Max Lin

Wellington, Aotearoa. I work in financial markets law and policy, and build web tools in my own time.

max@maxlin.art · LinkedIn

Employment

2024–: Senior Legal Counsel, Regulatory Policy, Financial Markets Authority
Policy input into the FMA's fintech regulatory sandbox. Shaped the FMA's published custody discussion paper. Reviews of class exemptions for overseas issuers and custodians. Values Award finalist 2025.
2023–24: Senior Advisor, Inquiry Development, NZ Productivity Commission
2022–23: Solicitor, Commercial and Finance, The Treasury (secondment)
Reserve Bank and deposit taker legislation, Ministerial powers, Crown entities.
2019–22: Analyst, Financial Markets, The Treasury
COVID-19 deposit guarantee scheme, KiwiSaver policy, briefings for the Minister of Finance.
2017–19: Policy Advisor, Financial Markets Policy, MBIE
Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services; early fintech and open banking advice.

Builds

2026: Threshold
An independent, neutral forecast of the 7 November New Zealand election: the vote run 20,000 times from every published poll under MMP, with seats, all 71 electorates and who can reach a majority. Methods, a track record and sources are published.
2026: CityPlate
Where to eat and drink in Wellington, Auckland, Sydney and Melbourne, with specials, happy hours, what's on and how to get there by bus or train.
2026: Statute Atlas
Every New Zealand Act, Bill and regulation since 1841, read and measured: how much law Parliament makes, how long it lasts, how it's written and who gets to change it. Updated daily.
2026: Second Look
Any NZ charity's finances in plain English, from what it files on the public Charities Register, plus a funding calendar of 270 funds for community and arts groups.
2026: Verso
Researched reports on drawings and paintings coming up at overseas auctions, and the Sunday List, a weekly email of the lots worth a look.
2026: Painter Fly
A fruit fly's simulated brain, wired from the mapped fly connectome, paints your picture stroke by stroke.
2026: Evidence Reviews
Free, cited evidence reviews of decisions in front of New Zealand councils, each fact checked against its source before release.
2026: When It Shakes
How would your city hold up in a big quake? Every building in ten NZ cities, shaken: the damage, who is at risk, and how to be ready.
2026: The Flat White Index
A Big Mac index for coffee: what a flat white costs in 42 cities and what that says about exchange rates, with a source for every price.
2026: RSVP Me
RSVPs, dinner orders and the bring list for anyone's event, all on one link.
2026: What Is Version Nine
A short browser game set in a time loop. Spot the AI slop in a document that keeps coming back rewritten, prove you're human, and find out what Version 9 really is. Invite only for now.

All builds

Research

2026: Misleading Ads Eval (in progress)
An open evaluation of how language models judge misleading advertising against NZ Complaints Board decisions.
2026: Who makes New Zealand's law? (in progress)
Whether law-making is moving from Parliament to Ministers and agencies, and whether Parliament's scrutiny is keeping up, from the full statute book.

Education

2026–27: IAPP Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional (AIGP), studying, exam January 2027
2026: AI in Financial Services for Public Authorities, Cambridge Judge Business School
Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, five-week programme for regulators and public authorities.
2025: Financial Technologies and Regulatory Implications, Wharton Online
Run with IOSCO for securities regulators, covering fintech, digital assets and how regulation applies to them.
2020: Oxford Fintech Programme, University of Oxford
Saïd Business School online programme on fintech, including payments, blockchain, AI and regulation.
2016: MA, Politics and International Relations, University of Auckland
Thesis on international tax competition. Dean of Arts Masters Thesis Scholarship.
2015: BA (First Class Honours), University of Auckland
2014: LLB / BA, Politics and Philosophy, University of Auckland

Community

2024–: Board Member, Government Economics Network
2018–: Leadership Network, Asia New Zealand Foundation
2025–: Governance and funding volunteer, Wellington School of Drawing
2023–24: Organising Committee, Wellington Pride Parade Trust

Art

2025–: Portrait, figure and oil painting at the Wellington School of Drawing. Most Improved Student 2025. Work at maxlin.art.

Languages

English and Mandarin. Learning Spanish, Japanese and NZ Sign Language.

Updated November 2026.