Biography
“Opportunity shouldn’t be a privilege of circumstance."
Raised in regional Tasmania, Billy Blackett began his entrepreneurship journey at 18, when he founded the platform Affordable Tutoring Tasmania, an award-winning educational startup, and launched Milestone Mentoring, a support program for children on the NDIS. Billy quickly gained recognition for his innovative thinking and leadership skills, serving on various boards, including international award programs and premier-level sports clubs. He was later invited to serve on the board of his former high school, where he attended under a foundational scholarship and graduated as dux, to develop a mentoring program for its members, of which there at over 5,000 worldwide. In 2022, he was further honoured as Young Alumni of the Year and recognised for his business acumen by Awards Australia.
Alongside his professional ventures, Billy pursued a Bachelor of Economics, graduating with the highest grades in his cohort in 2023. His studies were initially funded by the TSBE High Achievers Scholarship, and throughout his degree, he gained hands-on experience in management consulting at a local firm, economic advisory with a multinational company, and data analysis with Australia's largest renewable hydro energy provider. In recognition of his outstanding academic performance, he was included in the University's Roll of Excellence in 2024.
With a strong interest in education policy and workforce development, Billy is writing a thesis on the role of project-based learning in developing soft skills for the future workforce. As part of his honours course, he interned with one of Australia’s leading public policy think tanks, all while continuing to grow his business into the state’s largest tutoring platform, exceeding over 50 educators at its peak. More recently, Billy served on an advisory panel informing an education program for homeless and disengaged youth in Tasmania.
Billy has taken his expertise and interest for policy change global, participating in a New Colombo Plan-funded exchange to Hanoi, Vietnam, where he explored sustainability policy, and representing the Australian government in the Australia-Indonesia Youth Exchange Program.
At Oxford, Billy will first pursue a Master of Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government.