Meeting protocols
School council meetings must be:
- conducted in accordance with the school council’s standing orders if the school council has established any
- chaired by:
- the president of the school council or
- the principal as executive office of council at the first school council meeting of the new council to appoint community members and elect office bearers chaired or
- the vice-president
- if the president of the school council is unable to preside, and
- if a vice-president has been appointed by the school council, or
- a member of the school council (other than a department employee member) decided by the council
- if the school council has not appointed a vice-president, or
- the vice-president is unable to preside at the meeting
- provided with support and resources for the conduct of meetings by the principal as the executive officer of school council.
Visitors or observers can be present at a council meeting with the agreement of the principal but they cannot vote and may only speak by invitation.
There may be times when, for the purpose of confidentiality or other reasons, a council meeting needs to be closed. The principal in consultation with the president determines the need for a closed meeting.
Agenda
The agenda lists the business that school council will consider at the meeting. Some items are for information only, some for discussion and others for decision.
Meeting papers are recommended to be sent approximately 5 days (when possible) prior to the meeting date to allow council members to:
- reflect on the issues
- gather more information if necessary
- canvass the opinions of school community members, where applicable.
Most information regarding agenda topics to be discussed in council meetings will be provided by the principal or in reports from relevant individuals or subcommittees.
In order to avoid the agenda being crowded with too much business, a significant amount of work may be undertaken by subcommittees.
Reports from the subcommittees:
- provide information and recommendations to council
- are considered at council meetings when appropriate.
Further information on school council sub-committees is available at School Council Subcommittees.
School councils may use the school council sample agenda and minute .
Minutes
School council minutes must be taken and must record:
- the type of meeting (regular, extraordinary or public)
- date, time and venue of meeting
- names of attendees (including visitors) and apologies received from members
- the name of presiding officer
- the business of the meeting including the decision on the minutes of the previous meeting, inward and outward correspondence and reports of any subcommittees tabled at the meeting
- decisions of the meeting including motions and any amendments, names of movers and seconders
- whether the motion was carried or rejected
- the number of votes for and against
- the resulting actions required and when the actions or activities are completed
The minutes of the school council meeting must be:
- written up under the agenda item headings
- circulated by the principal prior to the next meeting of council
- confirmed as accurate at the next school council meeting, and
- signed by the school council president or the person who presides at the meeting
There is no right-of-access to the minutes of a school council meeting under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 . However, it is recommended that the principal keep the school community informed of school council matters by way of:
- a report in the school newsletter
- a digital communication system
- the school website.
Sample agendas and minutes templates
School councils may use the following 8 school council agenda and minutes templates (one for each regular meeting required throughout the year). Meeting 1 covers the first meeting of the school council immediately following the election (which is usually the second meeting of the calendar year). Meeting 8 covers the final school council meeting before the election (which may be the first meeting of the calendar year). Schools are advised to use all 8 templates.
The template agendas include mandatory agenda items that apply to all schools. However, the requirements of schools will vary based on their activities and there may be additional mandatory requirements that school councils must include on meeting agendas for these activities. Schools must also consult the Guide to School Council Finance Motions for agenda items that are specific to the operations of their school council.
The template agendas are designed to spread the work of school councils across the 8 meetings. However, schools may choose to change the order of some agenda items.
There are currently no templates for the extraordinary meeting or the public meeting. For more information about the content of these meetings refer to: School Council – Meetings: Public Reporting and Extraordinary meetings.
- Sample agenda and minutes template – Meeting 1 – The key agenda items in this meeting include the completion of the mandatory school council self-assessment tool, the election of office bearers, setting meeting dates for the year, delegation of school council powers, school council training as well as standard school council governance.
- Sample agenda and minutes template – Meeting 2 – The key agenda items in this meeting include the co-option of community members (if applicable), endorsement of the school’s annual report by 30 April and the mandatory child safe standards presentation as well as standard school council governance.
- Sample agenda and minutes template – Meeting 3 – The key agenda items in this meeting include the Gifts, Benefits and Hospitality register as well as standard school council governance.
- Sample agenda and minutes template – Meeting 4 –The key agenda items in this meeting include reviewing insurance arrangements as well as standard school council governance.
- Sample agenda and minutes template – Meeting 5 – The key agenda items in this meeting include standard school council governance.
- Sample agenda and minutes template – Meeting 6 – The key agenda items in this meeting include approval of the annual parent payment request and permission to write off charges as well as standard school council governance.
- Sample agenda and minutes template – Meeting 7 – The key agenda items in this meeting include endorsement of the indicative cash budget and written off charges, parent payment arrangements and preparation of the annual report as well as standard school council governance.
- Sample agenda and minutes template – Meeting 8 – The key agenda items in this meeting include standard school council governance.
Decision-making
School councils make decisions by a majority vote of eligible members who are present at a council meeting. The principal is entitled to vote and their vote is counted alongside those of other school council members.
Generally, the process for voting on a decision involves the following:
- A member of school council (typically the president but can be any member of council) asks the school council members to approve or agree to a particular issue or decision.
- This request is called a ‘motion’. An example of a motion is: 'that the school council approves the expenditure of $ ... for the purchase of ... as detailed in the quote presented by ... to council.'
- The chair will ask for another member of school council to 'second' the motion to be presented to school council.
- All school council members will be asked to vote on whether or not to approve (‘pass’) the motion.
- The voting will determine if the motion is accepted or not, based on the majority of votes indicated by members present at the meeting.
Voting can occur by a show of hands or verbally and can be done in person or via videoconference or teleconference. Where school council decides voting is to be anonymous, members may vote on paper or by text or email sent to a designated vote receiver, provided votes are sent and received during the meeting. Records should be kept to facilitate checking if necessary.
If votes are tied, the presiding member has a second or casting vote.
For a school council decision to be valid, the meeting must have a quorum. Proxies cannot be used, nor can decisions be ratified by email or any other electronic means, outside the meeting time.
A school councillor’s temporary absence due to a conflict of interest in a matter under discussion and decision-making does not affect the meeting quorum. Refer to School Council – Meetings: Quorum at a school council meeting.
The number of votes, both for and against the motion, will be recorded in the minutes.
Length of meetings
School council meetings usually require no longer than 2.5 hours, regardless of the setting.
If business has not been concluded by the scheduled closing time for the meeting, the chair must ask councillors whether they wish to:
- defer the rest of the business until the next meeting
- extend the meeting by a specified period of time, for example: 15 minutes. A motion is necessary if school council wants to extend the meeting
Conflict of interest
A conflict of interest occurs when a school councillor’s personal interests may influence, or may be seen to influence, their role and decision-making on council.
Personal interests can be pecuniary (financial) or non-pecuniary. Potential conflicts of interest occur where an actual conflict of interest may arise in the future.
Perceived conflicts of interest occur where a reasonable person might suspect that a school councillor is subject to a real conflict of interest, whether or not one actually exists.
Councillors are obliged to identify these risks and take action in consultation with the principal and the president to mitigate them.
For further information, see School Council — Conduct and Conflict of Interest.
Code of Conduct
School councils in Victoria are public entities as defined by the Public Administration Act 2004 . School councillors must abide by the 2024 Code of Conduct for Directors of Public issued by the Victorian Public Sector Commission.
The Code of Conduct is based on the Victorian public sector values:
- responsiveness
- integrity
- impartiality
- accountability
- respect
- leadership
- human rights.
The Code of Conduct and values underpin the behaviours that the government and community expect of all directors of public entities, including school council members.
Further details on the Code of Conduct, including preventing and managing school council conduct issues, can be found in the School Council — Conduct and Conflict of Interest.
Reviewed 01 April 2025