Life Without Barriers partners with people to change lives for the better.
Each year, the organisation supports more than 25,000 people in more than 400 communities across Australia. With services spanning disability, aged care, child and family, mental health, refugee support and homelessness, strong governance and genuine lived experience at board level are essential, because the people shaping decisions should reflect the people most affected by them.
People for Purpose supported Life Without Barriers through a targeted board renewal that prioritised values alignment, cultural diversity and the lived experience of disability and First Nations communities.
This work led to the appointment of Dr Elizabeth McEntyre, a Worimi Guringay and Wonnarua Elder whose leadership in criminal justice, mental health, disability, and research helps shape culturally informed and transformational practice. Dr McEntyre is a member of the NSW Mental Health Review Tribunal and advises governments, peak bodies, professional associations, service providers and universities. She contributes to national ageing and aged care quality work, and to developing an action framework to end the abuse and mistreatment of older Australians. As an experienced Board Director, her First Nations leadership and professional fortitude strengthen oversight of cultural and practice governance, and quality and risk while elevating voices that have historically been marginalised and under-represented.
Another key appointment was Karen Knight, a registered psychologist and experienced Non-Executive Director whose background in mental health and disability is matched by extensive operational leadership across a national footprint.
Karen combines lived experience with strong management capability to advocate for quality service delivery and community inclusion. She has led transformational change while maintaining client outcomes and is passionate about removing barriers to education and employment so that people can live the life they choose. Karen previously served on the boards of Guide Dogs NSW/ACT and Guide Dogs Australia. Both Dr McEntyre and Ms Knight are members of the Practice Governance Committee.
Our search approach engaged leaders across sectors and geographies and assessed directors on governance judgment, constructive challenge, cultural competence and commitment to reconciliation and stakeholder engagement. We looked for directors whose lived experience would inform strategic decision-making while maintaining independence and objectivity.
Board capability was strengthened through directors who bring First Nations leadership, mental health and disability practice depth, large-scale operational experience and strong governance and risk acumen. This renewal supports Strategy 2025 by enhancing practice governance and ensuring leadership reflects and understands the lived experience of people who live with disabilities and other forms of disadvantage.
When the people guiding decisions bring lived experience of the communities they serve, governance becomes more than oversight; it becomes empathy in action. For Life Without Barriers, this renewal means decisions are better informed, quality is safeguarded and voices once excluded are now shaping the system from within.
By appointing leaders whose insights are shaped by lived experience, Life Without Barriers is demonstrating what inclusive governance looks like in practice. It is a reminder that genuine representation at the board table is not symbolic; it is strategic. It strengthens trust, sharpens judgment and ensures the organisation’s mission is lived as well as led.
