This said, it’s imperative to leverage our world-class research to navigate our rapidly evolving world, with the urgent threats of climate change, the potential for future pandemics, supply chain disruptions and cost of living ever-looming. The risks of not properly fostering research commercialisation include limiting benefits to economic growth and unlocking world-changing innovations that create new products, services and jobs. While strong collaboration between universities and industry is critically important, external support in helping academics create robust business models, and commercial structures to wrap around academic IP, is also key. 

The challenges of commercialising IP – Ventures, especially those emerging from academic backgrounds, face three primary challenges:

1. Technical Challenges: While academics usually excel in fundamental research, the technical journey requires intense product development and commercialisation skills. Taking technologies from university to market requires substantial capital investments and involves more risk than the average startup investment. Because of this, some academic operators struggle to navigate this stage and reach commercial readiness. Several universities have established engineering R&D units to drive academic research further along the “Technology Readiness Level” (TRL) spectrum, thus helping “commercialise” the fundamental research into a prototype, MVP, or product itself. 

Despite University-driven commercialisation efforts, challenges still remain. The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has observed that oftentimes, universities encourage researchers to focus on academic publications, rather than commercialisation or collaboration with business. Local governments are already making moves to address this gap, with the Victorian government’s investment fund, Breakthrough Victoria, backing five Victorian universities to help them bring research to market.

2. Legal Challenges: Intellectual property (IP) rights are also a significant hurdle for startups that emerge from academia. Universities are understandably protective of the IP developed under their purview. Researchers often must negotiate the tricky terrain of licensing or transferring IP rights, allowing them to transform academic research into a business venture. 

A UK government study into the commercialisation of university IP found that academic institutions, businesses and investors often reported difficulties with negotiation on equity shares, royalties and technology valuations. In Australia, the Higher Education Research Commercialisation (HERC) Intellectual Property (IP) Framework (the Framework) was introduced in 2021 to standardise the process. This framework, and other related government efforts, will be useful in providing academics with clear direction and support when looking to spin-out IP from universities. 

3. Commercial Challenges: With a technical product in hand and the resolution around IP rights underway, the third stage is the business model. Deep Tech companies are usually so cutting-edge that they may create new markets, or provide a solution to a problem that is not yet well-defined. This departure point is the opposite to most startups, who typically pick an existent problem and develop a tech product to solve that problem. This “technology-first” rather than “problem-first” approach to business building has means many deep tech businesses find themselves classified as “Solutions in Search of a Problem” (SISP). 

This means their commercial legwork is particularly important. Specifically, it will involve understanding the market the product will be sold into, identifying key customer groups, establishing the right distribution channels, and thinking through the financials of the business.

Bridging the research to realisation gap

Having worked closely with deep tech startups emerging from academic backgrounds, something I frequently observe is an unfamiliarity with the commercial aspect. Academics and researchers have built esteemed careers in academic research and may not be expert in navigating business and commercial challenges.

These startups need help with developing the right fundamentals and foundations for the business itself, that wrap around the technology. This means establishing problem-solution fit, knowing who your customers and where they are, what your channels to market are, and proving and refining product-market fit over time.

One element of the business that deep tech founders should ensure they build internal capability around is the finance function. In challenging capital markets, founders need to understand and present defensible finances to investors. Startups, may need guidance in accessing incentives such as the Research & Development tax incentives or other government grants, that can assist in creating another cashflow stream into the business, and securing other funding to support the equity / debt blend in the business. 

These challenges can be overcome in a few ways. Founders can onboard a commercial co-founder to help drive commercial needs in the business or participate in an accelerator program to assist in building out the business. Alternatively, engaging external advisers can be a non-dilutive approach to seeking support. Advisers may include virtual CFOs or government incentives advisers who can build robust business models, lay down business foundations, ensure sound financial structure, and provide access to non-dilutive funding.

A brilliant example of a thriving deep tech venture is Vexev; developed out of the research driven in the PhDs of Vexev founders John Caroll and Eamonn Colley. Vexev is building a product that leverages computational fluid dynamics to detect vascular disease. It has proved itself not only to be a standout R&D company, but also as a business that understands market dynamics, unit economics and government incentives. Its strength doesn’t lie solely in its ground-breaking technology but also in its ability to align with leading venture capital funds and gain access to crucial support. 

While universities have a key role to play as startup incubators, the path from groundbreaking academia to a commercial product is not always straightforward. It’s a journey that needs outside experts to navigate successfully. By having the backing to better understand the legal and financial aspects of commercialisation, academic startups can realise their potential and become drivers of Australia’s innovation economy.

By Sophie Ritchie, Head of Portfolio Management, KPMG High Growth Ventures

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Venture Connect transforms corporate-startup partnerships by streamlining the process and taking a fresh approach to building valuable business relationships. The initiative was created with the aim of eliminating common delays and pitfalls experienced in partnering with corporates, which often clash with the agility, maturity and funding runway of startups.

“We created Venture Connect in response to feedback from corporates who told us they get inundated with hundreds of startup pitches daily. They know there are likely some gems among them, but sorting through the volume is extremely time consuming, so promising opportunities end up lost. Equally, startups are expending significant time and money trying to get the attention of corporates, often to no avail. In my research, I spoke with startups spending upwards of $10,000 just to attend a single conference, hoping for a breakthrough,” said Ben Dunn, Director of Advisory Services at Stone & Chalk.

“There is a clear need for a curating intermediary to make meaningful connections between corporates and startups. At Stone & Chalk, we provide qualitative curation, carefully evaluating startups to identify the most promising ones for partnership opportunities.”

The program offers curated and strategic introductions to like-minded startups based on briefs provided by the corporates. Each unique submission is assessed to advance founders with concepts and offerings that meet the requirements of corporations, and then Stone & Chalk supports both parties throughout the process.

During its beta phase, Venture Connect has already demonstrated significant success by connecting eight startups with corporations, with even more success stories on the horizon. Though still in its infancy, the program has already welcomed participation from nine major corporations across financial services, defense, utilities and more. Over 400 matches have been made so far, with over a third leading to additional meetings, partnerships, collaborations or deals.

Stone & Chalk is committed to providing a valuable service in curating and connecting startups with corporations, offering an effective alternative to traditional methods. Strategically this program means that for the first time, Stone & Chalk can extend its reach beyond physical locations providing support to emerging tech startups and scaleups across Australia and beyond.

One corporation signed up to the Venture Connect program is Standards Australia. Evan Jones, Senior Investments Manager at Standards Australia, shared his enthusiasm for the program saying, “Participating in Stone & Chalk’s Venture Connect has meaningfully accelerated Standards Australia Future Fund in engaging startups. The program has generated thirty-plus matches and many conversations with founders – a number of which have transitioned to a diligence phase.

“The team’s tailored approach to understand our specific strategic needs laid the groundwork for success, and thought-provoking conversations helped shape our vision for the type of partner we want to be to our portfolio companies.”

Venture Connect also serves as a gateway for international businesses looking to enter the Australian market, emphasising the importance of qualitative curation and focusing on quality deal flow. This initiative aligns perfectly with Stone & Chalk’s mission, enabling startups to achieve success through various means, including revenue generation.

Also read: Aussie workers value flexible work over pay rises, new research finds

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• E-learning legal education platform wins prize worth up to $550,000 at legal tech-focused pitch night.
• Expert judging panel from Australia’s legal technology and startup ecosystems chose winner and runners-up.

Applications to pitch were received from around the world and ultimately 10 startups were selected to present their solutions in a fast-paced 90-second initial round to persuade the judges to advance them to round two.

The 10 selected startups came from across Australia, the US, the UK, and Bangladesh: Amplified Global, Ask Lexi, DDLoop, Deeligence, Gavel, Halisok, Legalized Education, Mary Legal, Oddr, and Pathways Digital.

Three finalists progressed to round two and had three minutes to dive deeper into their legal tech solutions. Round two was followed by challenging questions from the judging panel, made up of Michelle Bey, chief innovation officer and transformation lead at Lander & Rogers; Karen Finch, president of ALTA; and Stewart Rasmussen, co-founder and CEO of Syncly and an alumnus of the LawTech Hub.

Drumroll, please

Dhaka-based e-learning legal education platform Legalized Education won first prize. Focused on embracing new technologies, co-founder and CEO, Tasnuva Shelley is providing subscription-based legal solutions for entities, law-related courses for enthusiasts, and online learning tools for legal professionals.

Ms Shelley, upon winning, said, “Thank you so much; this means the whole world. You have actually changed the entire legal tech landscape for this country [Bangladesh]. Now, when I walk in a room and show this [2023 Legal Tech Pitch Night win], they are going to pay attention to me.”

2023 judge Stewart Rasmussen, founder and CEO of Syncly, was moved to tears after Ms Shelley’s wining speech.

Mr Rasmussen said: “Tasnuva Shelley captured everything it takes to be a success in business and in life—passion, compassion, purpose, knowledge, drive and humility. When she won, her smile made me cry, I could see how much this meant to her.”

Michelle Bey, chief innovation officer and transformation lead at Lander & Rogers, said: ” As a judge for this year’s Legal Tech Pitch Night, crowning Legalized Education as the winner was certainly the year’s highlight! Tasnuva’s passion, unwavering dedication, profound sense of mission, and depth of understanding in what it takes to galvanise an entire country’s legal education system were incredibly moving. I have no doubt that she has a remarkable journey ahead and we—Lander & Rogers—hope to be there to support it.”

Karen Finch, president of ALTA, added: “I was really blown away by the calibre and high standard of all the pitchers and their incredible technology solutions and services. It was so wonderful to hear from pitchers located all around the globe, and Tasnuva Shelley from Legalised Education was such a deserving winner. I really recommend everyone check out and support Tasnuva and her team and what they are achieving in Bangladesh.”

The first-place prize grants Legalized Education access to all benefits that the current LawTech Hub residents and alumni have access to, which is over AU$550,000 of business and technical support from the LawTech Hub and its world-class partners.

Runners-up and People’s Choice

Los Angeles-based Gavel, represented by founder and CEO, Dorna Moini, was named first runner-up. Gavel, a legal automation platform with infinite workflow possibilities, enables users to generate accurate, customised, and perfectly formatted documents with the hopes of reclaiming 20-plus hours per week.

Straddling Melbourne and Sydney, Mary Legal, represented by co-founder and COO, Rowan McNamee, was named the evening’s second runner-up. Mary Legal leverages artificial intelligence to listen to client consultations, accurately transcribe, and generate comprehensive first drafts of legal documents.

Named after Mr McNamee’s aunt and family law barrister, Mary, he said of his aunt and startup’s namesake: “She is known for her ruthless efficiency. The way I view it, every law firm needs a Mary, so I’m bringing Mary to every law firm that I can.” Melbourne-based Deeligence, represented by co-founder and COO, Elena Tsalanidis won the evening’s People’s Choice Award, which was voted on by the 2023 Legal Tech Pitch Night audience. Deeligence is a secure, collaborative due diligence workspace converting manual processes into a more efficient and profitable way to get deals done.

Emceed by Courtney Blackman, head of partnerships at Lander & Rogers and director of the LawTech Hub, the 2023 Legal Tech Pitch Night was attended by an international audience of startups and scaleups, VCs, angel investors, law firms, government, and peak legal industry bodies.

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Launched at the Something Tech. festival in Brisbane today, the program is open to twenty Queensland based women founders which will offer an eight-month support program for emerging technology companies featuring structured mentoring, coaching, education skills workshops, industry connections and dedicated Entrepreneur In Residence support along with a 12-month digital membership to River City Labs.

Pauline Fetaui, Director of ACS Innovation Labs, said: “at RCL we want to be the launchpad for emerging tech companies to solve global problems, this program will use River City Labs’ eleven years of experience to help Elevate Female Founders take their businesses to the next level.  The difference in this program is we are meeting the founders where they are with leadership from fellow female founders and Mentors”.

“With this program we’re looking to help female entrepreneurs on their business journey with a mix of cohort-based and one on one support to guide founders to their goals no matter what stage their business is at.  So, if you are at the seed of an idea for a flourishing business, our program can support your journey and we’d love to hear from you.”

The program details and registration links are available at https://rivercitylabs.acs.org.au/programs/elevating-female-founders-program.html.

Entry Criteria:

Applications are open to:

• Female Founders

• Must be a resident or have a business registered in Queensland, Australia.

• Must be a Tech Startup (Tech Startup companies deliver new technology to the market; or disrupt and transform existing products of services with Technology.  Tech Startups have the high potential to grow across Markets).

• Completed Applications including detail on your idea or business.

• Ability to attend a Panel Interview (Virtually) once applications close.

• Ability to dedicate a minimum of 10 hours per week on the program for the first 4 months dedicated support with 10 hours per fortnight for the duration upto 8 months. This does not include working on your business.

• Ability to travel to Brisbane, Australia twice potentially between July and August 2024.

More about the program:

• Duration will be 8 months. With the first 4 months structured delivery, with a reduced structure last 4 months.

• The program will be made up of two streams early-stage companies (Pre-Product) and later stage companies (Post-Product).

• The program will include:

  • dedicated workshops to enable your goals.

  • Industry connections and mentoring

  • Dedicated Entrepreneur In Residence support (Female Founder Mentors)

• You will receive access to RCL membership for 12 months starting at Program Start:

  • RCL Member T-shirt

  • All RCL Partner and Digital perks valued up to $280K 
    For example. Discounts and credits Tech Subscriptions, Hosting Services with Tech Partners, CRMs and RCL other Programs and resources.

  • Access to RCL’s Talent Landing Pad Pool of interns and tech professionals

  • Access to RCL’s Mentor Database, where you can book meetings with industry professionals across many domains

  • Access to the CA In-Residence Program, offering members free chartered accountant advisory services

  • Invites to events, learning and networking sessions

  • Referrals into networks and business opportunities

• All applications will be reviewed and select applicants will be invited to pitch their idea or Startup to a Private Panel online.

• Applicants can nominate which Pre-Accelerator they are applying for within application.

• Successful applicants will be invited to the Pre-Accelerator Program they will benefit the most from.

• Successful Applicants will be notified at least 2 weeks if not earlier prior to the program start date

• Unsuccessful applicants will be notified prior to the program starting.

• 20 successful applicants will be part of either an earlier stage or later stage Elevating Female Founders Program for this intake.

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In a dramatic TV negotiation, Boring Without You Founder Davey Rooney fielded offers from four of the five sharks, including Jane Lu, the CEO of online fashion boutique Showpo; Shark Tank US regular, Robert Herjavec; and Oodie owner Davie Fogarty.

With the skincare company in hot demand, the Sharks shot up the asking price, valuing the business 38 per cent higher than what Rooney originally requested. It resulted in Oodie owner, Fogarty, landing the deal and securing a 20% per cent stake in the fast-growing, colourful skincare brand. 

Since its 2022 launch, Boring Without You has sold out five times.

Founder, Mr Rooney, says: “This is just the beginning. I couldn’t be happier with the outcome. I didn’t even have a business plan, so I got Chat GPT to help me write one for the show, and now I’ve got a deal with one of the biggest entrepreneurs in Australia. There are big things to come, and this partnership will help us reach even more people”.

Mr Rooney, who also studied cosmetic science, devised the idea while experiencing horrendous workplace bullying. As an escape, he would go for socially distanced walks and think about problems in society and how he could solve them.

Following one of these walks, he went to Chemist Warehouse, where he saw nothing dedicated to people with this all-too-common skin type. That week Rooney quit his job and started working on Boring Without You.

“When you have combo skin, it’s normal for one part of your face to be oily and another part dry. It makes applying make-up, treating blemishes, and finding the right skincare very difficult. We want to make it easy for these people and offer evidence-based cosmetics with concentrated ingredients that genuinely make a difference to your skin.”

The hero product, For Face Sake, is a multi-mask featuring two unique formulas in one jar. The whipped butter controls oil and clears blackheads on the forehead and nose, while the soothing jelly calms hormonal blemishes and deeply hydrates the cheeks and jaw. 

The brand has taken over social media with millions of views, a collective following of over 250,000, and is loved by celebrities like Anna Paul and Flex Mami. 

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Canva co-founder Melanie Perkins and mining tycoon Gina Rinehart’s daughter Ginia are Australia’s youngest billionaires. That’s according to new research by City Index, which took to Forbes to establish the number of billionaires across the globe, broken down by age, sector and wealth, to determine the youngest billionaires in each country.

Highlights from the research:

• Canva co-founder Melanie Perkins is Australia’s youngest billionaire, aged 36 and worth $3.6 billion (A$5.59 billion) .
• Mining mogul Gina Rinehart’s four children all occupy the top ten, aged from 36-47.
• Atlassian co-founder, Mike Cannon-Brookes, has the highest net worth of the top ten youngest Australian billionaires, worth $11.3 billion (A$11.5 billion).
• Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar are the only billionaires in the top ten with links to publicly-traded companies.
• The software sector produces the most billionaires under the age of 45, with 50% of the top ten working in this sector.
• 60% of Australia’s top 10 youngest billionaires are male, and also 60% are self-made.
• 53 is the average age of a female Australian billionaire, younger than the average Australian male billionaire’s age (70).
• $4.98 billion (A$7.6 billion) is the average net worth of a female Australian billionaire, more than male Australian billionaires, worth $3.96 billion (A$6.1 billion).

Australia’s Top 10 Youngest Billionaires:

Melanie Perkins is Australia’s youngest billionaire

City Index can reveal that Melanie Perkins is Australia’s youngest billionaire, aged 36 years old. CEO of content creation platform, Canva, Perkins is worth $3.2 billion and is the 836th richest billionaire in the world, according to Forbes.

Perkins co-founded Canva in 2013 with husband Cliff Obrecht (aged 37) and Cameron Adams (aged 43) which was surprisingly met with investor skepticism due to its Sydney location1. Canva is a widely popular platform, attracting 60 million users a month to its platform, with companies such as Intel and Zoom paying for it. With this, the company’s popularity has led to some estimates of its worth being as much as $40 billion (A$62 billion) as of September 2021. Both Perkins and Obrecht own an 18% stake in Canva but have pledged to transfer more than 80% of their stake to the Canva Foundation for charitable causes.

As well as being the youngest billionaire, Perkins is also one of the six self-made billionaires in the top 10, along with Cliff Obrecht, Mike Cannon-Brookes, Scott Farquhar, Cameron Adams and Nigel Austin.

Gina Rinehart’s children occupy the top ten

Four of mining mogul Gina Rinehart’s children occupy Australia’s top ten youngest billionaires. They all have inherited $2 billion (A$3.1 billion) from being beneficiaries of a trust that owns a quarter stake in Gina’s mining company, Hancock Prospecting. They are the only non-self-made billionaires in the top 10.

Her daughter, Ginia, is the youngest (aged 36), followed by Hope Welker (37), Bianca Rinehart (46) and their brother, John Hancock (47). As well as being a beneficiary, Hancock is also a senior adviser at Lind Partners LLC and runs his own private investment fund.2 The family have been involved in a long-running court battle around royalties, which may affect their overall wealth.

Atlassian CEOs are the fifth-youngest billionaires

Aged 43, Atlassian CEO and co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar are joint fifth-youngest Australian billionaires. Ranked #151 on Forbes’ Rich List, Cannon-Brookes is the richest in the top ten, with a net worth of $11.6 billion (A$18 billion) ($300 million more than Farquhar). Atlassian is also publicly traded, having listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange in 2015.4

Cannon-Brookes’ wealth also comes from his 11.3% stake in Australia’s largest energy generator, AGL Energy,5 which he invested in last year. AGL Energy is also publicly listed, having held its IPO on the ASX stock exchange in 20066. He also has a stake in NBA’s Utah Jazz, owned by Ryan Smith.7 Plus, he recently acquired the Sun Cable development, which plans to deliver 1.8 gigawatts of solar energy from Australia to Singapore.8, 9

Ranked 16 places below in Forbes’ Rich List at #167, Farquhar also co-founded the fundraising company Pledge 1% in 2014, which urges companies to donate at least 1% of equity, employee time or products to charity.

Female Australian billionaires are on average, younger and richer than males

The average age of female billionaires in Australia is 53, compared to 70 for males. In addition to this, female billionaires have an average net worth of $4.98bn (A$7.73bn)  – $1.02bn (A$1.58bn) more than the average net worth of males, despite there being over four times as many male billionaires in the country (38 male compared to 9 female).

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Commissioned by Victoria’s Startup Agency, LaunchVic, ‘Scaling up: Growing the economic opportunity for Victoria’s startup ecosystem’ report highlights that Victoria’s entire ecosystem value has almost doubled since the last report in 2020 up from $50 billion to $91 billion.

It also shows that despite Victoria’s population falling for the first time in almost 30 years, the Victorian startup ecosystem experienced a rapid expansion of its startup workforce, which increased from 37,000 in 2020 to 52,000 FTE jobs in 2022.

LaunchVic CEO, Dr Kate Cornick said startups accounted for a significant share of productivity growth and had become a critical ingredient to an economy’s performance providing huge potential for Victoria.

“In a period of just two years we have seen startup jobs grow by 20 per cent annually and in fact double from those recorded between 2018 and 2020,” she said.

“The fundamentals are in place for strong ecosystem growth in Victoria but to keep this momentum going and build on this rapid growth to date, continued investment is essential.”

For the report, Deloitte explored what Victoria’s economy could look like if its startup ecosystem resembled international benchmarks of Singapore and Tel Aviv. It showed that associated growth in startup density and scaleup success rates will have significant impacts on productivity, employment, and the broader Victorian economy over the next 20 years.

By 2042, if Victoria’s startup density grows to the level of Singapore, Victoria’s GSP could be $6.9 billion higher, or $10.2 billion higher if it grows to the density of Tel Aviv. This amounts to an increase in GSP of between $26.9 billion and $35.8 billion in net present value (NPV) terms over the modelled period.

This level of growth will create between 19,400 and 30,200 additional FTE jobs (cumulatively) by 2042, or between 8,150 and 12,350 additional jobs annually over the modelled period.

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A new sidecar fund, the $1 million Hugh Victor McKay Fund, is now open for applications and will invest up to $200,000 into at least five early-stage startups in the next 12 months.

The fund is named after pioneering Victorian inventor Hugh Victor McKay, who patented the original combine harvester in the 1880s – widely credited as one of the most important agricultural innovations in recent history.

Like LaunchVic’s highly successful Alice Anderson Fund, the fund will co-invest with private sector investors, who will match the government’s contribution by a minimum of 2:1.

Tenacious Ventures Founder Matthew Pryor is part of the Investment Committee for the fund, which will meet bi-monthly to review applications.

Mr Pryor said the Hugh Victor McKay Fund would provide critical support for founders building the future of on-farm productivity and sustainability.

“Early-stage ventures in AgTech are often working with hardware and deep tech. These can be essential innovations in agrifood transition, since you can’t eat software.”

“The early stages of growth can be more capital intensive for these startups, so additional leverage on early capital is very catalytic.”

In addition, LaunchVic also announced the first round of 7 new grant recipients from the AgTech Grants program, which offers equity-free $50,000 grants to aspiring AgTech founders.

LaunchVic CEO Dr Kate Cornick urged the state’s AgTech sector to take advantage of the array of support on offer.

“Our work with Agriculture Victoria is particularly exciting in the holistic support we’re offering founders throughout their growth journeys,” she said.

“Aspiring founders can undertake pre-accelerator programs to test their startup ideas, obtain a grant to build their capability and access seed funding when ready to scale.”

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That’s according to the latest study from City Index, which scraped the Forbes live billionaire tracker to find the country that is home to the most female billionaires.

Countries with the most female billionaires

Australia has the fifth-highest number of female billionaires

Australia has the fifth-highest number of female billionaires (9), tying with India and Hong Kong. While each country represents less than a tenth of the number of female billionaires in the US, Australia’s self-made billionaires stand-out. Australia’s female billionaires include Canva co-founder Melanie Perkins (net worth $3.62bn) and mining magnate Gina Reinhart (net worth $43.17bn), who are both from Perth, Western Australia.

According to City Index, the United States has the highest number of female billionaires in the world with 92 in total, double that of China in second place with 46. While the US might be home to some of the highest profile male billionaires, 4 out of the 5 richest women in the world, including Walmart heiress Alice Walton, also hail from the states.

Germany takes third place with 32 female billionaires, just over a third of that of the US. These include German automotive empire heiress Susanne Klatten ($27.58bn), and the family of Francine von Finck ($8.27 bn), daughter of late billionaire businessman August von Finck Jr.

In fourth place, the second European country in the top ranking, Italy, is home to 16 female billionaires, half that of nearby Germany. Campari heiress Alessandra Garavoglia ($3.44bn) and iconic designer Miuccia Prada ($5.24bn) head up the list of Italian female billionaires, a testament to the country’s love of food and fashion. 

Australian female billionaires with the highest net worth

The Rinehart family make up almost half (44%) of Australia’s female billionaires, with heiress and mining tycoon Gina Rinehart’s $43.17 billion AUD net worth taking first place, making her the richest woman in Australia. Her three daughters, Ginia Rinehart, Bianca Rhinehart and Hope Welker are all worth at least $3 billion AUD, with Bianca and Hope each worth $3.14 billion, and Gina taking the edge with $3.16 billion — still just 7% of her mother’s current fortune.

Canva mogul Melanie Perkins takes second place with her $5.27 billion AUD net worth, an 88% drop from Gina Rinehart’s colossal wealth. Melbourne’s heiress sisters Fiona Geminder and Heloise Pratt are worth $3.77 billion AUD and $3.17 billion AUD respectively, with Fiona’s $7m increase likely due to her stakes in Visy and Pact Group.

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