Information on Governance for community organisations.
Governance is a broad term, often used to refer to systems which direct and control an organisation, and can encompass the relationships between management, the Board and other stakeholders.
For the purpose of this site, the term governance refers to an organisation’s Board, Council or Committee of Management. A director is a member of an organisation’s governance body and has responsibilities including oversight of the organisation’s strategic direction, finances and whether the organisation is achieving its goals and compliance obligations.
Good organisational governance provides organisational leadership, shapes the organisation’s mission, values and focuses on outcomes and sustainability and contributes to enhanced performance and stability within an organisation.
Social Services Standards
The Social Services Standards, Standard 5 is Accountable organisational governance.
Standard 5 ensures:
- governance arrangements set clear directions for leadership
- systems are in place that identify, track and reduce risk, and improve service delivery
- providers have a transparent incident management system
- staff can confidentially raise concerns around safe service delivery without punishment.
See the Social Services Regulator website for more information, including how to meet and demonstrate compliance with this standard.
Governance Standards
The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission has defined six Governance Standards.
These standards include Purposes and not-for profit nature, Accountability to members, Compliance with Australian laws, Suitability of Responsible people, Duties of Responsible People and Maintaining and enhancing public trust and confidence in the Australian not-for-profit sector.
Effective quality governance is fundamental to consistently delivering safe, effective, connected and person-centred community services. Developed by the Community Services Quality and Safety Office, the Community Services Quality Governance Framework sets the objective of safe, effective, connected and person-centred community services for everybody, every time.
The framework outlines the principles, domains, roles and responsibilities of quality governance and includes measures of success, and indicators of poor quality governance. It is designed for use across all services delivered, funded and regulated by the Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing.
There are a number of other organisations and resources that funded organisations can use to strengthen their governance.