About the role
Tenure: Remunerated appointment (three-year term to Annual General Meeting (AGM), May 2029)
Location: Applicants can be based anywhere in Australia or New Zealand
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) is inviting expressions of interest for a Community Member to join the Family Violence Psychiatry Network (FVPN) Committee.
The FVPN committee brings together psychiatrists, trainees, and community perspectives to raise awareness and strengthen understanding of the mental health impacts of family violence, support education and research, and promotes high clinical and ethical standards of care.
We are looking for someone with lived or living experience of family violence, either through your own experiences or as a carer, whanau/family member, or supporter of someone who has engaged with mental health/ psychiatric services.
Why your voice matters
We recognise that people with lived experience hold important knowledge about how systems work in practice, what helps, what doesn’t, and what needs to change. We’re particularly interested in hearing from people who can speak to the intersection between family violence and mental health care, including both positive experiences and areas where responses could be improved.
This might include insights about:
- Not feeling heard or believed when talking about abuse
- Responses that don’t fully recognise the impact of trauma
- Experiences of being misdiagnosed or having trauma responses pathologised
- The ways systems can be misused by people using violence
- The role of medication and treatment in contexts of coercion or control
- Barriers to accessing safe, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed care
We are also interested in understanding how psychiatrists can improve when interacting with victim-survivors. We strongly encourage applications from people with diverse experiences, including First Nations peoples, LGBTQIA+ communities, and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
The Community Member will share their lived expertise from a consumer and/or carer perspective to help shape the work and priorities of the network committee.
Key Responsibilities
As a Community Member, you will be a full member of the Network Committee and will:
- Attend and actively contribute to scheduled meetings
- Provide lived-experience input from a consumer and/or carer perspective to inform the committees work, decisions and discussions.
- Review meeting papers and provide written input between meetings as required
- Work collaboratively with committee members, the Chair and RANZCP staff
- Help identify opportunities to strengthen practice, policy, and system responses
- Adhere to RANZCP policies, including confidentiality and conflict of interest requirements
The role includes contributing to ongoing reflection and improvement, including identifying where current approaches could be strengthened and how services can better support people experiencing family violence. For more details, please refer to the position description
What you’ll bring
- Lived or living experience of family violence either through your own experiences or as a carer, whanau/family member, or supporter of someone who has engaged with mental health/ psychiatric services.
- An interest in contributing to improvements in psychiatry training, policy, and practice
- An interest in improving how mental health and psychiatric services respond to family violence
- Can work collaboratively with others, including clinicians and trainees
- Ability to reflect on and communicate lived-experience insights in a way that informs professional discussions and supports improvements to the committee’s work
- Commitment to actively participate in scheduled meetings, with an average time commitment of 3 virtual meetings (each approx. 2 hours) and 1 face-to-face meeting (full day) per year.
- Alignment with RANZCP values and commitment to confidentiality
- Australian or New Zealand citizenship, or valid Australian work rights
- Independence from RANZCP employment (current employees are not eligible to apply)
- Previous experience in committees, advisory roles, or relevant lived-experience advocacy is welcome but not required
Some of what’s on offer:
- Remuneration for committee participation (sitting fees, expense reimbursement and annual reading fee)
- Payment is provided in line with the RANZCP Community Member Remuneration Policy, available at: https://www.ranzcp.org/getmedia/7c0dda88-c3c2-4d1b-9284-062d02a4837d/POL-RANZCP-Community-Member-Remuneration-Policy-July-2025.pdf
- Flexible participation, with virtual meeting options
- Support to participate effectively as a Community Member, including clear information and accessibility adjustments where needed
- Opportunity to influence psychiatry training and professional practice
- A values-led, inclusive and culturally safe environment
- Purpose-driven work that contributes to better mental health outcomes
How to express an interest
To express an interest, please submit a brief resume and a short statement or cover letter outlining:
- Your interest in the role
- Your lived experience (as you feel comfortable sharing)
- Skills relevant to the role and how you would draw on your lived experience
- Your location and availability for virtual meetings
We encourage applicants to review the Position Description before applying. For enquiries, please contact recruitment@ranzcp.org. No agencies, please.
Diversity and Inclusion
RANZCP is committed to fostering a workplace where diversity, inclusion and authenticity are genuinely valued. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, including First Nations peoples, LGBTQIA+ communities, neurodivergent individuals, and people of all ages, cultures, faiths and lived experiences.
We strongly encourage applications from people with lived and living experience of mental health challenges, and from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and Māori. We recognise and value the knowledge, perspectives and cultural strengths that diverse communities bring to our work and are committed to creating a culturally safe and inclusive environment for all.
Applications close: 5PM AEST, Monday 13th July 2026
(Please note the advertisement may remain visible after the closing date due to platform settings.
