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id: 7097 title: "Former federal treasurer joins Helloworld board as independent director" date: "2026-05-12" updatedDate: "2026-05-12" excerpt: "Peter Costello, Australia's former federal treasurer, will join Helloworld Travel Limited's board as an independent director on 1 June 2026. With over 11 years of experience as treasurer and leadership roles at major institutions, Costello brings significant government and commercial expertise to the travel group." coverImage: "https://images.nomadlawyer.org/images/blog/travel-news/2026/05/former-federal-treasurer-joins-helloworld-board-as-independent-director.jpg" coverImageAlt: "Peter Costello joining Helloworld Travel Limited board" coverImageCaption: "Image generated by AI" tags: [helloworld, travel, australia, board-appointment, peter-costello] slug: "former-federal-treasurer-joins-helloworld-board-as-independent-director" category: "travel-news" author: "Kunal K Choudhary"

# Former federal treasurer joins Helloworld board as independent director

Peter Costello, the former federal treasurer, will join the Helloworld Travel Limited board on 1 June 2026, the travel group announced today. As a long-time treasurer of Australia, Helloworld says Costello has an "extraordinary amount of experience at government, financial and commercial levels".

## A Decorated Career in Public Service

He served as federal treasurer for more than 11 years, an extraordinary tenure in Australian politics. In addition to that, he chaired the Independent Advisory Board to the World Bank, Australia's Future Fund for a decade, and Nine Entertainment Group, as well as "many other significant roles".

![Helloworld Travel CEO Andrew Burnes and Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director, Cinzia Burnes.](https://images.nomadlawyer.org/images/blog/travel-news/2026/05/helloworld-ceo-andrew-burnes.jpg)

## Welcoming New Leadership

In a message to the ASX, Helloworld CEO Andrew Burnes welcomed Costello to the board, saying he looked forward to working with him "to continue to grow and develop the business in the years ahead".

## Strong Financial Performance

In February, Helloworld Travel Limited (HLO) reported underlying EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) of $30.5 million for the first half of FY26, a 12.1 per cent rise on the same period last year, as wholesale growth and improving margins offset softer airfare conditions across Australia and New Zealand.

![A Helloworld store location.](https://images.nomadlawyer.org/images/blog/travel-news/2026/05/helloworld-store.jpg)

## Recent Expansion Milestones

Helloworld stores have marked several milestones of late, including expanding its Queensland presence in April.

## Strategic Insight

**KARRYON UNPACKS:** Helloworld adding Peter Costello to its board signals the travel giant wants heavyweight economic and government expertise as competition intensifies.

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