John Garnaut was an authority on Chinese elite politics and Chinese Communist Party interference and technology transfer programs.

He is the founder of Garnaut Global, where he provides strategic advice to Australian and allied government agencies and international hedge funds. He is also a senior consultant with McGrathNicol Advisory, leading foreign interference risk reviews and enhanced due diligence services for internationally-engaged universities and corporations. He is a member of the Futures Council of the ANU National Security College and also a member of the Advisory Board for a project on Russian and Chinese disinformation at the Center for Strategic & International Studies.

John was previously Fairfax's China's correspondent (2007-13) and Asia-Pacific Editor (2014-15), Senior Advisor to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (Nov 2015 - Sept 2016), and Principal Advisor (International) at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet where he led the Governments analysis and policy response to authoritarian interference (Oct 2016 - Jun 2017). He regularly advises and presents to governments departments and agencies in Australia, the United States and allied partners.