Expert Members are experienced international education experts and practitioners who collectively provide the Australian Government with targeted and effective advice from the most authoritative sector voices.
On this page:
Appointed members
The Hon Phil Honeywood CEO, International Education Association of Australia (IEAA), (Co-convener)
Mr Honeywood has been CEO of the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA) since November 2011. IEAA is a not-for-profit peak body that represents all sectors of international education in Australia. Mr Honeywood brings extensive experience in international education. This includes significant experience on education boards, including the Victorian Government International Education Advisory Committee, the StudyNSW International Education Advisory Board, the Higher Education Standards Panel and the New Colombo Plan Steering Group.
Mr Honeywood was the Member for Warrandyte in the Victorian State Parliament from 1988 to 2006. During this period he served as Deputy Leader of the Opposition (2002 to 2006), Minister for Tertiary Education, Training and Multicultural Affairs (1996 to 1999) and as Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier (1992 to 1996). From 2009 to 2011, Mr Honeywood was CEO of Cambridge International College.
Mr Simon Finn - Head of Strategic Engagement and Government Relations, Navitas Australia (Co-Convener)
Mr Finn provides policy leadership to Australia's largest independent higher education company Navitas in his role as Head of Government Relations and Strategic Engagement. Over three decades Navitas has partnered with Australian universities to deliver pathway programs that support international students to succeed. Prior to working with Navitas Mr Finn was the CEO of Independent Higher Education Australia.
Mr Finn was the Member for Yeerongpilly in the Queensland State Parliament from 2004 to 2012. During this period he served as the Minister for Government Services, Building Industry and ICT, Assistant Minister for Industrial Relations and as a Government Whip. Before entering parliament Mr Finn worked in the university sector in Victoria and Queensland.
Professor Michael Wesley, DVC, The University of Melbourne
As Deputy Vice-Chancellor International at the University of Melbourne, Professor Wesley provides leadership across the University, with overall responsibility for strategic guidance and expert advice on internationalisation and global engagement. He is also Professor of Politics at the University of Melbourne. His research and writing focuses on Australian foreign policy and the international affairs of Asia and the Pacific. His 2011 book, There Goes the Neighbourhood: Australia and the Rise of Asia won the John Button Prize for best writing on Australian politics and policy, and was shortlisted for the Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards
Professor Wesley has been an Expert Member of the Australian Government’s Council for International Education since 2019; an Australian representative at the ASEAN Regional Forum’s Expert and Eminent Persons Group since 2018; and was appointed to the Universities Accord Ministerial Reference Group in December 2022. He is chair of the Group of Eight’s Global Engagement Group.
Mr Mel Koumides, CEO, Academia International
Mr. Koumides has 18 years of experience in the Vocational and ELICOS training sectors. He has held prior roles as council / board member of both state and federal government and industry associations, plus an extensive North Asian regional knowledge as APAC lead for a multinational IT organisation, prior to establishing Academia International.
Mr Koumides brings an extensive knowledge in international education. Mr. Koumides is the current chair of ITECA’s International Policy Committee.
Mr Derek Scott, CEO / Principal and Haileybury
Derek is the CEO and Principal of Haileybury, Australia’s largest independent school. Haileybury has over 5,000 students across four campuses in Melbourne and 950 students at Haileybury Rendall School in Darwin. Haileybury Rendall School has 90 indigenous boarders and students in an international boarding house. Haileybury has campuses and programs in nine cities across China, Vietnam, Timor-Leste, and the Philippines. In 2023 Haileybury also launched Haileybury Pangea a virtual school online campus for students from Years 5 to 12.
Derek is also the Chair of the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. In 2019 he was awarded the Australian Principal of the Year at the Australian Education Awards. In 2022 he was presented with the International Education Association of Australia’s Leadership in International Education Award.
Ms Anouk Darling, Chief Executive Officer, Scape
Ms Darling joined Scape in February 2022, Australia’s largest developer, owner and operator of Purpose Built Student Accommodation with close to $7b in assets under management. Ms Darling is leading the integration of the $2.2b acquisition of Urbanest into the Scape portfolio following a four year stint with private equity group Allegro, specialists in transformational capital.
In an effort to raise awareness of the Purpose Built Student Accommodation sector and better student experiences in Australia, Anouk is leading the charge as the inaugural Chair of the Property Council of Australia’s ‘Student Accommodation Council’, underpinning Australia’s largest services export.
Ms Darling is also renown as one of Australia’s leading brand builders, including the creation of the Jetstar and Scentre Group brand to the rebranding of Westpac and Westfield.
Additional board roles include The Property Council of Australia, Non-Executive Directorships; ASX-listed Enero Group (ASX: EGG) a digitally centric global marketing services group and Discovery Holiday Parks (Gday Group), a South Australian company owned by Australian Retirement Trust.
Ms Jane Johnston, Chief Executive, Study Adelaide
Jane Johnston commenced as the Chief Executive of StudyAdelaide in 2022, following a career in international education and marketing that includes senior roles with the University of Adelaide and StudyAdelaide. StudyAdelaide’s role is to increase awareness of Adelaide as a study destination and deliver programs to support international students and recent graduates in Adelaide.
Jane has led nationally award-winning destination marketing campaigns and worked with federal, state and territory governments to deliver support programs of scale to international students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jane was educated at the University of South Australia, gaining a Bachelor of Management (Marketing) and Bachelor of Business (International Business). During her studies Jane spent a semester abroad in Toronto, Canada.