Policy Advisory Committee – applications open!

The WWDACT Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) is looking to fill a vacancy for 2025.

The PAC advises our policy team on issues affecting women, girls, non-binary and gender diverse people with disabilities in the ACT. We meet monthly over Zoom, on the first Monday of the month from 11am – 1pm.

Our PAC has 6 members, all of whom identify as women, girls, non-binary and/or gender diverse people with disabilities.

Who is eligible to be on the PAC?

To be on the PAC you must be:

A woman, non-binary and/or gender diverse person
A person with disabilities / disabled person
Living, studying or working in the ACT or surrounding regions (for example, Yass and Bungendore)
Over 18 years old

It is open to anyone who identifies as a person with disabilities or disabled person. You do not need a diagnosis in order to be eligible for the PAC.

We try to ensure our PAC represents a diverse range of experiences. Everybody is welcome to apply! However, we especially encourage applications from the following groups:

A young person with disabilities (under 25)
Trans, non-binary and/or gender diverse
Part of the LGBTQIA+ community
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) and/or a Person of Colour (POC)
An older person with disabilities (over 65)

What does the PAC do?

The PAC discusses issues that WWDACT is actively working on, primarily in disability policy. These include (but are not limited to):

Healthcare and health literacy
Gendered violence prevention
Disability supports
ACT Government priorities (including disability strategies, inquiries, budget process and election)
Parenting and raising children
Data collection about people with disabilities

You don’t have to have lived experience or extensive knowledge of all of these areas in order to apply! We will support you to learn about areas you don’t know much about.

The WWDACT team uses stories and information from these discussions to inform their policy work (including submissions, meetings with government and other stakeholders, and deciding our broader advocacy priorities). Sometimes we invite MLAs (members of the ACT Legislative Assembly) or other organisations to come along to our meetings and we can share stories with them directly.

The PAC also has opportunities to access training, or to be supported with their own projects by WWDACT if capacity allows.

How do we choose our new members?

We try to maintain a diverse range of lived experience across our PAC. This includes people with different disabilities or disability types, different intersecting identities, and other relevant lived experience (for example, as a carer or a survivor of violence).

In the application, we will ask you about your knowledge and experience in the disability sector and disability advocacy. This is just for us to learn more about you and your passion for disability advocacy. You don’t need to have any experience to be eligible to apply.

Administration information

The PAC meets 10 times per year. In 2025, meetings will start in March and run through to December.

We usually meet on the first Monday of the month, for 2 hours. Meetings are from 11am – 1pm.

We meet online over Zoom. Automatic closed captioning and transcripts are provided. A meeting agenda and papers are provided at least a week before our meetings, and minutes are shared within 2 weeks after the meeting.

We will do our best to meet other access needs – please let us know what would help you to participate.

PAC members are remunerated $250 per session, in the form of a gift card.

The full terms of reference for the PAC are available below as a PDF.

Terms of Reference 2024 Download

How to apply

You can find a link to the application form below.

We accept video and audio submissions, as well as written application forms. Let us know if we can make the form more accessible for you.

We might contact you for a brief interview before you are formally accepted onto the PAC.

This year there is only one vacancy on the PAC. However, WWDACT frequently holds policy consultations with our broader membership. Please indicate on the form if you would like us to send you other opportunities for policy and advocacy with us.

Click Here for the Application Form