Free Consent Agenda Template for Board Meetings
A consent agenda groups your routine board items into a single vote, so the meeting can focus on the decisions that actually need discussion. This template gives you the structure, the guidance notes, and a chair's script in one Word document.
Free. No email required. Word format.
What's in the template
- A full board meeting agenda structured around a consent agenda, with numbered items and time allocations
- A reference table showing which items belong on the consent agenda and which need the discussion agenda
- Step-by-step procedure for the chair to follow during the meeting
- Common mistakes to avoid and Australian governance context (ACNC, AICD, Corporations Act)
What is a consent agenda?
A consent agenda (sometimes called a consent calendar) groups routine, non-controversial items into a single agenda item that the board approves with one motion and one vote. Previous meeting minutes, routine financial reports, committee reports for noting, standard contract renewals: these are the kind of items that go on the consent agenda. They still need to be approved, but they don't need individual discussion.
The safety valve is simple: any director can ask for any item to be pulled from the consent agenda for separate discussion. No reason required. If a director has a question about the financial report, they pull it. It moves to the discussion agenda and gets its own motion. The rest of the consent items are still approved together.
The result is that a board with 8-10 routine items spends 2-3 minutes on them instead of 15-25 minutes. That's time you can redirect to the items that actually need the board's attention.
What belongs on the consent agenda?
A useful test: if every director who has read the papers would vote yes without needing to ask a single question, it belongs on the consent agenda. If there's any chance of discussion, it goes on the discussion agenda.
Consent agenda (routine)
- Previous meeting minutes
- CEO report (for noting)
- Routine financial report (no exceptions)
- Committee reports (for information)
- Routine contract renewals
- Confirmation of delegated decisions
Discussion agenda (needs deliberation)
- Annual audited financial statements
- Annual budget approval
- New policies or major changes
- Strategic decisions
- CEO performance or remuneration
- Anything a director wants to discuss
Beyond the Word document
The template is a good start. The agenda builder is where you stop needing it.
This Word template works. But every meeting, someone has to open it, update the date, add the specific items, attach papers separately, and email the whole thing out. Our Cat Herder's agenda builder does all of that inside the portal.
- Templates auto-apply when you create a meeting
- Set up an agenda template for each meeting type. When you create the next board meeting, the template is already there. Add meeting-specific items and you're done.
- Previous minutes and outstanding actions appear automatically
- The previous meeting's minutes are linked into the meeting automatically. Outstanding actions carry forward until resolved. You don't have to track them down.
- Papers are attached to the agenda, not emailed separately
- Attach board papers directly to each agenda item. Members see the paper alongside the item in the board pack. No separate email, no version confusion.
- Time allocations feed a live meeting timer
- Set a time allocation per item in the builder. During the meeting, the minute-taking timer shows green, orange, or red for each item.
Ready to stop building agendas in Word? Start your free 45-day trial.
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