Dr Smith (B Ec Hons/BA (Asian Studies), PhD) is an awarded ARC Future Fellow and Honorary Professor (Associate) at the Australian National University. She has held recent appointments at the School of Global Governance and Regulation (ANU College of Asia and the Pacific) from 2014, and the Research School of Population Health (ANU College of Health and Medicine) from 2018. She is also a Fellow in the Tax Transfer Policy Institute at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy.
In 2018 her team delivered a review of evidence for health policymakers which informed the Australian National Breastfeeding Strategy on what works to improve breastfeeding. Dr Smith has also been an advisor to the World Health Organization, UNICEF UK, and the US Surgeon General's Office, and to breastfeeding NGOs. Dr Smith has led Australian Research Council funded projects on the economics of breastfeeding and markets in mothers milk, as well as a time use study of new mothers, and a ARC funded research partnership on breastfeeding support in workplaces and childcare. Her ARC Future Fellowship is on measurement and regulatory aspects of emerging markets in mothers milk.
Earlier in her career, she worked in Australian and New Zealand treasury and finance departments on public finance, budgetary and economic policy issues. She has authored influential books on gambling and taxation policy (Gambling Taxation in Australia, and Taxing Popularity A History of Taxation Policy in Australia') and published numerous articles on Australian taxation and fiscal policy and federal state financial relations.