He is a 1986 graduate of the University of Adelaide, holding a bachelor's degree in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science.

Together with John Romkey, Hackett became the first to connect a commercial domestic appliance (a Sunbeam Deluxe Automatic Radiant Control Toaster) to the internet in 1990.

[3][4] The Internode company group was sold to iiNet in a A$105 million transaction announced in December 2011 and completed on 31 January 2012.

[8] Other boards Hackett has served upon are: Adelaide Fringe Festival, m.Net Corporation.,[9] and the Australian Network for Art and Technology.

[16] Hackett stepped down from the Redflow board effective at the 2018 AGM, while remaining involved in a technical role as Systems Integration Architect.