Governance > Board of Directors > Board Induction > Governance Induction for Board Directors
Authorised by Board of Management
Revised Date: 4 May 2023
What is governance?
Governance refers to the systems that direct and control – or govern – an organisation.
Governance is about relationships. It concerns the relationships of the people involved with an organisation, both between each other and with the organisation itself, and the ways that the expectations of these relationships are understood and met. Governance enables authority to be exercised appropriately and for the people who exercise it to be held to account.
The Hon. Justice Neville Owen, who headed the Royal Commission into HIH Insurance, defined governance as:
“...the framework of rules, relationships, systems and processes within and by which authority is exercised and controlled in corporations. It encompasses the mechanisms by which companies, and those in control, are held to account.”
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to governance. Every organisation must consider its own circumstances in determining how best to develop a fit-for-purpose approach to governance. This should include consideration of factors such as an organisation’s size, purpose, and structure.
The way organisations are governed (and the resources available to support this) will differ between organisations. Some organisations will have the resources to assist them in developing a sophisticated governance framework whereas smaller ones with scant resources may struggle to do this, instead relying on more informal approaches to help them achieve good governance. That is not to say that good governance is more easily achieved by larger organisations. All organisations can achieve good governance. From the AICD Website
Kyeema Reference materials
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1. |
Kyeema’s regulatory and compliance framework (included in Induction Pack)
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2. |
Kyeema Rules of Incorporation KEF-50 (sent with letter of appointment)
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3. |
Kyeema Board Charter (included in Induction Pack)
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5. |
Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 (VIC) https://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/in-force/acts/associations-incorporation-reform-act-2012/018 |
Additional reference options for personal/professional development
Directors may wish to take out membership with any of the following organisations (Kyeema does not pay for membership). Some have free membership levels or newsletters. The Chairperson has a membership to the AICD and can facilitate information from there as required for the benefit of the Board. The CEO has membership to Our Community.
Directors are encouraged to attend any development that may assist them in their role on the Board. Where it is relevant to Kyeema, the organisation may pay for Directors to attend development sessions.
a. Women on Boards: https://www.womenonboards.net/en-au/home
b. Our Community: https://communitydirectors.com.au/about
c. Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD): https://aicd.companydirectors.com.au
d. Conscious Governance (Steven Bowman and Brendan Walsh) https://consciousgovernance.com/