A conflict of interest policy that your board or committee can actually use

A case-by-case approach can break down when a sensitive decision arrives and nobody is sure what the process should be. For example, a director may be connected to a supplier, a committee member may sit on a partner organisation's board, or a founder may be involved in a grant-related decision. A written policy gives your organisation a consistent framework for disclosure, discussion, abstention and record keeping. It also helps meeting chairs and secretaries know what to document when a conflict arises, rather than improvising under pressure.

A conflict of interest policy will usually define actual, potential and perceived conflicts, explain who must disclose them, and set out when that disclosure should happen. It often also deals with how the conflict is recorded, whether the person can receive papers, stay for discussion or vote, and who decides the management response. Depending on your organisation, the policy may also address standing disclosures, committee-level conflicts, related-party dealings and how the policy interacts with your constitution or other governance documents.

Important details include your legal structure, whether you are ACNC-registered, how your board or committee is appointed, whether members vote on key matters, and the kinds of relationships that commonly create conflicts in your operations. An incorporated association with active members may need different drafting from a company limited by promise with several subcommittees. It also matters whether directors, staff or volunteers overlap with donors, suppliers, grant partners or service providers, because those practical connections often shape the disclosure and abstention rules.

A template may give you a starting point, but it often stays too general to be useful when a real issue comes up. It may not match your constitution, your meeting procedures, or the way authority is split between the board, committees and members. For example, a template might say a conflicted person should not participate, but not explain who decides that, how it is recorded in minutes, or how recurring disclosures are handled. Tailored drafting helps turn broad governance concepts into a policy your organisation can apply more consistently.

No, not as part of the standard fixed-fee. This service is for the policy document itself and the legal input needed to shape that document properly. If your organisation also wants broader governance advice, board training, constitution changes or support with a live conflict issue, that is different work and may need separate scoping. Keeping the service document-focused helps make the deliverables clearer. Tax input, technical setup, security remediation, dispute handling and continuing legal support are separate from this fixed-fee service. in this service.

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