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Tue, Aug 18, 2026 07:37 AM All times are UTC

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Catherine Fitzpatrick

Catherine is Founder & Director of independent consultancy Flequity Ventures.

A former bank executive, she works with businesses to reimagine and redesign products and services to be more flexible, safe and equitable for their customers experiencing vulnerability. In particular, she wants to inspire innovation to disrupt financial abuse and address gender bias in financial products in a commercially sustainable way.

Catherine is the author of Designed to Disrupt: Reimagining banking products to improve financial safety – the first of a series of discussion papers for the Centre for Women’s Economic Safety.

Recognised nationally in 2018 as an AFR|Qantas 100 Women of Influence, she advises the Commonwealth Government on workplace and customer responses to domestic and financial abuse as the only business representative appointed to the National Plan Advisory Group.

She is Chair of the Australian National University’s Student Safety and Wellbeing Committee, Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of New South Wales School of Social Sciences and a member of the Monash Safe and Equal @ Work Advisory Board.

For domestic violence victim-survivors, a data or privacy breach can be extraordinarily dangerous

Dec 04, 2023 12:28 pm UTC| Life

A suite of recent cybersecurity data breaches highlight an urgent need to overhaul how companies and government agencies handle our data. But these incidents pose particular risks to victim-survivors of domestic...

Banks put family violence perpetrators on notice. Stop using accounts to commit abuse or risk being 'debanked'

Jul 05, 2023 03:35 am UTC| Life Law

Ella never knew when her credit card was going to be declined. It happened when she was shopping for groceries with her kids, or refuelling the car. Thats when she would discover her partner had cancelled the card or...

Economy

Australian Consumer Sentiment Jumps 6% in August as Rate Outlook Improves

Australian consumer sentiment strengthened sharply in August, driven by improving household finances and greater confidence about the outlook for interest rates, according to the latest Westpac-Melbourne Institute survey....

Colombia Earthquake Losses Estimated at $9.58 Billion as Reconstruction Challenge Mounts

Economic losses from the powerful earthquake that struck Colombia last week could reach 30 trillion pesos ($9.58 billion), President Abelardo De La Espriella said Monday, highlighting the enormous financial toll of the...

US Eyes Refinery Boost as Trump Seeks Relief From High Gas Prices

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Washington is preparing measures to help refiners increase fuel production as the Trump administration looks for ways to bring down gasoline prices following the U.S.-Israeli war on...

Canada Faces 50% U.S. Tariffs as Trade Tensions Threaten USMCA Talks

Canada is bracing for a new wave of 50% U.S. tariffs this week, raising concerns over job losses, weaker investment and fresh uncertainty surrounding the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). U.S. President Donald Trump...

Wall Street Falls as Oil Prices Rise, Fed Minutes and Retail Earnings in Focus

Wall Street closed lower Monday as investors stepped back following a record-setting week, while rising oil prices and persistent Middle East tensions weighed on market sentiment. The SP 500 fell 0.5% to 7,748.14, the...

Politics

Trump Says Kim Jong Un Responded to Outreach After US Scales Back South Korea Military Drills

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has responded to his recent outreach, signaling renewed communication between the two leaders as Washington moves to reduce joint military...

Trump Says Iran Should Surrender as Nuclear Deal Talks Stall

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran is unlikely to accept the agreement he considers necessary to end the war with the United States, insisting Tehran must surrender and abandon any path toward developing a...

Gérald Darmanin Backs Édouard Philippe for 2027 French Presidential Election

French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin has thrown his support behind former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe for Frances 2027 presidential election, ruling out a potential bid of his own as the countrys...

Russia-Ukraine Drone Attacks Escalate as Strikes Hit Moscow, Kyiv and Romania

Russia and Ukraine exchanged major missile and drone attacks overnight, leaving several people dead and damaging industrial and commercial facilities as the war continues to intensify. Russian forces struck ArcelorMittal...

US CENTCOM Chief Praises USS Abraham Lincoln Crew Amid Mental Health Concerns

U.S. Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper praised the crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln following a recent visit to the aircraft carrier, describing their performance and resilience as awe-inspiring amid growing...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

BofA Sees Micron EPS Topping $230 by 2030, Backs Major Stock Upside

Bank of America expects Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) to deliver more than $230 in earnings per share by fiscal 2030, significantly above Wall Streets current peak estimates, as artificial intelligence demand reshapes the...

Anthropic Revenue Run Rate Hits $65 Billion as IPO Plans Accelerate

Anthropics annual revenue run rate surpassed $65 billion by the end of July, highlighting the artificial intelligence startups rapid expansion as it prepares for a potential initial public offering later this year. The...

Google to Buy Spirit Airlines Business Data for $10 Million to Train AI

Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet, has agreed to acquire internal business data from bankrupt Spirit Airlines for $10 million, with plans to use the information for product development and artificial intelligence training....

Alphabet Eyes First Australian Dollar Bond as AI Spending Drives Funding Push

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is preparing for its first-ever Australian dollar bond issuance as the U.S. technology giant explores new funding sources amid rapidly rising artificial intelligence investment. The...

Alibaba Sells Lingxi Games for Over $1.5 Billion Amid AI Push

Alibaba Group is reportedly selling its gaming subsidiary Lingxi Games in a transaction that could value the Chinese video game studio at more than $1.5 billion, as the technology giant redirects resources toward...