Michelle Deaker and Ross Buckley have been appointed as part-time members of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA’s) Payments System Board for terms of five years.
The two appointments were announced by Treasurer Jim Chalmers in a statement on Friday alongside the reappointment of Gina Cass‑Gottlieb, the current chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), for her third term on the board.
Dr Deaker is managing partner at Australian venture capital firm OneVentures and has more than 20 years of experience in the technology sector.
She has served on the boards of a range of organisations throughout her career including Seven West Media and NICTA (now CSIRO’s Data61).
Meanwhile, Professor Buckley is currently a professor at UNSW, specialising in fintech, central bank digital currencies, and the Consumer Data Right, with experience advising the Asian Development Bank along with various government departments in Australia and Asia.
“These appointments will continue the high level of skills and experience available to the board that helps maintain a well‑functioning payments system and ensures that it is effectively regulated,” Dr Chalmers said.
The RBA’s Payments System Board was originally established in 1998 to direct payments system policy for the Reserve Bank of Australia.
The Treasurer noted that the board is responsible for controlling risk, promoting the efficiency of the payments system, and promoting competition in the market for payments services, consistent with the overall stability of the financial system.
Current board members include Philip Lowe, who will remain chair until his term as RBA governor ends on 17 September, and Michele Bullock, who has served as deputy chair since 2016. Ms Bullock will take over as chair of the board once she becomes RBA governor on 18 September.
Other current members include John Lonsdale, chair of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), Scott Farrell, Deborah Ralston, and Greg Storey.
Under the recommended changes put forward as part of the RBA review, the Payments System Board will continue to be responsible for payments system policy.
Specifically, a monetary policy board, with responsibility for monetary policy decisions and oversight of the RBA’s contribution to financial system stability excluding payments system policy, will operate separately from a new corporate governance board.
