ABOUT PHIL McAULIFFE
Translating what we’re learning about human connection into something practical
Phil McAuliffe is the founder of HUMANS:CONNECTING. He's a speaker and writer exploring loneliness, belonging and the relational infrastructure that shapes how people connect.
Drawing on lived experience, a 23-year career in the Australian Public Service, and more than a decade focused on understanding human connection, Phil interprets emerging insight and translates it into practical ideas for individuals, organisations and governments.
Photo: Sam Coulter
AT A GLANCE
Founder, HUMANS:CONNECTING
Speaker and writer exploring human connection, loneliness and relational infrastructure
23-year career in the Australian Public Service across social, economic and security policy
Diplomatic postings and international experience across Asia, Latin America and the Pacific
Board member, Global Initiative on Loneliness and Connection
Respected contributor to global conversations on belonging, leadership and social cohesion
A LIFE ACROSS ENVIRONMENTS
Phil’s perspective on human connection has been shaped by a life lived across many different environments.
Over several decades he has lived and worked across Australia, Asia and Latin America, learning new languages, adapting to unfamiliar cultures and building relationships in very different social and political contexts.
Alongside this international life, Phil has also navigated the transitions that shape many people’s lives — partnership, marriage and divorce, parenting and building family and finding community as a gay man.
These experiences deepened his curiosity about how the environments people move through across a lifetime influence their capacity to connect and belong.
HOW THIS WORK BEGAN
During his career in public service, Phil realised he was experiencing loneliness in midlife despite leading what appeared to be a successful life.
That experience led to a deeper question.
Loneliness is often framed as an individual issue. Phil came to see something broader at play.
Many of the environments people rely on - workplaces, institutions and communities - are not designed with human connection at their core.
The issue is not only loneliness itself, but the relational infrastructure surrounding people: the conditions that shape how people interact, build trust and experience belonging.
HUMANS:CONNECTING explores and strengthens that infrastructure.
PUBLIC SERVICE & INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
Phil spent 23 years in the Australian Public Service working across social, economic and security policy, as well as international engagement and diplomacy, including diplomatic postings abroad.
His career included roles and postings in Canberra, Darwin, Ho Chi Minh City, Seoul and Tokyo.
During this period Phil also lived in Caracas and Wellington as an accompanying diplomatic spouse, working as a journalist and teacher.
He studied international relations at the University of Melbourne, where his interest in how institutions and societies shape human behaviour started.
WRITING &
SPEAKING
Phil develops and shares his thinking through writing and speaking.
His articles explore themes such as human connection, loneliness, leadership, relational infrastructure and the environments that shape belonging across modern life.
Through HUMANS:CONNECTING he publishes insights that translate research, lived experience and systems thinking into ideas that individuals, organisations and governments can relate to and action.
Phil regularly speaks with leadership teams, organisations and public audiences about the environments that shape human connection and belonging.
He is currently working on a book exploring the role of language on how we can meaningfully engage on the issue of human connection.
GLOBAL
INFLUENCE
Phil contributes to global conversations on loneliness and connection through speaking, writing and policy collaboration.
He serves on the Board of the Global Initiative on Loneliness and Connection and on the Evidence-to-Action Advisory Board of Lonely-EU.
From 2022 to 2024 he co-chaired the Lived Experience Advisory Panel for Ending Loneliness Together.
His insights have appeared in international and Australian media, including Science magazine and the BBC World Service.
GROUNDED IN
EVERYDAY
LIFE
Phil grew up in Lockhart in regional New South Wales and remains interested in the everyday experiences that shape how people relate to one another.
He lives in Canberra on Ngunnawal and Ngambri country with his partner Jeff and their twin sons.
Outside his work, Phil enjoys working out at the gym, running, swimming and spending time outdoors. He also enjoys photography. These practices help him remain grounded in the human experiences his work seeks to understand.
He is also an unapologetic plane nerd, with a long-standing fascination for aviation.
Photo: Michael White Photography
SPEAKER &
MEDIA BIO
Podcast hosts, journalists and event organisers are welcome to use the following biographies when introducing Phil.
SHORT BIO
Phil McAuliffe is the founder of HUMANS:CONNECTING and a speaker and author exploring human connection, loneliness and relational infrastructure.
After a 23-year career in the Australian Public Service, including diplomatic postings abroad, he now works across workplaces, governments and communities to strengthen the conditions that shape how people connect and belong.
MEDIUM BIO
Phil McAuliffe is the founder of HUMANS:CONNECTING and a speaker and author exploring the role of human connection and relational infrastructure in modern life.
His work examines how the environments shaping how people interact — in workplaces, institutions and communities — influence trust, belonging, leadership and social cohesion.
Phil spent 23 years in the Australian Public Service working across social, economic and security policy, as well as international engagement and diplomacy, including diplomatic postings abroad.
After experiencing loneliness in midlife despite a successful career and family life, he shifted his work to understanding the environments that shape human connection.
He contributes to international conversations on loneliness and connection through speaking, writing and policy collaboration.
DOWNLOADABLE
RESOURCE
Event organisers and media hosts are welcome to use approved photos and biography materials when promoting talks or interviews.
Download Phil’s speaker bio kit for:
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high-resolution photos
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biography information
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speaking topics
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website links
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