Board Portal for Chairpersons
You run the meetings, keep discussion on track, hold directors accountable, and sign off on the minutes. When the meeting drifts or actions are not followed up, it reflects on you. Our Cat Herder gives you the tools to run tighter meetings and keep people accountable between them.
Run meetings that stay on track
Meetings that run over or get bogged down on one item waste the whole table's afternoon. Our Cat Herder gives you the tools to keep things moving.
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Meeting agenda alignment planner
Plan your board calendar across multiple meetings. See what's coming up, move items between meetings, and make sure nothing falls through the cracks when an agenda is too full.
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Agenda templates with time allocations
Set up a template for each meeting type with pre-assigned time for every item. When a new meeting is created, the structure and timing are already in place. You walk in knowing how the meeting should flow.
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Colour-coded meeting timer
A live timer tracks time against each agenda item's allocation. Green means on track, orange means approaching the limit, red means over. You can see at a glance when it's time to move the discussion along.
Minutes sign-off and compliance
The Corporations Act requires minutes to be signed by the chair. Our Cat Herder's minutes sign-off workflow handles that process and keeps a full audit trail.
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Chair sign-off workflow
You get a notification when minutes are ready for review. Read them in the portal, sign off, and they're locked. The secretary doesn't have to chase you over email, and you don't have to print anything.
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Unlock/re-lock audit trail
If a correction is needed after sign-off, the minutes can be unlocked, edited, and re-locked. The audit trail records exactly what changed and when.
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Attendance reporting
Track attendance across meetings and generate reports showing who's been present, absent, or left early. Useful for annual reporting and for spotting problems before they become a governance issue.
Board packs ready before the meeting
If directors show up without reading the papers, the meeting stalls. Our Cat Herder makes it simple for the secretary to compile the pack and for members to find it.
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Papers attached to agenda items
Papers are uploaded and attached directly to the agenda items they relate to. Board members see the paper alongside the item in the board pack. No separate email, no version confusion.
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One-click consolidated PDF
The secretary generates a single PDF board pack with one click. Members can browse, scroll, or jump to specific sections. You get a consistent, complete pack every time instead of a folder full of separate attachments.
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Presenters assigned to agenda items
Each agenda item can have a presenter assigned in the agenda builder. Presenters know which items are theirs before the meeting. You know who to call on for each topic without checking a separate list.
Action accountability between meetings
When a director commits to something at the table, there needs to be a system that holds them to it. Our Cat Herder's action register keeps commitments visible and on the agenda until they're done.
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Outstanding actions carry forward automatically
Open actions appear on the next meeting's agenda under Matters Arising. They keep showing up until someone marks them complete. Nothing gets silently dropped between meetings.
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Personal dashboards for every director
Each director can see their own outstanding actions, due dates, and upcoming meetings. You shouldn't have to remind people individually about what they agreed to do at the last meeting.
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Custom filtered action reports to the agenda
Filter by status, assignee, meeting type, or date range and send a filtered report directly to a chosen agenda item. You review exactly the actions that matter for that meeting.
“We looked at a few systems for our organisation but found OCH to be the most suitable fit for what we need. We liked it because it is purpose-built and doesn’t try to be everything for everyone. It does exactly what it’s supposed to, and it does it simply.”
Everything else a chairperson needs
Decisions, discussions, compliance, and onboarding
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- Circular resolutions and flying minutes
- Structured voting between meetings with customisable vote options, deadlines, and automated reminders. Results link back to the next meeting's agenda so the board has a clear record.
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- Secure board communication
- Discussion groups replace email chains between meetings. Open groups for general topics, private groups for sensitive ones. Everything is searchable when someone needs to check what was discussed.
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- Governance document repository
- A central repository for constitutions, policies, and governance documents with folder-level permissions. Directors can access what they need without asking the secretary to dig it out.
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- Director onboarding
- Grant batch access to historical meetings so new directors can read themselves in. Self-service invitations and policy acknowledgment through the decisions feature. New directors build context before their first meeting.
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- Multi-committee management
- One portal for the board and all subcommittees. Members are selectively granted access. Actions track separately per meeting type but are visible from one register.
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- Security and Australian data hosting
- Data hosted on AWS in Sydney with Melbourne redundancy. Annual penetration testing. Your organisation owns its data, can export it at any time, and it's retained for the life of your subscription. No AI training on your data.
Discussion groups
Attendance reporting
Governance document repository
Australian-built for Australian boards
Why Australian chairpersons choose Our Cat Herder
- Australian-made and hosted. Data on AWS in Sydney with Melbourne redundancy. Your board's data stays in Australia.
- Built for Australian governance. Designed around Corporations Act requirements, ACNC governance standards, and AICD/Governance Institute best practice.
- No enterprise sales process. Set up a portal in under five minutes. Full access for 45 days, no credit card, no sales call.
- Affordable for NFPs and SMEs. Priced for boards that can't justify enterprise portal pricing. Unlimited meetings, unlimited committees.
- Responsive support. Same support during the trial as after. You won't be left figuring it out on your own.
Ready to run better board meetings? Start your free 45-day trial.
Full access to all features. No credit card required. Set up in under 5 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
- What does a chairperson need from a board portal?
- A chair needs to see the agenda and papers before the meeting, track time during the meeting, sign off on the minutes afterwards, and hold directors accountable for their actions between meetings. Our Cat Herder covers all of that in one platform, with a meeting timer, minutes sign-off workflow, and an action register that carries items forward automatically.
- How does a board portal help the chair run better meetings?
- The main tools are agenda templates with time allocations and the colour-coded meeting timer. You set up the agenda structure and timing in advance, and during the meeting the timer shows green, orange, or red for each item. The meeting agenda alignment planner also lets you plan items across multiple meetings so no single agenda gets overloaded.
- Does the chair need to sign off on meeting minutes?
- Under the Corporations Act 2001 (section 251A), minutes must be signed by the chairperson of the meeting at which they were taken, or by the chairperson of the next meeting. Our Cat Herder's sign-off workflow sends you a notification when minutes are ready, lets you review and approve them in the portal, and locks the document once signed. If a correction is needed later, the unlock/re-lock process keeps an audit trail.
- Is Our Cat Herder suitable for NFP chairs?
- Yes. Most of our customers are not-for-profit organisations, incorporated associations, and charities. The portal is priced for boards that run on volunteer time and limited budgets. For ACNC-registered charities, it supports Governance Standard 2 (accountability) and Governance Standard 5 (duties of responsible persons) because it keeps auditable records of board decisions and follow-through.
- Can the chair see which directors have read the board pack?
- Board members access the pack through the portal. While the portal doesn't track reading per page, the consolidated PDF board pack and the papers attached to agenda items mean everything is in one place. Directors can't claim they didn't receive the papers.
Resources for chairpersons
Free guides and templates to improve your board's governance.
Guide
Effective Board Packs: The Complete Guide
Everything you need to know about putting together board packs that directors will actually read before the meeting.
Template
Free Consent Agenda Template
Speed up routine items so you can spend meeting time on the decisions that matter. Includes guidance notes and a chair's script.
Template
Free Action Register Template
Stop actions falling through the cracks between meetings. Columns for assignee, due date, status, and notes.
Article
How Should a Chairperson Run a Board Meeting?
There is no manual for chairing a board meeting. This guide covers the basics: preparation, managing discussion, and closing with clear outcomes.