Rob Nicholls
School of Management and Governance - PhD, UNSW | MA, UNSW | BSc (Hons), University of Birmingham
Rob joined the UNSW Business School as a lecturer in September 2015. His research interests encompass competition law and policy as well as the regulation of networked industries and the financial services sector.
He is also a research fellow at the Centre for Law, Markets and Regulation at UNSW Law. Before his appointment, Rob was a research fellow at the Centre for International Finance and Regulation where he is investigated the intersection of competition law and financial services regulation and at Swinburne University of Technology where he researched spectrum management policy. He is also a visiting fellow at UTS Sydney Law.
Rob has had a 30-year career concentrating on competition, regulation and governance, particularly in networked industries. His first degree was in electronics engineering and he has worked for major corporates, in turnarounds and start-ups. Before moving to academia, he worked for Webb Henderson, the ACCC and spent 12 years as a client-facing consultant at Gilbert + Tobin.
Rob is an accredited mediator and the Independent Telecommunications Adjudicator in a regime established to deal with wholesale disputes arising over both legacy services and migration to the national broadband network. He is also a member of the NBN arbitration pool.
From This Author
Do you trust AI to write the news? It already is – and not without issues
The Guardian has accused Microsoft of reputational damage after it displayed one of its articles alongside an inappropriate AI-generated poll, writes Rob Nicholls
How the $500 million ATO fraud highlights myGov identity flaws
Scammers have exploited a weakness in the myGov portal to redirect hundreds of millions of tax refund dollars, writes UNSW Business School's Rob Nicholls
The great construction company collapse: when your builder goes bust
The great Australian dream of home ownership is becoming a nightmare for would-be homeowners whose residential builders have recently gone bankrupt
Have you given away business secrets on ChatGPT?
Curious about how ChatGPT can help you at work? Be careful what company information might be given away while experimenting, writes UNSW Business School's Rob Nicholls
Does Buy Now, Pay Later still work if the cost of living keeps rising?
With the cost of living on the rise, there are risks associated with Buy Now, Pay Later financing for both consumers and companies
Whistleblowers allege Facebook news blackout was deliberate
Facebook employees offered solutions to restore non-news pages during last year's news blackout, but whistleblowers allege these were ignored, writes UNSW Business School's Rob Nicholls
Three useful things to know about data, AI and the privacy debate
Organisations must develop ethical, socially responsible, trustworthy, and sustainable data business models to ensure consumers’ privacy is protected in an increasingly AI-driven world
How big tech companies are sanctioning Russia
Alphabet, Apple, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft have each taken some form of action against Russia – but the actual impact tech-related sanctions will have isn’t clear, says UNSW Business School's Rob Nicholls
How is AI changing power dynamics in the world of money?
Artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies are causing a shift in power dynamics in financial services, and this change has significant implications for individuals' privacy and government regulators
Why Facebook's meta-morphosis won't fix ethics headache
Facebook is under fire (again) for its questionable business ethics – what exactly did it do wrong and what will happen as a result?
Can the law truly protect consumers from data profiling?
It is clear that consumers expect the law to protect them when it comes to how their data is collected, shared and used. But is the law enough?
Has the News Media Bargaining Code struck the right balance?
Google and Facebook will pay Australian news media businesses tens of millions of dollars each year – though a clear standard offer is yet to be made by the platforms, says UNSW Business School’s Rob Nicholls
How Facebook could lose out on advertising over its content ban
Facebook’s recent botched takedown of content publishers could lead to a loss of advertising revenue for the social media platform, says UNSW Business School’s Rob Nicholls
Is there a basis for a Royal Commission into News Corp?
There are a number of important factors to consider in assessing whether News Corp should be the subject of a Royal Commission because of excess market power
myGov and facial recognition: inside the Government's Digital Business plan
The Federal Government must be ready to handle the responsibilities associated with its $800 million plan which includes granting access to government services through facial recognition, writes UNSW Business School's Rob Nicholls
Should Google and Facebook be forced to pay for news in Australia?
If Facebook follows through with its threat to pull news on its site in Australia it could be contributing its own demise, writes UNSW Business School’s Rob Nicholls
In a world-first, Australia plans to force Facebook and Google to pay for news
If the ACCC takes one of the tech giants to court for breach of the code, the penalty could be more than $10 million, writes UNSW Business School's Rob Nicholls
How to use regulatory technology to get deregulation right
The use of regulatory technology by both regulators and the regulated requires a deep understanding of its underlying fundamentals, writes UNSW Business School’s Rob Nicholls
How can businesses handle negative Google reviews?
Following a court ruling about a negative Google review, there are a number of steps businesses take to handle negative Google reviews (and encourage positive reviews), according to UNSW Business School's Associate Professor Rob Nicholls
How much customer data should firms be forced to share?
A key issue is the balance between competition benefits and scope to innovate
ACCC calls for new measures to combat digital dominance
The regulator favours a multi-agency approach for monitoring and enforcement
Open banking revolution off to a tentative start
Australia has a new banking code of practice with banks told to treat customers fairly
Filling the planes: Rob Nicholls on why the same airfare can have different prices
Rob Nicholls is a senior lecturer in the school of taxation and business law at UNSW Business School and a research fellow at the Centre for Law, Markets and Regulation. He has recently been looking at disparities in the pricing of airfares. Nicholls spoke to Julian Lorkin for BusinessThink.
Can an open data regime meet what consumers expect?
Easier price comparison is just one gain from new legislation
What if bots collide and collude in setting prices?
Conduct driven by algorithms is a challenge for competition law
Why switching banks to get a better deal is essential for the economy
Consumer inertia and a lack of banking competition is a vulnerable mix
Bigger is not necessarily better for super funds
It is received wisdom in the Australian superannuation industry that bigger is better.