Goodstart stories
Goodstart’s Early Childhood Teacher, Catherine Jones, wins Prestigious Scholarship
We are delighted to share that Goodstart Kurri Kurri’s Educational Leader and Early Childhood Teache...
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Goodstart is passionate about providing all children, from birth, with the best opportunities to develop into wonderful people.
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Goodstart’s strong commitment to deliver high quality early learning and ensuring positive outcomes for all children in partnership with their families is evident in all we do.
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Goodstart’s commitment to research is advancing the national and international evidence base on the value of early childhood education.
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Ensuring all Australian children can regularly attend high quality early learning – no matter what barriers they face – is a vital part of Goodstart’s work.
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Ensuring that all children have access to high-quality education in their early years is a vital part of addressing intergenerational disadvantage in Australia. Goodstart has a unique capability and opportunity to help make this goal a reality.
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Investing in early education for all Australia’s children is the best investment Australia can make.
Goodstart’s Board ensures the organisation’s behaviour is consistent with its Vision, Purpose and Strategic Priorities. The Board of Goodstart has ultimate responsibility to the Member organisations for the strategy and performance of the company in general. The Board is dedicated to fulfilling these duties in a lawful and professional manner, and with the utmost integrity and objectivity.
Paul Robertson AO
Goodstart Chair, Non-Executive Director. Chair of People and Culture Committee, Member of Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, Member of Quality and Social Purpose Committee, Member of Safety, Health and Wellbeing Committee
B Comm; FCPA
Appointed 01 December 2019
Paul Robertson has extensive experience as a non-executive director and chair in a wide variety of commercial and not for profit organisations across Australia. He is the immediate past Chair of Social Ventures Australia, St Vincent’s Health Australia and Alzheimer’s Australia. He was also a Non-Executive Director of Dementia Australia, Sydney Theatre Company Foundation and Telco Together Foundation.
Paul is currently Chair of Humanity Health Group, Better Health Generation UK, Tonic Media Network, SIPfHER Precinct Council, Grace Papers, FP Ability, Able Foods and Founder and Executive Director of the Financial Markets Foundation for Children. He has broad experience in finance, including 27 years as Global Treasurer and Executive Director at Macquarie Bank.
Paul was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2018 for distinguished service to the community through ethical leadership and management of, and philanthropic contributions to, health, social enterprise, research, education and arts organisations.
Natalie Walker
Goodstart Deputy Chair, Non-Executive Director. Member of Quality and Social Purpose Committee, Member of People and Culture Committee, Member of Safety, Health and Wellbeing Committee
BA (Psych); LLB
Appointed 01 December 2018
Natalie Walker is the founder and Managing Director, of Inside Policy, a privately held boutique public consultancy and data analytics firm that advises government, corporates and not-for-profits on a range of social and economic policy matters. Natalie is a committed advocate for reconciliation and was previously the Chief Executive Officer of Supply Nation, a start-up greenfields company focused on increasing the participation of Indigenous business in the supply chain of Australia’s largest companies.
She is a Non-Executive Director of Life Without Barriers, Jawun and the Telstra Foundation. Natalie has previously held roles at KPMG Australia, the Australian Human Rights Commission, and in the Queensland Government.
Dr Ros Baxter
Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer
PhD; LLB; BSW; BA
Appointed March 2023
Ros Baxter is a leading Australian education executive who has spent the last 25 years working and partnering around the idea that early intervention and education are the keys to addressing intergenerational disadvantage. Since starting her career as a frontline social worker in child protection, Ros has worked across government and with partners in the community and research sectors to maximise understanding, investment and effective interventions for children and families. Before joining Goodstart, Ros was the Deputy Secretary for the Australian Government Department of Education and former First Assistant Secretary, Social Policy Division, of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
With a strong background in public policy as both a leader and policy analyst, in addition to consultancy experience, Ros brings a deep understanding of issues affecting children, families and the sector, benefitting Goodstart’s vision and purpose and ongoing focus to deliver on our strategic goals. In designing solutions, Ros is an advocate of partnering closely with families, educators and early learning services who know and understand children the best. With four children of her own, she believes that every person is different and differently capable, and that everyone has the right to a great start in life.
Lynelle Briggs AO
Non-Executive Director. Chair of Safety, Health and Wellbeing Committee, Member of Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, Member of Quality and Social Purpose Committee
B Econ; GAICD
Appointed 15 December 2015
Lynelle Briggs is currently an independent member of the Government’s Aid Governance Board. Lynelle was a Commissioner on the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. She recently completed a review for the Australian Government on how to reduce politicisation of government board appointments.
Lynelle was formerly Chair of Maritime Super, Chairperson of NSW’s Planning Assessment Commission, Chairperson of the General Insurance Code Governance Committee, Councillor of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Board and a non-executive director of the Australian Rail Track Corporation. Lynelle is a former Australian Public Service Commissioner and former chief executive of Medicare Australia. She has extensive experience in the Australian Public Service, working in a wide range of fields, including social security, health and community services, transport, external territories, employment and labour market support and veterans’ affairs.
Lynelle became an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia in 2013 for distinguished service to public administration, particularly through leadership in the development of public service performance and professionalism.
Philip Coffey
Non-Executive Director. Member of Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, Member of Quality and Social Purpose Committee, Member of Safety, Health and Wellbeing Committee
B Econ (Hons); GAICD; SF Finsia
Appointed 06 December 2021
Philip Coffey is a highly regarded senior executive leader who has deep financial services experience. For over 20 years, Phil worked at Westpac Banking Corporation including three years as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Westpac Group. Prior to this role, Phil held a number of executive positions at Westpac including Chief Financial Officer and Group Executive. A passion for education led to Phil’s involvement in the Westpac Scholars program and his appointment as the inaugural Chair. Phil has over 30 years of senior executive experience – from leading significant investment decisions, large technology projects to mergers and acquisitions. Phil began his career at the Reserve Bank of Australia and he has also held executive positions at Citibank.
Phil is a Non-Executive Director of Macquarie Group Limited and Lendlease. He recently retired from the Board of Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
Professor Sir Kevan Collins
Non-Executive Director. Member of Quality and Social Purpose Committee, Member of People and Culture Committee, Member of Safety, Health and Wellbeing Committee
Ed.D
Appointed 01 December 2018
Kevan Collins has had a long career in education and public service. After stepping down from full time work as the Chief Executive at the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), he now supports a range of UK and international child and youth focused organisations. Prior to joining the EEF in 2011 as its first Chief Executive Officer, he was Chief Executive and Director of Children’s Services in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Kevan is now a Board Member of the EEF. Kevan started his career teaching in east London. He went on to lead schools in Yorkshire and London and became the National Director of the Primary National Strategy in 2002.
Kevan is Chair of the Youth Endowment Fund and Cognita Schools and Executive Vice Chair of Learning by Questions. Kevan is also a Board Member of the Australian Education Research Organisation.
Kevan completed his doctorate in 2001 and is a visiting professor at the University College London Institute of Education. He was knighted for his services to education in 2015.
Chris Harrop
Non-Executive Director. Chair of Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, Member of Quality and Social Purpose Committee, Member of Safety, Health and Wellbeing Committee
MBA (Hons), B Comm (Hons)
Appointed 01 January 2019
Chris Harrop is an Advisory Partner in the Sydney office of Bain & Company where he has worked for over 30 years in the US, UK and Australia. Bain is a global strategy consulting firm with over 14,000 staff across 65 offices in 40 countries. Chris has specialised in the services sector and on projects addressing corporate strategy, customer experience improvement and broad-based transformational change.
Chris formerly served on Bain’s global Board of Directors, and is a Non-Executive Director of Social Ventures Australia. He was a long-serving Board Member of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra. He is a cofounder of Restacking the Odds, a not-for-profit partnership between Bain, Social Ventures Australia and MCRI working to address inter-generational disadvantage in Australia, and is a strategic advisor to For Purpose Investment Partners.
Chris earned an MBA with Honours from IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland, and a Bachelor of Commerce with First Class Honours in Marketing from Otago University in New Zealand.
June McLoughlin AM
Non-Executive Director. Chair of Quality and Social Purpose Committee, Member of Safety, Health and Wellbeing Committee
M.Ed
Appointed 15 December 2015
June McLoughlin is Principal Advisor of Our Place, a Colman Foundation Initiative. June has extensive experience in both policy and service development, research and practice in the early childhood, family support and children’s services fields, which has given her a broad and deep understanding of issues relevant to the needs of parents and their children. June has managed many state and national projects designed to refocus early years services to provide more integrated support for families with young children with a particular interest in vulnerable children.
In 2023, June became a Member in the Order of Australia for significant service to child advocacy and early learning.
“What Goodstart’s founders, board and CEO have achieved after purchasing the failed ABC Learning business empire some nine years ago is nothing short of extraordinary. Their shared belief and conviction about early learning in the first five years, and its impact on lifelong educational and social outcomes has propelled their journey from day one. Goodstart is a story of what’s possible with entrepreneurism, and a strong vision closely tied to strong corporate governance.
With significant founding debt repaid ahead of schedule, Goodstart has become a successful billion dollar for purpose organisation, a leading early learning provider and Australia’s largest social enterprise. Many lessons can be taken from Goodstart. Their vision has remained constant, however their ability to continually adapt and refine its strategic direction to thrive, despite the most competitive sector conditions, is testament to building a solid foundation built on leadership, governance and accountability.”
– John Atkin FAICD, Chair, Australian Institute of Company Directors
