🗓 Coming 30 June 2026 — subscribe now so you don’t miss it.
Show Notes
Clarity about who can decide what isn’t bureaucracy — it’s how committees avoid expensive mistakes and missed opportunities in equal measure. A delegations register doesn’t have to be complicated. It just has to exist, be accurate, and be known. This episode covers what goes in one, why the things that can’t be delegated matter just as much as the things that can, and how to start if your committee is working from nothing.
In This Episode
- The two ways unclear delegations damage organisations: overreach and analysis paralysis — and why both are equally costly
- What a delegations register covers: decision-making authority by role, financial authorisations, binding contracts and what only the full committee can decide
- How tiered financial authorities work in practice — and what the thresholds should look like for a small to medium association
- Why listing what can’t be delegated is just as important as listing what can
- Clarity builds confidence: how a subcommittee chair who knows their authority can move fast — and why one who doesn’t keeps interrupting the committee
- The review cycle: when to update the register and what changes should trigger an immediate review
- How to start from scratch: the three most consequential delegations to get written down first
Free Download
A delegations register template — from Kate H’s Committee Companion — is available in the show notes. Download it and build it out from there.
This Week’s Challenge
Does your committee have a delegations register? If yes — when was it last reviewed? If no — this week, write down just three things: who can approve membership applications, who can approve expenditure and up to how much, and who can enter into binding contracts. Three lines. That’s your starting point. The template in the show notes will take you the rest of the way.
Got a Question for the Kates?
The Kates want to hear what keeps you up at night — the situations you’re navigating, the things you’re not sure about, the topics you’d like them to tackle on the show. Use the contact form at thecommitteeroom.com.au. No question is too basic. If you’re wondering about it, someone else is too — and your question might shape a future episode.
About Your Hosts
Kate Hartwig has spent forty years working in and around not-for-profit and membership organisations — as a CEO, director, and independent consultant. Her Committee Companion is a head start on good governance with checklists, frameworks and exemplars for committee members. katehartwig.com.au
Kate McPhee has three decades of hands-on experience helping small clubs and associations get more done with less stress. She is the author of Just a Tick, a plain-English governance guide for committees and boards. liquoriceallsorts.com.au
Together they offer governance health checks and practical support through Fresh Allsorts.
This podcast provides general information on best practice governance for small to medium not-for-profit associations. It is not legal advice.
Timestamps
00:03 — You did what?
01:15 — Introducing the Kates and this episode on delegations
02:18 — Overreach or analysis paralysis
02:57 — Ambiguity is the problem
03:16 — The delegations register
03:32 — Authority by role and function
03:52 — Financial authorities
04:41 — Binding contracts
05:03 — Items reserved for the committee
05:55 — Clarity builds confidence
06:22 — Review cycle
07:45 — How to start
08:15 — Recap
08:49 — This week’s challenge
09:16 — Delegations register template
09:40 — So far this series…
09:55 — Ask Us Anything!
10:17 — Wrap-up and next week’s episode
Next Episode
The first of The Committee Room’s Your Questions Answered specials — the Kates tackle the governance questions listeners have been sitting on. If you’ve submitted a question, it might just be answered next week.
Resources & Links
🎙️ The Committee Room thecommitteeroom.com.au — episode archive, show notes, downloads and contact form
🍬 Fresh Allsorts freshallsorts.com.au — Governance Health Checks and practical services from both Kates
Kate Hartwig Consulting katehartwig.com.au — including the Committee Companion, a head start on good governance with checklists, frameworks and exemplars
Liquorice Allsorts Consulting liquoriceallsorts.com.au — including Just a Tick, Kate McPhee’s plain-English governance guide
LinkedIn: Kate Hartwig | Kate McPhee
You don’t need good luck if you’ve got good governance.
The Committee Room | thecommitteeroom.com.au