Tom Bentley is an author and policy analyst based in Australia. Bentley was born and educated in the United Kingdom, where he gained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Oxford.
Bentley was formerly executive director for policy and cabinet for the Premier of Victoria, Australia,[1] and was then deputy chief of staff to Prime Minister Julia Gillard and part-time director of the Australia and New Zealand School of Government.[2] Between 1998 and 2006 he was director of DEMOS[3] - described by The Economist as ‘Britain's most influential think tank'. Prior to his role at Demos he was a special adviser to David Blunkett MP, then Secretary of State for Education and Employment,[4] where he worked on issues including school curriculum reform, social inclusion, creativity, citizenship, adult skills and area-based regeneration. He has been a trustee and chair of the Learning Programme for the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA)[5] and a trustee of the Community Action Network in London.
Bentley has been a regular contributor to The Guardian, The Observer,[6] the Financial Times and the New Statesman as well as regularly being interviewed for print and broadcast media.