Join our Board!
Living Proud has supported LGBTIQA+SB communities in Western Australia since 1974. We deliver QLife, the national peer support and referral service, alongside counselling, education and training, and we advocate for the health, safety and wellbeing of our communities across the state.
We are now looking for people to join our Board.
Expressions of interest are open for Secretary, Treasurer and Ordinary Board Member positions. Some will be filled by election at our Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 6 October 2026. Where the Board needs particular skills it may also co-opt members or appoint to a casual vacancy during the year. The positions and terms up for election will be confirmed in the notice of the AGM.
About the Board
Living Proud is a community-controlled organisation, which means the people who govern it come from the communities it serves. The Board sets the strategy, oversees the finances, manages the risks and supports the Chief Executive Officer.
A new Strategic Plan for 2026 to 2029 has recently been adopted. Its four priorities are to strengthen our services, deepen our community engagement, elevate our governance and operations, and strengthen our advocacy and leadership. Directors appointed now will oversee its first full delivery cycle.
What we are looking for
Two positions carry an essential requirement. A background in finance or accounting is essential for the Treasurer, and experience in legal and regulatory compliance is essential for the Secretary. No equivalent requirement applies to Ordinary Board Member positions.
Beyond that we welcome people from a wide range of backgrounds, and are particularly interested in hearing from people who bring expertise in any of the following:
- Finance and accounting
- Legal and regulatory compliance
- Human resource management
- Technology, digital systems and cyber security
- Fundraising, grants and income generation
We are equally interested in the perspectives you bring. Living Proud is committed to a Board that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve, and we strongly encourage expressions of interest from people who are currently underrepresented on our Board. We particularly welcome interest from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability, women, trans and gender-diverse people, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and people living in regional and remote Western Australia.
We value lived experience as much as formal qualifications. If you have never sat on a board before, that is not a barrier. We provide induction, mentoring from experienced directors, and support to build your governance confidence.
The positions
Secretary
The Secretary safeguards the governance integrity, records and compliance of Living Proud. The role coordinates meetings, notices and minutes, maintains the register of members and other statutory records, and supports compliance under the Associations Incorporation Act 2015 (WA). Experience in legal and regulatory compliance is essential for this position.
Treasurer
The Treasurer leads the Board’s financial oversight, helping the Board keep Living Proud financially sound and sustainable. The role ensures financial reporting is accurate and timely, supports the annual audit, presents plain-language financial reports to the Board, and works closely with the Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee. A background in finance or accounting is essential for this position.
Ordinary Board Members
Ordinary Board Members share fully in the governance and strategic leadership of Living Proud. They bring independent judgement, diverse skills and lived experience to the Board’s oversight of strategy, finances, risk, culture and performance, and serve on at least one committee or working group.
Full position descriptions are available to download below.
What is involved
- The Board meets monthly, currently at 5:30pm on a weeknight at City West Lotteries House in West Perth. You can attend in person or online.
- Allow approximately 3 to 5 hours a month for an Ordinary Board Member, including preparation and committee work. The Secretary and Treasurer roles carry a heavier load, in the order of 8 to 10 hours a month, and are busier around the budget, the audit and the AGM.
- All Board positions are honorary and unpaid.
- Terms are one or two years, depending on the position and where it sits in the election cycle. Co-opted members serve one year. The notice of the AGM will state the term attaching to each position up for election.
Who can stand, and how nominations work
To be elected to the Board you need to be an Ordinary or Life Member of Living Proud, aged 18 or over, and not disqualified under section 39 of the Associations Incorporation Act 2015 (WA). Associate Members are very welcome in the organisation but cannot hold office on the Board.
If you are not yet a member, that is easily fixed, but it does need to happen in time. Tell us in your expression of interest and we will help you apply, find a current member to propose you, and get your application to the Board for acceptance before nominations close on Tuesday 22 September 2026.
Nominations themselves work like this. You cannot nominate yourself. Another member must nominate you and a third must second the nomination, on a form approved by the Board and signed by all three of you, and it must reach the Secretary by Tuesday 22 September 2026. A Board member is assigned to assist each shortlisted candidate with the membership application and the nomination form.
All Board members complete a National Police Certificate through our volunteer screening process, sign a confidentiality agreement and a volunteer agreement, and disclose any conflicts of interest. Living Proud is committed to the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations, and our screening reflects that commitment.
How to express your interest
Download and complete the Expression of Interest form, and send it with your CV to chair@livingproud.org.au by 5:00pm AWST on Friday 11 September 2026.
We will be in touch with everyone who applies. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to a conversation with the Chairperson and one other Board member the week of 14 September 2026, and will then be supported through membership and nomination ahead of the Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 6 October 2026.
Key dates
- Friday 11 September 2026, 5:00pm: expressions of interest close
- Week of 14 September 2026: informal conversations with shortlisted candidates, and help with membership and nomination
- By Tuesday 15 September 2026: notice of the Annual General Meeting issued to members
- Tuesday 22 September 2026: nominations must reach the Secretary
- Tuesday 6 October 2026: Annual General Meeting and election
- October 2026: induction for new Board members
Questions before you apply
If you are interested but unsure whether your experience fits, contact chair@livingproud.org.au and a time will be arranged to discuss it. There is no obligation to apply afterwards.
Reasonable adjustments are available to support your participation, both in this process and on the Board. Set out what you need in your expression of interest, or raise it in conversation.
