Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed that Dr Daniel Mulino will serve as the Assistant Treasurer and Financial Services Minister.
During an announcement in Canberra, Albanese outlined the reshuffle of the broader ministry following several ministers retiring or stepping down.
Albanese said the ministers will be sworn in during a ceremony at 9am on 13 May.
Mulino had been widely tipped as a strong contender for the portfolio, given he has been a member of the House of Representatives standing committee on economics since 2019 and serving as the chair since August 2022.
Speaking on the appointment, the Prime Minister said he got the portfolio “because he’s terrific and he’ll do a terrific job”, adding that he was “very pleased to get the job”.
“He’s played a role in the Parliament here in economics, I believe the economics team remains strong, led of course by [Treasurer Jim Chalmers] and [Finance Minister Katy Gallagher],” Albanese said.
He also noted Mulino’s PhD from Yale as strong evidence of his suitability for the position.
The newly minted minister completed his doctorate at the US university in 2005, delivering his thesis, The Macroeconomics of aging: The impact of an aging society on capital deepening and international factor flows.
In 2022, he published Safety net: The future of welfare in Australia, a book that “explains how the Australian welfare state was created – and what we need to do to protect and extend it”.
Prior to entering Parliament, first in Victoria in 2014 before transitioning to the federal level in 2019, Mulino worked as a lawyer at the Attorney-General’s Department from 1995 to 1996, a policy adviser at the Department of Finance from 1997 to 1998, and an economist at the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal from 1998 to 1999.
Mulino replaces former minister Stephen Jones, who announced his retirement from politics in January and did not contest the election.
“I want to express my immense gratitude to my community for the faith and trust they have placed in me to be their representative since 2010,” Jones said at the time.
Commenting on the appointment, Financial Services Council (FSC) chief executive Blake Briggs said: “As chair of the House Standing Committee on Economics and a member of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services, Dr Mulino comes into the role with a good understanding of the significant economic contribution financial services industry makes to the Australian economy, as well as a balanced view on the opportunities and challenges the sector faces.
“Dr Mulino commences in the role with a range of important reforms underway, and has the opportunity to complete those processes with broad industry support.
“The FSC supports the Assistant Treasurer prioritising the government’s landmark financial advice reforms, which have the potential to significantly expand access to financial advice for Australians at scale and reduce costs for the financial advice profession.”
