Advocacy - Program Overview
The design industry makes a significant contribution operating across diverse sectors, industries and communities. In addition to delivering on increased revenues and profitability, design is pivotal in solving complex problems to meet emerging social and environmental challenges making the world a better place.
The DIA news pages provide context, resources, reports, submissions and additional information about new policies and those under development.
Developing and promoting a national policy agenda is key to increasing the DIA’s advocacy and impact on behalf of members and the broader design industry.
The DIA policy team draws on the leadership team and the policy committee to lift the importance of the design sector. Building productive relationships with key decision-makers is a top priority.
National Policy Committee
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Denise develops policy positions for the DIA on issues that matter to Australian designers. She has written submissions on the contribution of design to the economy, petitioned for IP legislation reform and highlighted the pandemic experiences of designers to government. She has two decades of experience in senior national roles covering the arts, disability and social policy and provides strategic advice through a boutique consultancy.
Denise was previously the Senior Advisor to the federal Minister for the Arts, design team lead in the taskforce that created the National Disability Insurance Scheme and director of research and evaluation policy for the Department of Social Services. She has a Masters degree in Public Policy from the Australian National University and is currently enrolled at the University of Melbourne.
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Bradley has worked in interior design for 20 years, including work with Bates Smart, Design Worldwide Partnership, and HASSEL.
Specialising in workplace interiors, he also has a broad interest in the economic value created by design and the governance processes, motivations, and moral underpinnings that drive decision making and actions - and how these are impacted by design.
A New South Wales DIA Branch Councillor since 2014, Bradley was appointed Deputy Chair in 2018. He also chairs the National Design Policy Workgroup for the International Council of Design (ico-D) as a DIA representative, working towards building a resource to aid the implementation and improvement of national design policies for the benefit of both the design industry and the broader community.
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President & Chair Gavin has long been an advocate of the DIA on a local, state, and national level. He chaired the Western Australian Branch for five years, and acted as a National Director for four years.
After sixteen years as a Senior Associate with HASSEL, Gavin now provides specialist design consultancy services. His recent collaborations include interior design and architecture, branding and marketing, photography, styling, and graphic design.
Gavin’s strong passion for design and its value to our culture has motivated him to work to promote the values of good design across the whole community. Gavin is passionate about recognising the changing landscape of design and looks forward contributing to the implementation of the DIA’s strategic vision.
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Jo-Ann is the Chief Executive Officer of the Design Institute of Australia (DIA) and a leading voice of Australian design. Since 2015, Jo-Ann has overseen new initiatives to enhance the value and competitive success of Australian designers. She is currently in the midst of leading an extensive organisational restructure and governance reform of the DIA.
Boasting extensive experience working in leadership roles, Jo-Ann most recently brought her skills to the Australian Design Alliance and the Standards Australia CS92 Clothing Sizes Committee. She is also the immediate past Executive Director and CEO of the Council of Textile & Fashion Industries of Australia (TFIA). With a career spanning business, education, and the not-for-profit sector, Jo-Ann is equipped with a 360 degree understanding of design through practice, education, and good business sense.
A vocal advocate for design for more than twenty years, Jo-Ann received an Honorary Fellowship in 2014 from the Design Institute of Australia in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the industry.
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Beck holds a Bachelor of Built Environment & Engineering (Industrial Design), Graduate Diploma (Industrial Design) and a PhD in Design from Queensland University of Technology. She has a deep understanding of design industry and education.
She recently left her role at Griffith University to accept a role as Senior Lecturer in the School of Art and Design at the Australian National University. Through this appointment Beck will continue her work shaping design education.
Beck is committed to raising the awareness of the broader function of design as a method for shaping creative, ethical and sustainable outcomes. She has achieved this through roles on the National Advisory Panel of ACICIS Creative Arts and Design Professional Practicum, as a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Queensland Student Innovation and Entrepreneurs Alliance, and recently as DIA Queensland Branch Chair.
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James is an intellectual property barrister who is also a qualified patent attorney. With 30 years’ experience in the law, James advises and deals with problems faced by all stakeholders in the creative sector, be they designers, makers, manufacturers, marketers, suppliers or sellers.
He has advised clients from many industry sectors, including product design, furniture design, lighting, architecture, machinery and car parts, electronics and solar technologies, software and manufacturing processes, clothing, footwear, containers and packaging.
James is interested in engagement with government and industry to ensure that policy is relevant to the sector and that laws and regulations are stream-lined and efficient.
He has lectured intellectual property short courses to industrial design students at RMIT and been an annual speaker to textile design students at RMIT.
James has previous directorship experience, having been a board member of Craft Victoria for 6 years (2008 - 2014) and a past Chairman of the Board of Craft Victoria.
An engaged strategic thinker, James has dedicated his career to creatives and is personally interested in good design as a problem-solving exercise and for the sheer beauty of it all.