At The 100 Percent Project, we have recently released our "Breaking Dad" research. This research explores the issue of psychological safety for men when requesting flexible or part-time working conditions.

The research finds that men are often met with negative reactions from managers and colleagues when requesting non-traditional working conditions and may be made to feel embarrassed, ridiculed or sidelined. Why is this reaction so pervasive throughout Australian society? How do we destigmatise mens' desire to lead a more balanced life in regards to work, community, family and self?

In this series, we're exploring stories from business leaders who have first-hand experience of this exact situation.

In this episode, we speak with Justin Untersteiner, the Chief Operating Officer for the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. Justin shares his experiences, good and bad, about taking extended parental leave as a senior executive.


Justin’s Bio

Justin Untersteiner joined the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) as Chief Operating Officer in December 2019 and is responsible for AFCA’s core operations and corporate services. He has extensive expertise in leading large scale, significant organisational transformation programs. Justin combines strong relationship management skills with technical knowledge of regulation, procurement, contract management, property management, and financial compliance.

Justin held a variety of leadership roles at the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) over a 13-year career, most recently as the Assistant Commissioner of Integrated Compliance. In this role he was responsible for leading the ATO’s approach to large scale, complex taxation and superannuation matters focussing on compliance. 

Prior to this Justin was the ATO’s Chief Financial Officer, responsible for the agency’s annual budget of $3.5 billion. Justin also brings valuable private sector perspectives and experience from Cadbury Schweppes and Woolworths to his role as COO.

Justin is a passionate advocate for gender equality and workplace equality and flexibility. He has worked throughout his career to build inclusive workplaces that engage, inform and support employees and has designed and implemented a variety of programs to improve outcomes for diverse workforces. He is a hands-on Dad with two young children, he himself utilises flexible practices such as part-time hours, set finish times and a mix of office/home work to balance both his role at work and at home.