Domenique Meyrick

I am fascinated by the stories we tell collectively. The ideas we hold about each other shape the way we live together. They shape the systems we build and how we treat one another.

My interest in stories first drew me to theatre, opera and film, and later to philosophy and theology. It also took me into frontline work with people experiencing homelessness, including a period living and volunteering in inner-city Sydney. That immersion shaped the way I think about disadvantage and the distance we allow between systems and the people who experience them.

Later, as the sole carer of four young children, I experienced financial hardship myself. I learned how quickly a change in circumstances can narrow your choices, and how profoundly the systems around you can affect your ability to find your feet again.

These threads came together in my work at Financial Counselling Australia, where I spent almost a decade and most recently served as CEO. Working alongside financial counsellors gave me a close view of what happens when people have difficulty paying and of the assumptions that shape the way governments and institutions respond.

Tax debt has become an increasingly significant part of that picture. With more than $50 billion in collectable tax debt outstanding, there is understandable urgency around the ATO's debt recovery efforts. My Churchill Fellowship will explore the ideas that underpin how other countries respond to tax debt and the people who owe it, and how those ideas shape the systems they build.

I want to understand where countries have taken a different approach to people who cannot pay, what sits behind that approach, and whether it helps people re-engage and repay what they can. I hope to bring those lessons back to Australia and contribute to a fairer and more effective approach to tax debt recovery.