Good governance keeps our College strong. It protects purpose, supports members, and builds public trust. It sets direction, clarifies roles, and links decisions to outcomes. When governance works well, advice from members turns into action, and communities see a College that is transparent, accountable, and effective.

The RANZCP Board has been taking a close look at how our governance systems can better support members and strengthen outcomes. This work has been informed by an external Board evaluation and other reviews over the last few years, and led through a strong partnership between the Board, the Corporate Governance Committee (CGC), and several committed Board Directors who bring solid credentials and a strong interest in practical governance and continuous improvement.

Governance that works in practice

Good governance is not abstract. It is how our College decides, acts, and learns. It is how we ensure that the time and expertise members contribute translate into real outcomes for communities.

The CGC plays a central role in this. From advising the Board on governance policy, frameworks and assurance, to progressing recommendations from an external Board evaluation.

This has resulted in changes to Board committees, most notably the CGC and the Finance, Audit and Risk Management (FARM) Committee, to strengthen the committees’ clarity of purpose, accountability and oversight. The CGC also developed new systems to support the appointment of independent members on the FARM Committee and future appointment of an independent member to the Board.

Committee and Board election processes have been significantly strengthened, alongside bolstering the declaration and management of conflicts of interest, and enhancing Board and committee induction. These improvements are critical to ensuring decisions are made fairly, transparently and with the confidence of members, strengthening both the quality of governance and trust in the College’s leadership.

From evaluation to action

The CGC led the early work that laid the foundations for the Board establishing a Governance Reform Taskforce.

The Taskforce will play a critical role in translating the Board’s governance priorities into practical change and a reform agenda – one aimed at simplifying structures, sharpening decision making, and ensuring clearer links between effort and impact.

Through this important period of change, the CGC will maintain operational focus and drive continuous improvement of governance, while the Taskforce drives necessary reform.

What we are focusing on

Through this work, several clear priorities continue to guide the Board, CGC and Taskforce:

• Clarity: Clear and transparent systems that help members and staff understand where decisions are made and how work progresses to achieve results.
• Accountability: Consistent decision rights, reporting and follow through to provide confidence in ownership and responsibility.
• Strategic alignment: Governance structures and oversight that are aligned with the College’s strategic goals, ensuring effort and resources deliver agreed priorities.
• Representation: Branches, Faculties, Sections, trainees and lived and living experience voices are represented where decisions affect them, strengthening outcomes without adding unnecessary complexity.
• Efficiency: Governance arrangements that minimise duplication and administrative burden, ensuring members’ and staff time is used effectively and focused on delivering outcomes.
• Agility: Governance arrangements that support timely responses to emerging needs through the use of fit for purpose, time limited task groups with clear scope, deliverables and sunset points.
• Engagement and acknowledgement: Governance that honours members’ contribution through recognition, inclusion and respectful participation.

Honouring contribution through better governance

The Board recognises and appreciates the service given so willingly by so many across the College. Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand committee members manage complex jurisdictional relationships, Faculties and Sections translate expertise into usable advice, and committee members safeguard standards. Trainees bring fresh perspectives, while First Nations and lived and living experience insights ensure our outcomes stay grounded in community need.

Our responsibility as a Board is to ensure the governance system respects that effort and converts it into impact. Governance is how we honour service. It is how we turn meetings into progress, and strategy into measurable results.

The Board, supported by the CGC and the Governance Reform Taskforce, will continue this work with a strong focus on clarity, accountability and evaluation. We will keep members informed as changes roll out.

Together, we are building a governance system that is simpler, stronger and more effective. One that respects time, values contribution, and delivers outcomes for the people who rely on psychiatry.