Governance issues

The 'governance' of an organisation generally refers to the processes by which an organisation is directed, controlled and held to account. It covers issues of authority, accountability, stewardship, leadership, direction and control exercised in the organisation.

Good governance practices are crucial to the organisation's ability to function, to achieve its objects and to comply with all of the legal, ethical and operational requirements of a community organisation. A major issue that community organisations (of a certain size) often face is working out:

• the role and responsibility of an organisation's board or committee (to govern the organisation); and
• the role and responsibility of the management or executive team (to manage the organisation).

This is a particularly difficult issue for small organisations that have no (or very few) paid staff. For these organisations, and even medium community organisations, the size of the organisation can make it challenging to be able to separate issues of strategic governance and day-to-day management.  

For more information about community organisation boards and committees of management, see The people involved > Office holders in a community organisation.  

For details on the governance positions within an incorporated association and information on the different committee roles, please see our page Positions in an incorporated association.

For details on the governance positions within a company limited by guarantee and information on the different committee roles, please see our page Positions in a company limited guarantee.

There has been much written about principles of good governance for community organisations.  The below links highlight the existing resources which focus on the important issue of governance in a community organisation.  Please follow these links if you would like further information on this topic.