Scott Farquhar to succeed Robyn Denholm as Tech Council of Australia chair
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The news: Scott Farquhar, co-founder and board director of Atlassian, will succeed Robyn Denholm as chair of the Tech Council of Australia (TCA) from late March.
The context: Farquhar, who is estimated to be worth around $22.9 billion, stepped down from his role as co-CEO of Atlassian in 2024. On his appointment to the TCA, he said that there is enormous potential for the Council to expand its advocacy in critical areas including digital infrastructure, consumer energy, and emerging technology.
A TCA announcement reads that Farquhar will lead the TCA’s engagement across government and industry to advance policies that foster innovation, investment, and long-term growth in Australia’s tech sector.
Denholm, who is also chair of Elon Musk’s Tesla, has led the TCA since it was established in 2021 and will remain on the TCA board after Farquhar takes over as chair.
Questions about Denholm’s ability to remain as chair of both Tesla and the TCA had been swirling in recent weeks, as she has been positioned in the middle of a clash between US tech interests and Australia’s digital sovereignty.
As reported by Capital Brief, Denholm was representing the American tech giant Tesla, with global ambitions and controversial CEO, who is also entrenched in Donald Trump’s White House and the president's "America First" agenda. In parallel, Denholm was leading Australia's premier technology advocacy group, the TCA, which champions the interests of the domestic tech sector.
This balancing act raised fundamental questions around issues like data sovereignty, market competition, tariffs and tax policy — particularly as Australian regulators ramp up their scrutiny of the outsized influence of international tech companies.
These pressures came to a head in February when the TCA urged caution regarding Australia's response to the Trump administration's aggressive stance against foreign digital services taxes and tech regulation — a position that aligns with efforts to protect the interests of American tech giants.
What they said: In Wednesday’s announcement Denholm said: “Leading the Tech Council of Australia as inaugural Chair has been a privilege. Over the past three and a half years, we have worked to establish the tech sector as a critical pillar of Australia’s economy, securing bipartisan support for key initiatives and shaping policies that enable Australian innovation to thrive.”
“I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved together— including our bipartisan jobs goal, critical changes to migration policy and my ongoing work on Australia’s R&D review. I look forward to continuing to support the TCA as a Board member.”
The source: Tech Council of Australia
