Board Members (Voluntary)

The ACT Domestic Violence Crisis Service (DVCS) is a non-government, not-for-profit specialist domestic and family violence service that seeks to help build lives free of violence. We provide crisis and long-term support services to help break the domestic and family violence cycle. We support people, both during and after crisis situations, and run a 24 hour crisis service as well as number of domestic violence related programs. More details are on our website.

DVCS’s operations are overseen by a Board of Governance, which will have 5 Board vacancies to fill at its 2026 Annual General Meeting, being held on 18 November 2026. We also intend to use the pool of Board nominees as a way of filling casual vacancies that arise during the year.  We note that at least 4 Board members whose current terms are expiring intend to run for re-election.

All Board members:

• Are strongly committed to the vision, values and purpose of DVCS
• Are willing to learn about (or are already familiar with) the strategic governance role of a Board
• Can commit around 8–10 hours every 2 months as a volunteer, to attend meetings and progress the Board's work program, for a 1 or 2 year term

In addition, we welcome nominees who bring one or more of the following. You do not need all of them, we are building a Board with a mix of strengths, and we'd rather hear from you than have you rule yourself out.

• Knowledge, skills or experience in accounting, finance, law, or commercial/business settings
• Knowledge, skills or experience in domestic and family violence or related social issues, including lived experience
• Perspectives, experience or connections that support greater diversity on the Board: we particularly encourage young people (18-30yo), Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, and people with disability to nominate

We recognise that we operate in a diverse community and welcome and encourage applications from all ages and genders, Aboriginal and Torres Strait peoples, culturally and linguistically diverse groups, LGBTIQA+ communities and people with disabilities. DVCS recognises lived experience of domestic violence as an expertise individuals hold which can and should inform our work.

The Board generally consists of 9 persons, with meetings held in person every second month, and members also joining a committee which meets virtually on the same cycle between Board meeting dates. Given Board meetings are held in person, Board members are generally located in the ACT or nearby.

Only DVCS members can become Board members, and DVCS can assist you with this process if you are not already a member. The DVCS Constitution also provides that DVCS employees (or generally persons employed by DVCS in the past 12 months) are not eligible to be Board members.