NIBA / Special Feature
Beyond the Board Table: Gary Okely on NIBA, Advocating for the Profession and Being Future Ready
After more than a decade of service on the NIBA Board, Gary Okely wraps up his tenure when the insurance broking profession is on the cusp of evolution, and with a clear sense of what matters most. Across his years of contribution, Gary has helped steer NIBA through some of the sector’s most defining moments: the Royal Commission era, the upheaval of COVID-19, and a more recent focus on leveraging advocacy that has strengthened the broker voice in Canberra. He speaks with pride about what has been achieved, but also with urgency about what comes next, be it the ongoing commitment to self-regulation and the Code Review, or the role of research and thought leadership in shaping the profession’s future. In this exclusive chat with Insurance Adviser editor Virat Nehru, Gary reflects on the milestones, the positive culture, and the lessons of his NIBA journey — and why, in a decade of disruption, the broking profession is strongly placed to take advantage of what comes next. Over a Decade at the Table When Gary looks back on his time with the NIBA Board, he does so with a sense of gratitude and genuine affection for the experience. His first instinct is not to list achievements, but to describe the journey itself.
Communicating the Broker Value Proposition Of the major accomplishments during his Board tenure, Okely speaks with particular pride about NIBA’s work around the Royal Commission. “The work that NIBA did to ensure that insurance broking as a profession achieved a positive outcome from the Royal Commission into financial services was incredibly important. That included a significant amount of work with the government prior to the Royal Commission, as well as during the process.” The significance of this period was not simply the scrutiny that came with it, but the risk that the value of broking could potentially not be fully understood if the profession didn’t speak clearly and early about its role.
“My NIBA journey has been really enjoyable. A lot has transpired across my tenure on the Board,” he says. For Gary, serving on the Board has never been just about governance. It has been a place where relationships, shared purpose and service to the profession come together. When asked to identify the accomplishments that stand out most, he points to three moments that reveal the breadth of NIBA’s role in the profession: communicating the broker value proposition during the Royal Commission into financial services, supporting the broking community through the COVID-19 years, and helping elevate NIBA’s advocacy efforts in Canberra. Taken together, these three key accomplishments form a clear throughline in Gary’s thinking. The best outcomes for brokers and their clients come when the profession acts early, speaks with confidence and stays anchored to the real value that brokers provide every day.
With the Minister for Financial Services, the Hon Dr Daniel Mulino MP.
20 / INSURANCE ADVISER FEBRUARY/MARCH 2026
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