Bonétt worked for the law firm Thomson Simmons & Co from 1990 to 1996 and then as a Senior Associate at Phillips Fox Lawyers from 1996 to 1998. In 1994 when he was 24 years old, he founded Precision Group. Through Precision, he was involved in the re-positioning of MacArthur Central, and collaborated with the Bank of China to purchase the Chevron Renaissance Shopping Centre. Shaun Bonétt also negotiated the establishment of a Tiffany & Company outlet in Adelaide Central Plaza, along with three other international retailers, including David Jones. In 2003 he joined the board of directors of iSelect Health & Life Insurance, in 2005 he joined the board of Lenders Direct, and in 2007 he joined the board and became Chairman of Litigation Lending Services. Bonett has also established a charitable organization called the Heartfelt Foundation. In 2018 Bonétt acquired a material stake and board seat in the data analytics ASX listed company Skyfii Limited. In May 2006, Bonétt negotiated one of the largest property swap transactions in Australian history, when he swapped Precision Group's property at 160 Ann Street, Brisbane for MacArthur Central in Brisbane, in a $186 million swap transaction. Bonétt debuted on the Business Review Weekly Young Rich List in 2006 placing third with a fortune of $220 million and was ranked as Australia’s Richest Person 40 and Under in 2007/2008. Bonétt's wealth, as of 2018, was estimated by the BRW Rich List to be $718 million, a number that climbed from $220 million in 2006 and $478 million in 2015. In 2019 Bonett’s wealth was estimated by The Australian Business Review to be $1.17 billion. In 2010 Bonétt’s Precision Group was the first private Australian businesses to undertake various finance transactions with the Bank of China and Bonétt subsequently made submissions to the Foreign Investment Review Board to enable more Australian businesses to access loans from International banks without having to first obtain FIRB approval. In 2015 Bonétt also actively supported and made representations to Government for Australia's free trade agreement with China.
Philanthropy
Bonétt is a Trustee and Patron of youth and enterprise charity The Prince's Trust Australia, which aims to help unemployed young people around the globe into education, training and work. In addition, he is Deputy Chairman and Founding Donor of Life Education Australia, the largest preventative health organisation in the country, whose primary objective is raising funds to help children make healthy lifestyle choices.
