Sonia Arrakal

Sonia Arrakal is a Policy Fellow at the Perth USAsia Centre. In addition to planning and coordinating a range of program and research initiatives, she directs the centre's India programs and convenes policy workshops focussed on Australia-India relations.

Ms Arrakal was a political staffer for state and federal parliamentarians where she provided strategic advice to politicians on state and national level policy priorities, maintained and managed relationships with multinational business, peak body and academic stakeholders, and formed a sophisticated understanding of parliamentary processes in Canberra. She was also a management consultant in Nous Group’s public policy practice in Melbourne and Perth where she led complex research, analysis and policy development projects for government clients across Australia.

Ms Arrakal also has experience in lobbying, having worked at Hawker Britton as an analyst where she provided strategic government relations briefs for corporate clients on financial policy, regulatory reform and cross-jurisdictional analysis of economic policy.

Her opinion pieces have been published in The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and online. She offers commentary in the media, on ABC Radio National and ABC’s The Drum.

Ms Arrakal has a degree in Law and International Relations (with honours) from the Australian National University.