Australasia Digital Communications and Media Forum 2026

Speakers

Ben Au Manager, ANZ Public Policy, Snap

Ben joined Snap Inc’s Sydney office to lead Public Policy for Australia and New Zealand in September 2023. He previously led public policy for IGEA, the peak body representing the Australian and New Zealand video games industry. Prior to industry, Ben held a number of roles in the Australian Government, including working in online safety, classification, cyber policy, criminal justice and national security.

Ben Saint Head of Government Affairs, Oceania, Nokia

Ben Saint is Head of Government Affairs, Oceania at Nokia, based in Sydney. He brings over two decades of experience in government, having served as a political staffer and public servant across local, state, and federal levels in Australia – including as an adviser to the Minister for Communications. Earlier in his career, Ben worked in the not-for-profit sector, earning an Australian Honours Medal for his contributions. At Nokia, Ben leads engagement across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, advocating for public policy that supports innovation, investment, and sustainable digital infrastructure. His work includes collaborating with governments and other partners to advance trusted connectivity that supports socioeconomic outcomes in Pacific nations.

Brent Carey Chief Executive Officer, Netsafe, New Zealand

Brent Carey is the Chief Executive Office of Netsafe, New Zealand’s online safety charity. He has broad and extensive experience in regulatory, privacy, safety and justice environments along with a good understanding of both local and global online safety ecosystems. He was New Zealand’s second Domain Name Commissioner (2017 -2022) overseeing the .nz domain name space. He has worked for two Privacy Commissioners and an Australian Senator.

He has previously lived and worked in Australia holding senior positions at various integrity bodies, for example, the Australian Telecommunications Ombudsman, the Independent Broad Based Anti-Corruption Commission, the Victorian Institute of Teaching and the Victorian Privacy Commissioner’s Office.

Mr Carey serves on the Governance Committee of the Aotearoa New Zealand Code of Practice for Online Safety Harms adopted by Meta (Facebook and Instagram) Google (You Tube), TikTok, Twitch and Twitter. He is involved with several international bodies, including the International Council for Online Dispute Resolution and the Global Internet Forum to Counter-Terrorism. He is an Associate member of the Arbitrators and Mediators Institute of New Zealand and Member of Te Kotahitanga o Te Atiawa iwi, the indigenous peoples of Aotearoa (New Zealand). He is Co-Founder of Taranaki Agribusiness Green Meadows Beef.

He graduated from Victoria University of Wellington New Zealand with Law and Arts Degrees and has a Graduate Certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution ( Industry) from Boxhill Institute of TAFE Melbourne, Australia.

Some of his recent collaborations include the development of Global Principles on Digital Safety: Translating International Human Rights for the Digital Context for the World Economic Forum, Project Dragon with the University of Swansea to develop Online Grooming Spotting Tools and Advisor to the University of Otago Department of Marketing on its Datification of Children Project ( 2023-2026). He is an industry representative of the Human-Centred Phishing Susceptibility Research programme, comprising of researchers and partners from The University of Auckland, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Tainui Group Holdings, NIWA and ESR, Datacom. The research program is examining aspects of social engineering, psychology and cyber security to focus on the people side of phishing attacks.

Chris Hofer Head, International Spectrum Management and Strategy, Project Kuiper, Amazon

Chris Hofer joined Amazon Leo in 2020 as Head, international spectrum management and strategy, with responsibility for spectrum policy and satellite coordination. An engineer by training, Chris leads Amazon Leo’s work at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in preparation for the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) and operator-to-operator satellite radio frequency coordination. He also leads Amazon Leo’s collaboration with astronomers and currently serves as the co-chair of the Industry and Technology Hub at the International Astronomical Union’s Centre for the Protection of the Dark & Quiet Sky from Satellite Constellation Interference. In 2021, Chris co-chaired the industry subgroups for the SATCON2 and Dark and Quiet Skies 2 astronomy conferences.

Before Amazon, Chris served as director of regulatory affairs for Viasat, representing Viasat’s satellite interests in the ITU’s Working Party 4A preparations for the WRC. He also served as the elected international chairman of ITU-R Study Group 4 for two terms, from 2012-2019.

Previously, Chris was the lead representative for WRC activities for the Chief Information Office of the Office of Secretary of Defense. Earlier he worked at the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA), acting as the chairman of the Space Systems Subcommittee under the U.S. interagency spectrum group, Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee (IRAC).

He holds a master’s degree in telecommunications from the University of Colorado in Boulder and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from New Mexico State University.

Jane van Beelen Chief Legal & Regulatory Officer, nbn® Australia

Jane van Beelen Joined nbn on 1 October 2020 and joined nbn’s Executive Committee from 1 September 2021. As Chief Legal & Regulatory Officer, Ms van Beelen is the General Counsel of nbn and leads the company’s legal and regulatory functions. She is responsible for the provision of legal and regulatory expertise to our board and executives, leading our engagement with regulatory stakeholders and facilitating legal and regulatory compliance. The Legal & Regulatory business unit also incorporates the company secretary and non-discrimination obligations compliance office.

A telco industry veteran, Ms van Beelen joined nbn following a 25-year career across the legal, regulatory and corporate affairs functions at Telstra, where she led the company’s regulatory strategy and engagement for ten years and played a leading role in numerous reforms and regulatory outcomes across the telecommunications industry in Australia. Most recently she led the compliance and regulatory affairs function, with responsibilities extended to the company’s compliance framework and compliance programs including ethical behaviour, regulatory and privacy.

Ms van Beelen was also inaugural chair of the GSMA Asia-Pacific Policy Group and a global Policy Group member, served on the Boards of TIO Ltd and AMTA, including two years as AMTA chair, and continues to serve as a Director of Communications Alliance.

Jean-Jacques Sahel Asia-Pacific Head of Content Policy and Global Head of Telecommunications Policy, Google

Jean-Jacques Sahel was appointed Asia-Pacific Information Policy Lead at Google in November 2019, overseeing Google’s public policy approach in the region for issues including misinformation, online safety and intermediary liability.

He has been involved in international government and regulatory affairs for over 15 years in both the private and government sectors. Before joining Google, Mr Sahel was Managing Director of ICANN’s Brussels office and led the organisation’s corporate strategy and operations across the European region. He also led ICANN’s strategic plan for outreach, support and engagement with governments, private sector, and user groups throughout Europe, and worldwide for civil society.

Previously, Mr Sahel headed government and regulatory affairs for Skype, then digital policy at Microsoft for Europe, Middle-East & Africa regions. He had started his career in the City of London, before spending several years in the UK Government, leading in particular its international telecommunications policy.

Ex officio, Mr Sahel chaired the UK Chapter of the International Institute of Communications (IIC) from 2009-2019.  He currently serves on the IIC’s Board and is Chair of the IIC Strategy Committee. He was a member of OSAB, the Advisory Board of UK communications regulator Ofcom for 2 terms until 2016. He has authored articles and research in both mainstream media and academic publications particularly on Internet policy and governance.

Luke Coleman CEO, Australian Telecommunications Alliance (ATA)

Bio coming soon…

Lynn Robinson Director General, International Institute of Communications

Lynn Robinson became Director General of the International Institute of Communications (IIC), in March 2020.

Lynn is an experienced senior director and trustee / non exec-director, having held key senior leadership positions in the technology, built environment, regulation, accreditation and dental industries. She has extensive experience of professional membership bodies working within the full spectrum including, Regulatory bodies, Industry associations and Chambers of Commerce. Lynn is a well-known and established ambassador in these areas having led on many strategic programmes to aid engagement, growth, retention, change management, stakeholder and political engagement.

Nerida O’Loughlin Chair and Agency Head, Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA)

Nerida O’Loughlin was appointed Chair and Agency Head of the Australian Communications and Media Authority from 14 October 2017, initially for five years. Nerida has since been reappointed until 13 October 2027.

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 also an Associate Member of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and has been reappointed until 13 October 2027.

In 2019, Nerida was awarded an Australian Public Service Medal in the Queen’s Birthday honours for outstanding public service.

Ross Mitchell Head of Government Relations, TPG Telecom

Bio coming soon…

Stacey Wood Chief Executive, Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA), New Zealand

Chief Executive Stacey joined the BSA in September 2022. Stacey studied Law and English at Otago University and journalism at Massey University in Wellington. She worked as a reporter for the Dominion Post for several years before joining the legal profession, first in intellectual property law before going in-house. Before joining the BSA Stacey was a General Manager at Te Ao Rangahau Engineering New Zealand, overseeing the organisation’s legal, policy, public affairs and governance functions.

Sunita Bose Managing Director, DIGI - Digital Industry Group Inc.

DIGI is led by Sunita Bose, who is its Managing Director. Sunita Bose was previously the Head of Global Policy for the online petition platform Change.org, based in San Francisco. She developed the company’s Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, Community Guidelines and policy infrastructure to manage harmful user-generated content, in areas such as bullying, hate speech, defamation, misinformation, data privacy and child protection.

Before that, Sunita spent seven years working in a range of international and Australian advocacy and strategic communications roles at humanitarian aid agencies Oxfam and UNICEF, and has a Masters of Policy from the University of New South Wales. A leading advocate for the tech sector and the democratising power of the Internet, Sunita sits on the Government’s Digital Experts Advisory Committee and her opinions have been published in The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Guardian.

Tim Fawcett Director of Government Affairs, Cisco Systems

Bio coming soon …..

Tuesday 10 February 2026 - Regional Regulators Roundtable (Invitation Only)

13:30 - 14:00 Registration & Networking

14:00 - 14:15 Welcome

14:15 - 15:30 Regulatory collaboration in practice: moving to a more horizontal approach for the digital economy

Australia as a case study

15:30 - 16:00 Networking Break

16:00 - 17:15 International Comparisons

17:15 - 17:30 Close of roundtable

Wednesday 11 February 2026

08:30 - 09:00 Registration & Networking

09:00 - 09:15 Welcomes

09:15 - 09:45 Keynote

09:45 - 10:45 Comprehensive digital platform regulation – agile rulemaking for the digital economy

What institutional structures are most effective in addressing the global nature of large platforms and fostering the development of digital services?

• Update from the ACCC
• Regional comparisons

What parameters should be considered when designating a platform as having significant market power?

• Case studies

10:45 - 11:15 Keynote Conversation

11:15 - 11:45 Networking Break

11:45 - 12:30 Sustainability of news and public interest journalism

• Findings from the Australian News Bargaining Incentive consultation
• Sustainable business models in the context of changing consumer behaviours, advertising trends, the threats of mis- and disinformation and the impacts of AI
• Debating the efficacy of current and potential policy and regulatory interventions

12:30 - 13:15 Local content and prominence in the age of connected TV: from principle to measurable practice

• How are regulators and industry addressing the challenge? What specific actions are being taken, and what frameworks are being developed or revised to ensure that prominence is measured and maintained in a fair and transparent way that protect both audience choice and content diversity?
• What are the next steps for ensuring equitable media exposure across platforms?

13:15 - 14:00 Networking Lunch

14:15 - 15:30 Online protection of children and adolescents

• Implementation update: Australia’s new U16 online access ban
• Comparison with international approaches to online safety
• Regulatory and enforcement challenges
• Comparing standards and enforcement practices for age verification and content moderation
• Effectiveness of tools for parental control and shared responsibility
• Concrete examples of good practices internationally

15:30 - 16:00 Networking Break

16:00 - 16:45 Privacy in an AI world

• The feasibility of maintaining meaningful privacy in an AI-driven environment
• Update on latest tranche of privacy reforms in Australia – objectives, timelines, advice for those drafting their laws, comparisons regionally and internationally
• How can regulation balance innovation with strong protections for individuals?

16:45 - 17:30 Copyright & AI

• Assessing whether copyright is the right tool to govern training of generative AI models
• Considering other tools such as competition law and transparency requirements

17:30 Close of day one

17:30 - 18:45 Networking Reception

More information will be available soon

Thursday 12 February 2026

08:30 - 09:00 Registration & Networking

09:00 - 09:15 Welcome

09:15 - 09:45 Keynote

09:45 - 11:00 Investing in universal coverage – policy, regulatory and technology choices for underserved, rural and remote areas

• Long-term funding models to ensure resilient, equitable infrastructure
• How effective are mechanisms such as rural funds and subsidies, coverage obligations, wholesale access schemes? What are the alternatives?
• Should regulation prioritise affordability ex ante or the sustainability of investment ex post?
• Which emerging technologies— such as LEO satellite, device-to-device communication, FWA, community networks—are most viable for connecting the unconnected?
• What role does efficient and coordinated spectrum management play?
• What regulatory frameworks can support innovative pilot schemes?

11:00 - 11:30 Networking Break

11:30 - 12:30 Infrastructure in an AI-centric world: implications for investment, regulation, data sovereignty, power & cooling supply and connectivity

• What are the expectations for capacity growth due to AI?
• What is the business response to the capacity challenges of AI?
• Data centres as comms infrastructure – policy and regulatory considerations
• What are the current regulatory challenges? How are companies dealing with those challenges? Permitting challenges? Data sovereignty requirements?
• Are there ways in which governments can ease those permitting challenges?

12:30 - 13:15 Spotlight on investment in digital infrastructure corridors in the Pacific

13:15 - 14:00 Networking Lunch

14:00 - 15:15 Cybersecurity and national critical infrastructure resilience and protection

• Updates on Horizon 2 of Australia’s cyber security strategy and the Security of Critical Infrastructure (SOCI) Act review – priorities, vulnerabilities, implementation
• How are universal connectivity, hyperconnectivity, the expansion of mobile comms and AI increasing the surface area to be protected and therefore the sophistication of cyberthreats?
• Data centres as critical national infrastructure
• Establishing trust – roles for vendors, enterprises and governments
• Examples of collaboration across supply chains and across borders to counter the cyberthreat landscape

15:15 - 15:45 Networking Break

15:45 - 17:15 Crack down on phone scams, fraud and unsolicited communications: best practice international regulatory and industry collaboration

17:15 Closing Remarks