What Pro Bono Australia does

Pro Bono Australia Pty Ltd (ACN 090 770 666) is a privately held Australian digital media and data company operating since approximately 2000 as a media and information platform serving the Australian not-for-profit and for-purpose sector. Its product surface comprises a Niceboard-powered jobs board (probonoaustralia.niceboard.co) that connects NFP employers with purpose-driven candidates, and a Shopify-powered storefront selling an annual NFP Salary Survey alongside job advertising credits, web advertising, and partnership sponsorships. The company also publishes editorial content including a Changemakers interview series, Career News and Advice, and a News Archive of ~18,000 articles preserved through the National Library of Australia.

The business is anchored by its annual Salary Survey, now in its 14th edition (2026), which benchmarks remuneration across 41 positions using 1,876 cases from 2,575 submissions, segmented by sector, organisation size, budget, location, and tax status. The 2025 edition introduced a generative AI insights section, indicating exploratory use of AI for content generation rather than core product capability. The platform monetises through tiered one-time survey purchases (A$689 for the full report; A$150-A$259 for individual role reports), expiring job-credit transactions on the jobs board, web advertising placements, and recurring partnership/sponsorship arrangements — most notably with Be Recruitment as major survey sponsor.

Pro Bono Australia is founder-led by Karen Mahlab AM (CEO & Founder), operates as a domestic single-country business focused exclusively on the Australian NFP sector, and relies on third-party platforms (Shopify, Niceboard) rather than proprietary infrastructure. Its economic moat is concentrated in 14 years of continuous salary data and a recognised brand within the Australian social sector, with no disclosed funding, acquisitions, or headcount scale to indicate venture or private-equity backing.

Name

Pro Bono Australia

Legal name

Pro Bono Australia Pty Ltd

Website

https://probonoaustralia.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pro Bono Australia operates a digital platform serving Australia's not-for-profit sector through a Niceboard-powered jobs board, an annual NFP Salary Survey (14th edition, 2026), editorial content, and partnership/advertising arrangements. It monetises via survey sales, job advertising credits, web advertising, and sponsorships led by founder Karen Mahlab AM.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

NFP Sector Media and Jobs Platform

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services (54121)

akta.pro primary industry

Payroll Software & Payroll-as-a-Service (SaaS) (BPACAIAB)

Keywords

• Nonprofit job board
• Salary benchmarking survey
• Sector news publishing
• Recruitment advertising
• Nfp media platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Salary Survey Sales: Annual digital salary survey report sold as tiered download products based on organisation size. Prices range from $689 for NFP organisations to $689 for commercial/consultants. Individual role reports sold separately from $150-$259 per report.
2. Job Advertising: NFP jobs board where organisations purchase job credits to post positions. Credits expire 6 months from purchase date. This is a B2B marketplace connecting not-for-profit employers with purpose-driven job seekers.
3. Web Advertising & Partnerships: Partnerships with organisations like Be Recruitment for salary survey sponsorship. Web advertising opportunities including banner ads on the platform, news service subscriptions, and 'Partner with us' offerings for organisations seeking to reach the NFP audience.
4. News Service: Subscription-based news content serving the Australian not-for-profit sector covering social issues, philanthropy, good business, volunteering, and career development topics.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Pro Bono Australia operates a digital jobs board where Australian not-for-profits, social enterprises, and for-purpose organisations purchase job-advertising credits to recruit purpose-driven professionals. It also publishes and sells Australia's largest annual NFP Salary Survey as a digital download with tiered pricing, complemented by editorial content such as Changemakers profiles, Career News articles, and a curated news archive preserved with the National Library of Australia.

Product overview

Pro Bono Australia operates a multi-platform digital ecosystem serving Australia's not-for-profit and for-purpose sector. The core offering consists of a jobs board (powered by Niceboard) enabling NFPs to advertise roles to purpose-driven professionals, and an annual salary survey (Australia's largest NFP remuneration benchmarking tool, now in its 14th edition) sold via a Shopify-powered e-commerce store with tiered pricing for organisations of different sizes. Supporting services include a career news and advice blog, a weekly Changemakers interview series profiling sector leaders, and a news archive of ~18,000 articles preserved with the National Library of Australia. Revenue is generated through job advertising, salary survey product sales, and partnership/advertising arrangements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PBA Changemakers: A profiling series featuring leaders and change-makers in the not-for-profit and social impact sector.
• Pro Bono Australia Salary Survey

Products and services

• NFP Salary Survey Australia's largest annual remuneration benchmarking report for the not-for-profit sector, delivering salary data across 41 roles segmented by sector, organisation size, location, budget, and tax status. Sold as digital downloads with tiered organisation-wide licences and individual role reports, targeting NFP boards, CEOs, HR leaders, and managers.
• Pro Bono Australia Jobs Board A Niceboard-powered jobs marketplace that connects Australian not-for-profits, social enterprises, and for-purpose organisations with purpose-driven job seekers. Offers job posts, credit bundles, and banner advertising options for employers.
• Partnership and Advertising Program Advertising and sponsorship offerings for organisations seeking to reach Pro Bono Australia's NFP audience, including jobs advertising, news service subscriptions, web banner advertising, and Good Business partnerships.
• Changemakers interview series Weekly interview series profiling leaders and innovators in Australia's social sector, typically featuring NFP or social-enterprise CEOs and founders sharing their career journeys and leadership philosophies.
• Career News and Advice blog Editorial content hub providing career guidance, recruitment insights, sector trends, and professional development resources for the Australian not-for-profit and community services sector.
• News Archive Curated online selection of approximately 400 news articles drawn from an 18,000-article archive covering social issues, philanthropy, good business, volunteering, and career development; the broader 18,000-article collection (2000–2023) is preserved by the National Library of Australia.

Quantifiable outcome

• 11 percent increase in CEO salaries documented in 2026 survey
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• Be RecruitmentmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerBe Recruitment is the major sponsor of the Pro Bono Australia Salary Survey. Their co-founders and Managing Directors, Jenny Rosser and Zena Clark, contributed a foreword to the 2026 report. The partnership includes logo placement on the Salary Survey page and cross-promotion of recruitment services to the NFP sector audience.
• National Library of AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe National Library of Australia preserves and provides access to 18,000 Pro Bono News articles dating from 2000-2023. This partnership ensures the historical preservation of not-for-profit sector journalism and extends the reach of archived content through the NLA web archive.
• ShopifycoreTechnology or IntegrationPro Bono Australia is powered by Shopify for e-commerce functionality, enabling the sale of Salary Survey products, job credits, and website services. Shopify also processes payments and provides the underlying technology infrastructure for the online store.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ProBonoAust
• Facebookfacebook.com/ProBonoAustralia
• Instagraminstagram.com/probonoaus

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pro Bono Australia