Governance is in the spotlight at the Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation after a tumultuous six months that has culminated in the resignation on Wednesday of its chairman Reg Yarran.

With board elections set for next month, WAC announced Mr Yarran had resigned from the board, effective immediately.

"The Whadjuk Board acknowledges Mr Yarran for his time and commitment to the Corporation throughout the course of his term," the Corporation said in a statement.

"The Corporation remains committed to continuing its work on behalf of Whadjuk Traditional Owners and ensuring the ongoing progress of key cultural, social, and economic initiatives.

"Further updates regarding the appointment of a new chair will be communicated in due course."

On Tuesday, WAC announced new members of its Cultural Advice Committee (CAC) and director nominations ahead of its 2025 annual general meeting next month.

"Following director nominations, the selections committee has endorsed four eligible candidates under the corporation's rule book," WAC said.

The candidates are Colin Garlett, Wayne Ryder, Charne Hayden, Geraldine Hayden.

"As family members, Charne Hayden and Geraldine Hayden will contest one director position, in accordance with the rule allowing only one family member to serve on the Board at a time," WAC said.

"Colin Garlett and Wayne Ryder will stand unopposed. We thank all nominees for their continued commitment and leadership within the Whadjuk community."

Whadjuk members would be sent a postal vote, with proxy or in-person voting not permitted.

The WAC election closes November 27, with results to be announced at its member-only AGM on Saturday, November 29 at Burswood on Swan.

Details of any remaining vacant director position would be announced after the AGM.

Members appointed to the 2025/2026 Cultural Advice Committee were Dolcie Donaldson, Kay Walley, Karen Morich, Jennifer Garlett, Patrick Egan, Steven Jacobs and Stan Hedland.

The CAC provides cultural guidance and advice to support WAC's activities and ensure decisions are aligned with Whadjuk cultural values and community priorities.

"We extend our congratulations and appreciation to the newly appointed members for their dedication to preserving and promoting Whadjuk culture and heritage," the Corporation said.

It has been a challenging time at the WAC, with a Federal probe, leadership changes, and the representative organisation severed from funding from the $1.3 billion Noongar Native Title settlement.

WAC, which provides important services including heritage consultation on major projects in WA, was preparing to start or continue working on 16 projects when several staff were made redundant and a private firm, the South West Aboriginal Land Service, was contracted in April to conduct heritage work.

In late July WAC announced its heritage services would again be managed internally.

Internal strife at Whadjuk - including a months-long stalemate when two people insisted they were both the WAC chairperson, and then redundancies in March - led settlement trustee Perpetual Limited to issue the corporation a suspension notice in April, severing crucial funding from the trust critical to its operations.

The suspension followed the resignation of two WAC directors in late March, which left the corporation below the threshold of the required four under Regional Corporation Principles and the WAC Rulebook.

The staff exodus sparked an investigation by the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC), which on May 29 wrote to Mr Yarran to approve the corporation's request to revise its rule book to meet internal governance under emergency powers, if the number of directors fell below four.