QUT just opened a Company Secretary role that pays between $138,193 and $156,633 a year and closes on 20 August. You have less than two weeks to get your application in front of them.

The position sits in the Office of the General Counsel and serves as chief governance officer for the university's controlled entities. You will keep those entities compliant with every legal, regulatory and corporate rule while acting as the direct link between their boards, senior management and stakeholders. Board meeting coordination, director training, minutes, resolutions and ASIC filings all land on your desk. The role also pulls you into project work inside the legal office itself.

Who actually fits this brief

QUT wants high-level executive support experience or the equivalent mix of deep professional work and training. You need proven company secretarial chops: running board meetings, drafting accurate minutes, lodging ASIC documents and giving clear governance advice to senior people. Digital fluency with databases and multiple software tools matters. So does the ability to juggle high-volume work against tight deadlines without dropping details.

They also list strong interpersonal skills, written communication that handles sensitive material with discretion, and a demonstrated commitment to equity, diversity and Indigenous Australian engagement. The role is open to current QUT staff with ongoing full-time rights and to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants who are not already on staff.

How to prepare an application that actually gets read

Most applications for roles like this get skimmed in under sixty seconds. Cut the fluff and match the job language directly.

1. Lead with your board and governance examples. List specific meetings you have organised, minutes you have produced and ASIC filings you have completed in the last two years.
2. Show you can advise at executive level. One concrete story of giving authoritative guidance to a board or senior team beats three paragraphs of generic claims.
3. Prove you handle volume and deadlines. Mention the number of entities or boards you have supported simultaneously and how you met conflicting timelines.
4. Address the equity requirement head-on with a short, factual example rather than a statement of values.

Skip the long cover letter that repeats your resume. A single page that points to the exact duties in the ad works better.

What the package actually includes

Base salary sits between $116,774 and $132,357. Add 17 percent superannuation and 17.5 percent recreation leave loading and the total package reaches $138,193 to $156,633. The role is ongoing and full-time at Gardens Point with a hybrid option. QUT also offers purchased leave up to eight extra weeks, salary packaging, fitness passport, generous parental leave and study assistance.

Common mistakes that sink strong candidates

People with solid governance backgrounds still lose out by submitting generic applications that ignore the controlled-entities focus. Others bury their ASIC or board-meeting experience deep in a dense resume. A few treat the equity and diversity criterion as optional. None of those approaches survive the first screen.

One action to take this week

Update the bullet points on your resume to mirror the exact duties listed in the ad, then submit before the 20 August deadline.