & Health, can comment on aged care. He can be reached at [email protected]. Prof. Gonski says, “I would like to see more commonwealth funding for community aged care packages and outreach services, and more funding support for state governments, to help older patients be discharged from hospital earlier.” 

Susanne Röhr, Associate Professor at the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), UNSW Sydney, is available for comment. She can be reached at [email protected]. Her research focuses on healthy ageing, dementia prevention, brain health, and the social and structural determinants of health. She can comment on preventative health investment, population ageing, health inequities, and long-term sustainability of the health and aged care systems. A/Prof. Röhr says, “Australia’s ageing population is often framed as a future challenge for the health system, but there is also a major opportunity to reduce long-term pressure through stronger investment in prevention, healthy ageing, and equitable access to health-supporting environments across the life course. Supporting brain health and reducing dementia risk requires action well beyond healthcare alone.” 

Green Energy 

Katja Ignatieva, Associate Professor at the School of Risk & Actuarial Studies, UNSW Business, is available for comment. She can be reached at [email protected]. A/Prof. Ignatieva can comment on factors impacting prices and volatilities in energy markets; supply and demand imbalances, geopolitical events impacting prices; forecasting market trends and integration of renewable energy sources. 

Global Supply Chains 

Dr Tim Neal, Senior Scientia Fellow at the School of Economics and Institute for Climate Risk and Response, UNSW Business, is available for comment. He can be reached at [email protected]. He can comment on climate change, its role in the current cost-of-living crisis and the fragility of global supply chains. Dr Neal says, “I research the economic impacts of climate change. I will be able to speak to the initiatives in the budget that relate to the environment and how they may interact with the cost of living, the economy, and the fragility of global supply chains.” 

Maggie Dong, Professor at the School of Marketing, UNSW Business, is available for comment. She can be reached at [email protected]. Prof. Dong can speak to global supply chain pressures, resilience, and how budget measures may affect trade flows, logistics costs, business productivity, and inflation.