Welcome to The Centre for Financial Wellbeing
The Centre for Financial Wellbeing is a new Australian charity, that will focus on improving the financial resilience and wellbeing of those who are vulnerable to financial stress by building their capabilities, and creating partnerships to enable business leaders, policymakers and cross-sectoral innovators to also take action within their own sphere of control.
We will achieve our vision by providing a range of services including learning, training and skills development; targeted research and socially innovative experimentation; evidence-based consulting; program design and delivery; events and publications.
Our Team
Rebecca Hanifin is a senior marketing and strategy leader with over twenty years’ experience across finance and professional services. She is the Founder of Finture Consulting, and her career includes roles at Ernst & Young, Accenture, and a range of specialist financial services businesses.
Rebecca is passionate about the role quality financial advice can play in personal wellbeing. Knowing that access to financial guidance is not equal for everyone, she joined the board to support initiatives that build financial capability and create more inclusive pathways to financial wellbeing. Rebecca also mentors at the Women’s Resilience Centre and is a certified health coach and yoga teacher.
Anna Perera-Shaw is an experienced leader in financial services, known for her expertise in consumer credit, banking and payments. With more than a decade of experience, including her current role as Associate Director at Nature, she combines her expertise in quantitative and qualitative research with a passion for improving financial wellbeing.
Anna also holds a Graduate Certificate in Social Impact from the University of New South Wales, where she developed her skills in impact investment and corporate social responsibility. Passionate about helping consumers build financial wellbeing, she combines her sharp strategic insight with a heartfelt commitment to social change.
Karnali Bose has over 15 years’ experience working at the intersection of finance and social purpose. In her latest role as the Acting Head of the Financial Inclusion Action Plan (FIAP) at Good Shepherd New Zealand, Karnali led efforts to expand access to safe and affordable financial services. Her work emphasises cross-sector collaboration, practical action, and sustainable impact.
Through her leadership of the FIAP program, Karnali has championed programs to strengthen economic security, financial capability and organisational accountability in underserved communities. She is deeply committed to building inclusive systems that increase resilience, empower individuals, and foster long-term social equity.
An internationally recognised leader in the world of inclusive finance, Vinita specialises in the design of evidence-based programs to improve financial lives. As the inaugural Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Financial Wellbeing, Vinita will drive the Board’s vision to improve the financial wellbeing of those who are vulnerable to financial stress by building their capabilities, and creating partnerships to enable business leaders, policymakers and cross-sectoral innovators to take action to improve financial wellbeing within their own locus of control.
Vinita has successfully switched hats between the financial services industry, academia and civil society in Australia, balancing her professional career with a passion for fostering community-led action to enhance financial wellbeing. Her PhD from RMIT University exploring Indigenous worldviews on money, financial capability and wellbeing has been recognised for influencing policy and action in Australia.
A Fulbright scholar, Vinita proactively contributes to academic and cross-sectoral research on financial inclusion, wellbeing and entrepreneurship for marginalised groups, serving on Boards and Government-appointed Committees to turn these learnings into action. In her role as the inaugural Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Financial Wellbeing, Vinita will build on her professional experience in advising the government, industry, academia and community on practical ways to enhance financial inclusion, resilience and wellbeing in Australia and overseas.