Dr Nirosha (Niro) Wellalage is an accomplished Associate Professor at UniSA Business, having joined the University of South Australia in 2023. Prior to this, she held academic appointments at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand.
Dr Niro is a leading scholar in corporate finance with a focus on inclusive and sustainable financial practices. Her research investigates how marginalised and under-resourced firms—including micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), businesses owned by women, ethnic minorities, and refugees—access and utilise finance to achieve long-term sustainability and contribute to economic development.
She is ranked among the top 5% of female economists globally (based on the last 10 years of... Read more
About me
Dr Nirosha (Niro) Wellalage is an accomplished Associate Professor at UniSA Business, having joined the University of South Australia in 2023. Prior to this, she held academic appointments at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand.
Dr Niro is a leading scholar in corporate finance with a focus on inclusive and sustainable financial practices. Her research investigates how marginalised and under-resourced firms—including micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), businesses owned by women, ethnic minorities, and refugees—access and utilise finance to achieve long-term sustainability and contribute to economic development.
She is ranked among the top 5% of female economists globally (based on the last 10 years of publications) by RePEc, the world’s largest bibliographic database in economics. Her work has been cited over 2,500 times on Google Scholar, and she has published in high-impact journals such as Journal of Business Ethics, Small Business Economics, International Review of Financial Analysis, Finance Research Letters, and Business Strategy and the Environment.
Dr Nirosha’s research has been recognised internationally, earning her prestigious awards including the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) Outstanding Scholar Award, the Young Researcher Award from the Baku World Science Forum, and the Early Career Research Excellence Award from the Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand (MSSANZ).
She is currently the principal researcher on three grants funded by the Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand (AFAANZ) and is also a co-investigator on a Lottery Community Sector Research grant in partnership with the University of Canterbury and the Refugee Orientation Centre (NZ).
In addition to her research leadership, Dr Niro is actively engaged in postgraduate supervision, having examined several Master’s and PhD theses. She serves as Associate Editor for the Australasian Accounting, Business and Finance Journal, and is a regular reviewer for top-tier international journals. Her academic network includes honorary fellowships at the University of Wollongong (Australia) and the University of Kelaniya (Sri Lanka).
Dr Nirosha is passionate about research that drives social impact and financial inclusion—and is always open to collaborative opportunities in research, teaching, and academic leadership.
About me
Doctor of Philosophy The University of Waikato
Master of Business Adminstration University of Keele
Bachelor of Science (Management Information Systems) with Honours National University of Ireland
RECENT GRANTS
2021-Ongoing: Lottery Community Sector Research; Project Title: Economic integration of refugees
Co-researchers-Dr R. Helen Samujh, Refugee Orientation Centre Trust, New Zealand, Dr. Herb De Varies, University of Canterbury and Dr.Nadeera Ranbahu, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
2021-2022: Accounting and Finance Association in Australia and New Zealand (AFAANZ); Project Title: “Building wellbeing via financial empowerment: The case of Māori youth in Aotearoa/New Zealand”
Co-researchers-Dr Vijay Kumar, University of Waikato, New Zealand
2019-2020: Accounting and Finance Association in Australia and New Zealand (AFAANZ); Project Title: The Indigenous model of business ... Read more
Research
Excludes commercial-in-confidence projects.
Non-binary Individuals and Financial Wellbeing in Australia, Accounting And Finance Association of Australia And New Zealand Limited, 01/07/2023 - 30/06/2024
Research
Research outputs for the last seven years are shown below. Some long-standing staff members may have older outputs included. To see earlier years visit ORCID, ResearcherID or Scopus
Open access indicates that an output is open access.
| Year | Output |
|---|---|
| 2022 |
13
11
|
| 2022 |
58
|
| 2022 |
Open access
10
8
|
| 2022 |
Open access
17
|
| 2022 |
Open access
16
17
|
| Year | Output |
|---|---|
| 2025 |
|
| 2025 |
Open access
1
1
|
| 2025 |
Open access
|
| 2025 |
Open access
|
| 2025 |
Open access
|
| 2024 |
1
|
| 2024 |
Open access
2
2
|
| 2023 |
11
10
|
| 2023 |
Open access
3
3
|
| 2023 |
10
8
|
| 2023 |
Open access
5
|
| 2022 |
13
11
|
| 2022 |
Open access
33
23
|
| 2022 |
58
|
| 2022 |
Open access
10
8
|
| 2022 |
Open access
17
|
| 2022 |
Open access
16
17
|
| 2021 |
14
|
| 2021 |
Open access
18
|
| 2021 |
58
|
| 2021 |
32
|
| 2021 |
Open access
53
|
| 2020 |
23
|
| 2020 |
Open access
51
42
3
|
| 2020 |
Open access
16
3
|
| 2020 |
Open access
9
10
|
| 2020 |
11
|
| 2020 |
Open access
40
3
|
| 2019 |
Open access
124
|
| 2019 |
Open access
65
55
8
|
| 2018 |
23
|
| 2016 |
45
3
|
Research
RECENT GRANTS
2021-Ongoing: Lottery Community Sector Research; Project Title: Economic integration of refugees
Co-researchers-Dr R. Helen Samujh, Refugee Orientation Centre Trust, New Zealand, Dr. Herb De Varies, University of Canterbury and Dr.Nadeera Ranbahu, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
2021-2022: Accounting and Finance Association in Australia and New Zealand (AFAANZ); Project Title: “Building wellbeing via financial empowerment: The case of Māori youth in Aotearoa/New Zealand”
Co-researchers-Dr Vijay Kumar, University of Waikato, New Zealand
2019-2020: Accounting and Finance Association in Australia and New Zealand (AFAANZ); Project Title: The Indigenous model of business sustainability: Learning from Indigenous Knowledge
Co-researcher - Dr. Anura De Zoysa, The University of Wollongong, Australia
2018-2019: Waikato Management School Research Trust Contestable Fund Project Title: Does ICT reduce the gender gap in financial inclusion?
Co-researcher - Dr. Gazi Hassan , The University of Waikato, New Zealand
2018-2019: Waikato University Summer Research Project; Project Title: Impact of ICT on financial inclusion for women refugees
2018-2019: Waikato University Summer Research Project; Project Title: Financial services and products suitable for refugees
AWARDS
2019: Early Career Research Excellence Award
Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand
2018: Publication Award- Waikato Management School
2014: Young Researcher Award- Baku World Science Forum
Baku World Sciences Forum 2014 for Young Researchers (Economics and Social science stream)
2012: Alastair Ross Goobey Memorial (ARG) Scholarship
The Alastair Ross Goobey Memorial Scholarship aims to provide the financial assistance necessary to encourage and develop the emergent corporate governance leaders of the future.
2012: International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) Outstanding Scholar Award
Ø Keynote speaker- 9th Brazilian Behavioral Finance & Economics Meeting, Nov 17-18, 2022
Ø Distinguished Speaker for the virtual conference on “Environmental Protection and Social Responsibility” on August 10, 2022, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan
External engagement & recognition
| Organisation | Country |
|---|---|
| Adolfo Ibanez University | CHILE |
| Australian Institute of Business | AUSTRALIA |
| Capric Enterprises | NEW ZEALAND |
| Ghazi University | PAKISTAN |
| Khon Kaen University | THAILAND |
| Métis Lab | FRANCE |
| NEOMA Business School | FRANCE |
| New Zealand School of Education | NEW ZEALAND |
| Pmas Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi | PAKISTAN |
| Princess Nora bint Abdul Rahman University | SAUDI ARABIA |
| Private Individual | UNITED KINGDOM |
| Queensland University of Technology | AUSTRALIA |
| Rotorua Education | NEW ZEALAND |
| Swansea University | UNITED KINGDOM |
| The Refugee Orientation Centre Trust | NEW ZEALAND |
| Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology | NEW ZEALAND |
| Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez | CHILE |
| University of Canterbury | NEW ZEALAND |
| University of Otago | NEW ZEALAND |
| University of Portsmouth | UNITED KINGDOM |
| University of South Australia | AUSTRALIA |
| University of Stavanger | NORWAY |
| University of Technology Brunei | BRUNEI |
| University of Waikato | NEW ZEALAND |
| University of Wollongong | AUSTRALIA |
| Waikato Institute of Technology | NEW ZEALAND |
External engagement & recognition
| Engagement/recognition | Year |
|---|---|
5th Forum for Women in Research: QUWA Together Innovating to Shape the FutureUniversity of Sharjah |
2025 |
Visiting ScholarKhon Kaen University, Thailand |
2025 |
The 2nd World Conference on Business Management and Economics 2024, BALI INDONESIAThe International Institute of Knowledge Management |
2024 |
Visiting ScholarKhon Kaen University, Thailand |
2024 |
International Undergraduate Finance Research ConferenceWayaba University Sri Lanka |
2023 |
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) Award - Silver Shield in Finanace CategoryThe Institute of Chartered Accountants of India |
2023 |
9th Brazilian Behavioral Finance & Economics MeetingFGV,Rio de Janeiro |
2022 |
Ø 2021- till today Associate Editor- Journal of Financial Reporting and Accounting
Ø 2019- till today Associate Editor- Australasian Accounting, Business and Finance Journal
Teaching & student supervision
Teaching & student supervision
Supervisions from 2010 shown
| Thesis title | Student status |
|---|---|
| Lived experiences of older Australians with a mortgage debt | Current |
