A former member of the Victorian parliament and second-term federal member of parliament has been appointed as Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services in the returned Albanese Labor government.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced earlier today that Daniel Mulino would step into the role vacated by Stephen Jones who announced prior to the recent election he would retire from parliament.
Mulino is the member for Fraser, which covers western Melbourne, and won the seat at the 2019 federal election and again in the 2022 and 2025 elections. Prior to this he was a member of the Victorian Legislative Council for Eastern Victoria from 2014 to 2018, and served as Parliamentary Secretary for Treasury and Finance.
Financial Advice Association Australian chief executive Sarah Abood congratulated Mulino on the appointment and noted his background in finance and economics.
“We welcome the opportunity to work with him on issues such as the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes reforms, and fixing the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort. These are priorities that our members are keen to see addressed quickly by the federal government,” Abood said.
CPA Australia chief executive Chris Freeland noted the new role for Mulino, alongside the continuation of Jim Chalmers as Treasurer, Andrew Leigh as Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury, and Katy Gallagher as Finance Minister would provide continuity for the accounting and business sectors.
“We look forward to continuing our relationship with Dr Mulino, who served as chair of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics and as a member of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services in the previous term of the Albanese Government,” Freeland declared.
Financial Services Council chief executive Blake Briggs added Mulino’s previous parliamentary experience gave him an understanding of the economic contribution the financial services industry makes to the Australian economy and a balanced view on the opportunities and challenges the sector faces.
“Dr Mulino is recognised as a thoughtful and consultative member of parliament and has brought this approach to his policy development since first being elected in 2019,” Briggs noted.
“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,” he concluded.
