The Migration Council Australia (MCA) is an independent, non-partisan, not-for-profit body established to enhance the productive benefits of Australia’s migration and humanitarian programs.

MCA brings together corporate Australia and the community sector to provide a national voice to advocate for effective settlement and migration programs.

We believe that the success of the migration program is critical to Australia’s future prosperity. Assisting new migrants and refugees to settle is an investment in the future of the Australian community, our economy and our prospective workforce.

Our aim is to promote greater understanding of migration and settlement and to foster the development of partnerships between corporate Australia, the community sector and Government.

MCA will contribute to the process of public policy making and encourage the development of support services for new arrivals.

Innes Willox is Chief Executive of the Australian Industry Group, a leading industry organisation representing businesses in a broad range of sectors including manufacturing, defence, ICT and labour hire.

Innes served as the Australian Consul General to Los Angeles from 2006 to 2008, where he represented wide-ranging Australian interests on the west coast of the United States, including in the areas of trade, finance, culture, bio-technology, environment and energy sectors.

He was Chief of Staff to the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer, from 2004 to 2006. Earlier, Innes held a number of private sector and government positions including Manager of Global Public Affairs for Singapore Airlines based in Singapore (2000-04).

Innes began his working career as a journalist. His positions included Chief of Staff at The Age newspaper in Melbourne and Chief Political Correspondent for The Age in the Canberra Parliamentary Press Gallery. Innes is also a Director of Australian Super and Board Member of National Industry Capability Network.

Carmel Guerra is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY) based in Melbourne.

CMY is a community-based organisation that provides services to and advocates for the needs of young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds.

Carmel is the convener of the national Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network (MYAN) and has over 20 years experience in the community sector.

Carmel is a member of the Australian Multicultural Council, Refugee Resettlement Advisory Council and the Youth Parole Board.

Gail Ker is the Chief Executive Officer at Access Community Services.

Gail was recently appointed Deputy Chair to the Australian Multicultural Council, reflecting her extensive experience in multicultural policy. With a longstanding reputation for innovative service solutions for newly arrived migrants and refugees, Gail has worked extensively to build an integrated community model of settlement.

Gail is the Acting Chair of Logan and Redlands Regional Development Board and sits on the Board for the Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland (ECCQ).

Gail’s 20-year long career at Access has seen it develop a national reputation for innovation and quality.

Appointed Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Santos in July 2008, having been appointed Acting Chief Executive Officer in March 2008. Joined Santos in September 2007 as Executive Vice President Growth Businesses. Member of the Environment, Health, Safety and Sustainability Committee of the Board. Director of Santos Finance Ltd.

Over 30 years of experience in the global oil and gas industry, including as Managing Director for BP Developments in Australasia from 2003 to 2007. Previously held senior positions with BP in Australia, the United Kingdom and Pakistan, and management and engineering roles at ARCO and Shell in the United States, Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Norway.

Director of the Migration Council Australia. Chairman of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens Foundation and Director of the Board of the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium in South Australia. Council Member of the Business Council of Australia and Royal Institute of Australia. Chair of the CSIRO Energy Strategic Advisory Committee. Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mechanical Engineering and elected in November 2012 as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.

Peter Nash is the National Chairman of KPMG Australia and also serves as a member of KPMG’s Global and Regional Boards. His previous positions with the firm include Regional Head of Audit for Asia Pacific, National Managing Partner for Audit in Australia, and head of KPMG Financial Services.

Peter has worked in geographically diverse and complex operating environments providing advice on a range of topics including audit, risk management, internal controls, business processes, and regulatory change. He has also provided both financial and commercial advice to many Government businesses at both a Federal and State level.

In his current role as National Chairman, Peter is responsible for the overall governance and strategic positioning of KPMG in Australia.

Peter is a board member of Reconciliation Australia, Koorie Heritage Trust and the Migration Council Australia.  He is a Member of the Advisory Council of The Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies and Honorary Auditor for Very Special Kids.

Andrew O’Keefe AM is co-host of Channel Seven’s weekend breakfast show Weekend Sunrise and host of The Chase Australia.  He was previously host of the long-running Deal or No Deal. He also co-hosted the historic tri-network tsunami appeal Reach Out to Asia in 2004 and the Logie Awards in 2005.

Andrew holds a law degree and worked in commercial litigation for five years with Australian firm Allens Arthur Robinson (now Allens Linklaters) and for a period with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre NSW.

Outside of his career in entertainment, Mr O’Keefe is a passionate advocate for social justice issues, particularly combatting all forms of violence against women and advocating for multicultural and migrant causes around Australia. He was a founding member and inaugural Chairman of White Ribbon Australia, and a member of the first National Council for the Prevention of Violence Against Women and their Children, which drafted the First National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children.

Andrew lives in Sydney and is married with three children.

Joe Powell is currently the Chief Executive Officer of publicly listed, global sports technology leader – Catapult Sports, Joe has extensive experience managing and operating multinational businesses in the technology sector.

Prior to Catapult, Joe spent 10 years with SEEK Ltd. In that time he was Managing Director of SEEK Education where he oversaw various education businesses including SEEK Learning, CATHO Education in Brazil, JobStreet Learning in Malaysia, OCC Education in Mexico and Online Education Services (Swinburne Online). Joe also spent six years as Managing Director of SEEK Employment, responsible for the day-to-day management of SEEK’s core Online Employment business in Australia and New Zealand, including overseeing the sales, marketing, product, customer service, operations and IT teams.

Prior to SEEK, Joe spent 11 years at Optus in various management roles, after starting his career as an accountant at PwC.

Joe also has significant board experience with Online Education Services and IDP Education and is a current director of the Richmond Football Club.

Joe is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, has completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Tasmania.

Cath Scarth was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Adult Multicultural Education Services (AMES) in 2011.

Cath has over 20 years experience in designing, implementing and evaluating a wide range of innovative social programs and enterprises both in Australia and the UK.

Prior to her appointment as CEO, Cath was General Manager Of Community and Policy, driving innovation in partnerships with employers, government and the community sector to achieve positive employment and settlement outcomes for newly arrived migrants and refugees.

Cath is also involved in the broader development of social enterprises through her role as a founding board member of Social Traders.