Mali Hudson is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Home and Away, played by Kyle Shilling. The character made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 11 January 2023. Shilling is the first Indigenous actor to portray a regular main character in the soap. He auditioned for other roles in Home and Away but was unsuccessful for those roles. Producers liked Shilling's auditions and created the role of Mali for him. Shilling hoped his casting would inspire young Aboriginal viewers to pursue acting careers. Mali is introduced into the series as friend of Dean Thompson and works as a surfboard shaper in Dean's surfboard shop. Mali is characterised as cheeky, caring and family oriented. Mali's Indigenous culture has largely been written into his characterisation. The show hired an Indigenous cultural consultant to work with scriptwriters to ensure the representation of the culture was correct. Writers also introduced Mali's family during his tenure, consisting of his mother, Victoria Hudson, his sister Elandra Hudson and brother, Iluka Hudson.