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Independent secretariat services for boards, committees, panels and tribunals
When your board secretary resigns, two boards merge into one, or a new panel has to be set up, your meetings still need to run. Our board and secretariat support takes that work off your plate: agendas, board papers, minutes, registers, fees and reporting. We provide board support for government agencies, statutory bodies, NGOs and industry groups.
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- We get the papers out on schedule, support the meeting, organise travel and process fees. Your members get the papers in time to read them and turn up ready to decide.
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- We keep meetings running through a new Chair, a merger, or a departing board secretary while your people settle in.
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- Our secretariat services help you keep on top of statutory responses. We have provided the Mental Health Review Tribunal with independent support since 2018: around 135 applications a year, on a statutory clock of no more than 28 days.
How do I keep the meetings running when my secretariat is stretched, absent or brand new?
When a secretariat function works well, it is invisible. Meetings run on time, decisions are on the record and people trust the process.
When the secretariat function is not working well, the gaps show quickly: papers arrive late, minutes are thin and registers fall behind. We close those gaps, whether you have one overloaded person, an empty desk or a group that does not exist yet.
- Avoid a single point of failure. If everything sits with one person, a resignation or a period of leave can spell disaster. We provide a team sized to the workload, so the meetings carry on regardless of who is in attendance.
- Prevent directors doing the administration. Chasing venues, travel and fees, and collating papers, all take time your members should spend on strategy and oversight. We take the administration on, and your members get that time back.
- Don’t miss statutory timeframes. A tribunal, committee or panel with statutory deadlines has no slack for backlog. We track every application from the day it arrives, so nothing misses its deadline.
- Keep sensitive information secure. Board, tribunal and panel material often includes personal, health or commercial details. We control who sees it and track where it goes.
- Ensure the record can stand up later. Late papers and thin minutes leave a board unable to show what it decided, why and who was to act. We minute decisions and actions clearly, so the record is there when you need it.
How our secretariat support works
We run meetings end to end – from agenda to minutes and follow-up – for boards, subcommittees, advisory councils, expert panels and statutory tribunals across New Zealand and Australia.
We assume your team are the experts in your organisation, and we design for the people, time and systems you actually have. We don’t come in looking to change how you govern unless you ask us to.
If you want your governance reviewed as well, learn more about our Governance Advice service here.
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We help you manage transitions. We have supported boards and committees through mergers, changes of Chair, chief executive and board secretary, and the induction of new members, without a break in governance.
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We ensure your people have all the information to step back in. We document, we train, and we set up systems your team can use, including moving to an online board management platform.
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We handle sensitive material properly. For a statutory tribunal we run privacy protocols aligned with the Privacy Act 2020 and the Health Information Privacy Code 2020. That means restricted server access, need-to-know sharing and secure tracking of every application.
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We set up new groups so they can start work. We create the terms of reference, set up the decision-making processes and templates, and run the appointments to vacant positions. Your new council, group or panel then has what it needs from the first meeting.
Our process
If you are setting up a new board, committee or panel, we take it from the first conversation to a steady operating rhythm. If your board secretariat is changing, we keep it steady through any transition. Our meeting management covers everything from agenda to follow-up. The same five stages apply whether the engagement is for a set period or ongoing.
What we deliver:
- Papers, minutes and registers for every meeting. Agendas and board papers out on schedule, minutes that record decisions and actions, registers kept current, and fees and honoraria paid.
- Governance documents, reviewed and up to date. Terms of reference, key governance documents and templates get evaluated and updated, and we provide a board evaluation if you want one: governance support outside the meetings themselves.
Understand
We start with your governance arrangements: who decides what, which meetings and committees exist, what statutory or constitutional requirements apply, and where the process needs work. For a sector council, that meant covering the service handbook, the terms of reference and vacant appointments, not just the meeting calendar.
Plan
We agree the operating rhythm with your Chair and executive: the meeting calendar, paper deadlines, who prepares and approves what. We also agree how you keep registers and records and how you handle sensitive material. If you want one, we also recommend an online board management platform where papers are distributed, read and stored - our team has used Boardable, OnBoard and Diligent.
Deliver
We run the meetings. Agendas and papers go out on time, we support the meeting in the room and online, and we minute decisions and actions clearly. Afterwards we process fees and travel and keep the registers current. For a tribunal, that means every application is scheduled for hearing inside its statutory window.
Review
We report on how the secretariat is performing and on the trends in what comes before the board or tribunal. For one statutory tribunal, we provide trend and outcome reporting and quarterly updates to the Ministry of Health. For general boards, it can include a self-evaluation.
Close
If you only need our services for a set period, we hand over documented processes, templates and records so your team can carry on without interruption. If our collaboration is ongoing we keep running the meetings for as long as you need us, increasing support with demand.
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Streamlining Tribunal Support: Secretariat Support for the Mental Health Review Tribunal
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Strengthening Sector Voices: Secretariat support for the NGO Council
Read MoreFAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
What is secretariat support?
What is secretariat support?
The administration around every meeting: agenda preparation, drafting and circulating papers, travel and catering, minutes, registers, post-meeting correspondence and payment of fees or honoraria. It can extend to drafting the Chair's reports, running appointments processes and keeping terms of reference current. In short, it keeps your board, council or committee working so members can focus on their core objectives.
Read more in our Quick Guide to Effective Secretariat Services.
Related
Quick Guide to Effective Secretariat Services
Read moreDo your secretariat services cover committees, panels and tribunals as well as boards?
Yes. In New Zealand our work includes a statutory tribunal, an industry group and a sector council. In Australia it includes a board with three subcommittees, a national committee and an expert health panel.
Can you help establish a new advisory group, committee or panel from scratch, including the terms of reference?
Yes, or we can refine the ones you have drafted. For the NGO Council we revised the existing terms alongside the service handbook, ran the appointments process for vacant positions and supported the development of a work programme. For a new industry group, we developed the terms of reference and decision-making processes and put in place the templates it needed to work together.
What technology platforms do you use for board management?
Our team have used a range of board management platforms including Boardable, OnBoard, and Diligent. We can work with your existing systems or recommend appropriate solutions. Our expertise covers digital board paper distributions systems, virtual meeting platforms, document management, and collaborative workflow tools.
How does your board support help us get better board papers?
We work with your management team to prepare the papers, so what reaches the board is complete, on time and written for a decision. For a national committee that meant comprehensive meeting papers; for a board, agenda development, meeting materials and clear, actionable minutes.
Can you scale for a peak, such as a surge of applications or a busy reporting period?
Yes. We add capacity when the workload surges and scale back when it settles, maintaining quality and continuity of service.