Taking minutes that count

Taking minutes that count

12 November 2020 (facilitated online)

In-house Enquiry

This course is also available for in-house delivery. For more information please contact the Learning team on 02 8066 1900 or email [email protected] for a quote.

Course Overview


This course gives learners sensible and practical strategies to take minutes. It helps them to cut down on wasted time and learn how to identify what needs to go in the minutes. The course looks at the whole process from keeping the committee file and writing a sensible and practical agenda, to sending out the minutes and the action sheet. Learners look at many sets of minutes to give them ideas about how best to structure the minutes for each committee they work with.

Learning Outcomes


  • Understand the compulsory elements of minutes
  • Understand some of the implications on minutes of the Government Information Public Access Act (2009)
  • Have three useful structures for taking minutes of an item
  • Manage technical terms and acronyms
  • Have many templates to choose from
  • Improve skills after leaving the course.

Benefits to your organisation

  • Fewer risks to the agency from inappropriate content in minutes
  • More useful minutes and more efficient turnaround times for minutes
  • More productive staff.

Benefits to you

  • Spend less time to get the minutes ready to go to the committee for approval
  • Have a clear idea of what you must keep records of
  • Leave with increased skills in listening for the key facts and strategies to manage those difficult meetings.

NSW Public Sector Framework Capabilities


This course is targeted at Intermediate to Adept level. The following behaviours from the framework are covered:

Relationships: Communicate effectively

  • Prepare written material that is well structured and easy to follow by the intended audience.
  • Clearly explain complex concepts and arguments to individuals and groups.

Results: Deliver results

  • Contribute to allocation of responsibilities and resources to ensure achievement of team/unit goals.


Enquiries: For more information on our learning programs, please contact the IPAA NSW Learning Team on 02 8066 1900 or email [email protected].