Her research since 2005 has focused on consumer co-operatives in Australia and New Zealand. She is a member of the Global Co-operatives Project Steering Committee which draws on and connects academics from all regions of the world with the aim of developing a global history of the consumer co-operative movement since c.1860. Nikki is the President of the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History (ASSLH), and is Deputy Editor of the Society's journal Labour History.