2025 Arca Award Winners

Congratulations to the 2025 Arca Award finalists and winners!

Respect

The Respect Award is given to an individual who leads by example when it comes to respect. They show respect in how they act, what they say, and in their relationships with others. They value diverse perspectives in their role as well as in Member workgroups. They work towards common goals with respect for all.

The winner is Darren Moldrich, Suncorp.

Darren’s approach has always been founded in respect: and with a desire to centre consumers and focus on this perspective particularly in workgroup discussions. Darren brings exceptional depth of knowledge and understanding, earning the respect of his team and peers alike. He is open to collaboration and has played a key role in shaping FHI messaging that prioritises consumer value while providing strong support for his team. Darren’s respect for others is evident in every interaction, and we are very appreciative of his engagement within the Membership.

The finalists for the Respect Award were:

Susanna McDonald, Pepper Money

Susanna is a consistently respectful workgroup participant. She is curious about understanding the perspectives of other organisations, as well as sharing her own perspectives. Susanna is also someone not content to accept the status quo, but she does this with the utmost respect: she will ask questions, she will consider diverse perspectives and she will do so respectfully and with a sense of higher purpose.  The Arca team have also observed that Susanna has provided the example of respect particularly in terms of consumer education, which has proven invaluable to Arca’s work. 

Craig Allen–Ankins, Equifax

Craig is consistently respectful in his interactions, not only in workgroups but in any interaction with his industry peers.  Craig has the benefit of extensive experience within a credit provider environment at Latitude, and now most recently the credit reporting body environment at Equifax.  Craig is genuinely interested in understanding how to navigate tricky issues, often by asking questions and listening, and actively thinking through solutions which balance different perspectives. 

(L to R: Tom Clayton (Arca Director), Susanna MacDonald (Pepper Money), Elsa Markula, Darren Moldrich (Suncorp), Craig Allen–Ankins (Equifax))

(L to R: Peter Wilson (Arca Board Chair), Andrew Cutting, Elsa Markula)

Collaboration

The winner is Stuart Musgrave, Equifax

Stuart has played a key role in Arca workgroups for many years. He is generous with his time, ideas and insights, and he genuinely wants to work together to make the credit reporting system better. By being willing to share his insights, even where others may be reticent, Stuart sets an example, and in turn promotes and enables broader collaboration. Stuart provides a data driven CRB perspective, which adds value to all groups he is part of. For example, Stuart has contributed hardship reporting statistics to inform workgroup discussions. He has even actively sought out insights from international jurisdictions to help inform how we approach improvements and future data inclusions to Australia’s credit reporting system.

The finalists for the Collaboration Award were:

Matt Roberts, Nissan

Matt leads the risk team for Nissan Financial Services; he received several nominations focusing on the collaborative approach he has taken particularly to Nissan’s CDR project. The nominations emphasised his collaborative approach: being both inclusive and solutions-oriented, and being adept at bringing diverse teams together. Quoting from one nomination, “No matter the person or area of the business, Matt is available to work with you on the issue, task or project at hand”. The Arca team have also engaged closely with Matt and the Nissan team over many years and echo these comments. The Arca team and broader community are looking forward to collaborating with Matt and the Nissan team even more as they move to CCR. 

Donna Lucas, ANZ

Donna has been a driving force behind ANZ's credit reporting transformation over the past two years. Donna’s nominations highlighted her strong commitment to work constructively on key Arca priorities and pieces of work. She has collaborated both within Arca and across ANZ with meaningful results: reducing rejection rates and maintaining those reduced rates, working to improve the precision and reliability of reported data. She has helped to improve not only ANZ but to advance Arca’s mission of promoting data integrity, compliance and industry wide collaboration. In addition to all of that we have recently heard glowing feedback from financial counsellors and capability workers about Donna’s exceptional presentations on CCR.

(L to R: Matt Roberts (Nissan), Donna Lucas (ANZ), Stuart Musgrave (Equifax), Elsa Markula)

Knowledge Excellence Award

The Knowledge Excellence Award champions learning and growth. This award recognises an individual dedicated to learning and sharing knowledge. They not only benefit their own organisation but also contribute to drive value for all Members. They are open to sharing what they know to help everyone grow.

The winner is Kate Anderson, NAB

Kate has been an integral part of the Arca community for many years. Her depth of knowledge and ability to switch between strategic and policy level objectives and highly detailed technical reporting rules is impressive. Kate’s nominations emphasised her openness in sharing her knowledge and experiences which in turn provides value for other Members who both benefit from the learning she shares and also feel encouraged to speak up themselves. As one nomination states, “She doesn’t just accumulate knowledge; she amplifies it”. Kate also displays a commitment to continuous learning – she actively seeks out new insights, staying ahead of industry trends and translating complex risk concepts into practical accessible knowledge for others.

The finalists for the Knowledge Excellence award were:

Paul Yap, Toyota Finance Australia

Paul’s keen intellect and interest in a range of areas is something which has driven better insights and knowledge sharing within the Arca community. He explores issues with boundless curiosity and transforms that knowledge into meaningful outcomes. In discussing Paul’s nominations within the Arca team, a number of team members noted how Paul will often provide detailed feedback – on a range of issues – or will actively seek to raise new issues for consideration. This drive to push the bounds of knowledge has been so helpful for Arca – and the team (and by extension the broader membership) are grateful for how it has improved overall understanding of the issues and challenges, particularly in the auto lending space.

Louise Capps, MoneyMe

Louise is an impressive individual: she is highly skilled and knowledgeable. She has a depth of expertise and provides knowledge and insights unique to the non-bank lending sector – really helping to promote awareness of non-ADI perspectives and challenges, and encouraging Members to use that knowledge to inform appropriate reforms. In recent workgroup discussions, she has actively shared her knowledge to aid other Members with a number of issues including handling buy now pay later accounts to meet responsible lending requirements, and more effectively tackling credit repair firms.

(L to R: Elsa Markula, Paul Yap (Toyota Finance Australia), Kate Anderson (NAB), Louise Capps (MoneyMe))

CreditSmart Recognition (organisation) Award

The CreditSmart Recognition Award recognises a Member organisation that exemplifies CreditSmart's dedication to making credit health information visible, accessible, and easily understood. This Member actively promotes CreditSmart's educational content and messaging, demonstrating a commitment to continuous collaboration and sharing of improvements to benefit consumers.

The winner is Commonwealth Bank

CBA displays an outstanding commitment to promoting credit health awareness and education for Australian consumers. CBA exemplifies CreditSmart's mission by making credit information visible, accessible, and easily understood. The bank actively promotes CreditSmart's educational content across its digital platforms, customer communications, and financial wellbeing initiatives. Its Financial Wellbeing Hub provides tailored resources on budgeting, saving, and responsible borrowing closely aligned with CreditSmart's goals of transparency and consumer empowerment.

The finalists for the CreditSmart® Recognition Award were:

Teachers Mutual Bank

Teachers Mutual proudly champions CreditSmart's mission of making credit health information visible, accessible, and easy to understand. They actively promote CreditSmart's educational content across customer channels and prioritise embedding recommended updates into their business practices. CreditSmart changes to scripting and communications are delivered quickly, ensuring their customers benefit from the most up-to-date information without delay. By equipping frontline teams with these tools, they have increased consumer engagement with CreditSmart materials and improved consumer understanding of credit reporting.

Experian Australia

Driving consumer education and transparency, Experian continues to lead the way in educating consumers about their credit health through targeted campaigns, partnerships and alignment with CreditSmart's trusted resources. Initiatives focus on simplifying complex credit concepts and addressing emerging trends and regulatory changes that impact consumers. By integrating CreditSmart messaging across their consumer platforms, FAQs and support channels, they ensure Australians have access to clear, consistent and actionable information whenever they need it.

(Pictured above with Arca CEO, Elsa Markula, left to right: Andrew Black (Experian) Russell Binns (Commonwealth Bank), Michael Blacker (Teachers Mutual Bank))

WiCRC Award

This award celebrates a woman or person who identifies as female in a way that is significant to them, who is not only a leader but a true architect of the future in the credit risk and collections industry. Through her actions, she demonstrates the power of connection, collaboration, and innovation - values that resonate deeply with WiCRC’s Three Pillars: Engage, Elevate, and Spark. Through these three pillars she leaves a permanent mark on credit risk and collections, fostering a future built on collaboration, progress, and innovation.

The winner is Yasna Hodgson, Bendigo Bank

Yasna is a formidable leader within the credit risk industry. She engages well with others and is never afraid to share and collaborate. She has consistently been a strong, calm and wise voice. She encourages her team and her wider business to improve and challenge themselves. She is not about the glory. Just making it better a little bit every day.

The finalists for the WiCRC Award were:

Maddy King, Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Maddy is an outstanding emerging talent in the credit risk community who exemplifies the WiCRC values of Engage, Elevate, and Spark. Maddy has become a trusted voice in shaping the future of credit risk, delivering innovations in policy, automation, and reporting within CommBank, that have strengthened both customer outcomes and risk culture. Maddy is smart and generous with her time and knowledge. She is passionate about improving the industry and making a difference.

Christine Santos, Nissan

Christine demonstrates that risk and compliance is evolving. Her experience is diverse which has allowed her to understand other roles and perspectives. She believes risk (and leadership) comes from being an enabler. Instead of focusing on what she needs to find to keep business safe, she pushes the role to ask how can we make staying safe and compliant deliver simpler, less friction and better business outcomes. 

(L to R: Sacha Close (WiCRC), Elsa Markula, Yasna Hodgson (Bendigo Bank), Maddy King (Commonwealth Bank), Christine Santos (Nissan))

(L to R: Yasna Hodgson, Stuart Musgrave, Kate Anderson, Russell Binns on behalf of Commonwealth Bank, Darren Moldrich)

We are thrilled to share the winners of the 2025 Arca Awards who were announced during the Arca Credit Summit Gala Dinner held on 13 November 2025.

Winners received a ticket to next year’s Arca Credit Summit and were presented with a beautifully sculptured award by renowned indigenous artist Wayne “Liwingu” McGinness.

Finalists received a gift of locally produced treats and a 15% discount on a ticket to Arca Credit Summit 2026.

Lifetime Achievement Award

A surprise on the night was our inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award. Thank you to Andrew Cutting, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. Andrew is moving on from his role with Westpac and the Arca Board, and was a fitting recipient of this inaugural award. He is many things to this community: a friend and colleague to many, a valued member of the Arca Board, and an exceptional leader at Westpac. There is much in what works well in today’s credit reporting system that can be attributed to Andrew’s contributions and hard work. While Andrew may be moving on from the Arca community, he leaves behind a meaningful legacy and for that we are all incredibly grateful to him and pleased to provide this recognition.