About Senator Maria Kovacic

Maria Kovacic is a Liberal Senator for New South Wales. She was elected to the Senate in 2023 by the Parliament of NSW to fill a vacancy left by the passing of the late Senator Jim Molan, AO, DSC.

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In addition to her work representing the people of NSW in the Senate, Maria maintains an active involvement in the committees of the Senate. She is a member of the Senate Community Affairs Standing Committee (Legislation and References), the Senate Education and Employment Standing Committee (References) and the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works.

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In addition to this, she is also a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Parliamentary Library, the Senate Standing Committee for the Selection of Bills, and the Senate Standing Committee of Senators' Interests. Maria was also a member of Senate Select Committee for Supermarket Prices.

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Maria also serves as the Deputy Opposition Whip in the Senate.

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Before entering the Senate, Maria worked across the commercial, public, and not-for-profit sectors and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
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She has a particular interest and expertise in governance, finance, small business, and community engagement. Maria served as the Liberal Party (New South Wales Division) President, leading the organisational wing of the party.
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Maria sat on the Franchise Council of Australia (FCA) board and chaired the Finance, Audit & Risk Subcommittee. The FCA represents franchisees, franchisors and service providers and is the peak body for Australia’s $146 billion franchise sector.

She chaired The Hills Community Aid and served as the Deputy Chair of the Australia & NZ Croatian Women in Leadership, a development initiative of Her Excellency Betty B. Pavelich, the Ambassador of The Republic of Croatia to Australia & New Zealand. Maria was also an inaugural member of the Steering Committee of Women@Eels, which was established by the Parramatta Eels National Rugby League Club to assist with social inclusion, community, and female engagement.

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Additionally, she served on the Advisory Committee for the Eels NRLW elite women's team. Maria co-founded Western Sydney Women and Western Sydney Executive Women, organisations that promote opportunities and advocate for women of all ages and backgrounds. She previously sat on the Board of Form Dance Projects and The Victor Chang Committee for Western Sydney.

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For 16 years, Maria owned an ANZ Bank Mobile Lending franchise business as a foundation member of the network. She served two consecutive terms on the ANZ Bank Franchise Council from 2008 to 2011 and was re-nominated and re-elected for a further 2-year term in July 2019.

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In 2018, Maria was part of the ANZ Franchise Commission Structure Review Working Group, established as a result of a regulatory review of mortgage commissions in accordance with the requirements and recommendations of the ASIC Review of Mortgage Broker Remuneration, Retail Banking Remuneration Review (Sedgewick Report), Combined Industry Forum (CIF), and The Royal Commission into the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry.