Meeting procedures training · Perth, Western Australia
Meeting procedures training teaches the rules that govern formal meetings: motions, amendments, points of order, quorums and voting. It’s for chairs, councillors, committee members and secretaries in Perth and across Australia. David Julian Price, author of Meeting Procedure Made Easy (now in its sixth edition), makes the rules practical so you can use them with confidence. It’s part of David’s meeting effectiveness work.
The people who understand meeting procedure have the power. The people who don’t can be outmanoeuvred, overruled and left wondering what just happened. That’s not fair, and it’s entirely fixable.
“Meeting procedure only seems complicated until someone shows you how simple it actually is.”
Why it matters
Whether you realise it or not. If you sit on a committee, a not-for-profit board, a community group, a union meeting, a council or a church committee, understanding meeting procedure isn’t optional. It’s essential.
“It all sounds a bit strange to me”
Words get thrown around meeting rooms as though everyone was born knowing them. Most people weren’t. So they stay quiet, go along with things they don’t understand, and hope nobody notices.
A formal proposal for the meeting to decide.
A proposed change to a motion, debated before the motion itself.
The minimum number present for the meeting to make valid decisions.
Drawing the chair’s attention to a breach of the rules.
Here’s the truth: once you learn the basics, formal procedure is a beautifully logical system. It exists for one reason, to make sure every voice gets a fair hearing and every decision is made properly.
The part nobody talks about
I’ve seen it more times than I care to count. They exploit the confusion of people who don’t know the rules, and they do it deliberately.
Once you understand procedure yourself, that game is over.
Tactics you’ll learn to spot
What you’ll learn
A participative workshop. No sitting in rows while someone reads slides. You’ll be doing, discussing and working through real examples so it sticks.
Substantive and procedural: what they are, how to move them and when to use them.
And, just as importantly, what you can’t under proper procedure.
With your constitution, by-laws and any relevant legislation.
Applying it all with confidence, straight away.
Watch
Motions, amendments and points of order can feel like a foreign language. In this short video David shows how simple formal procedure really is.
What it does for your group
Does it have to be boring?
I’ll be the first to admit the topic sounds dry on paper. But I’ve presented this workshop for decades, to government departments, corporate boards, community organisations and sporting clubs across Australia. The feedback is consistent: people come in nervous and leave energised. Real examples. A bit of humour. Zero jargon that isn’t explained straight away.
Australian procedure, not Robert’s Rules. Meeting procedure varies between countries. This workshop is grounded in Australian meeting procedure, Australian common law, the Corporations Act and standard Australian governance practice. If you’ve read American resources on Robert’s Rules of Order, set them aside.
About David
David Julian Price has spent more than 40 years training boards, committees and community groups to meet with confidence, compliance and competence. He’s written four books on meetings, including Meeting Procedure Made Easy.
Questions
Because it decides who gets heard and how decisions are made. People who understand procedure have influence. Those who don’t can be outmanoeuvred, even if they’re the smartest person in the room.
Substantive motions deal with the business itself. Procedural motions deal with how the meeting handles that business, for example closing debate or adjourning. The workshop explains both and when to use them.
A way of drawing the chair’s attention to a breach of the rules or procedure. It should be used to correct, not to intimidate.
Not as such. Australian meeting procedure has its own framework, drawing on Australian common law, the Corporations Act and your organisation’s constitution and standing orders.
Anyone who sits in formal meetings: committee members, board directors, councillors, secretaries, chairs and volunteers in community and sporting organisations.
Yes. You work through real examples, so you leave able to apply procedure with confidence at your very next meeting.
Yes. David’s Meeting Procedure Made Easy is a plain-English guide to motions, amendments, points of order and voting, designed to keep on the table during meetings.
David is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), a Global Speaking Fellow and Past World President of the Global Speakers Federation, and a member of the Australian Speakers Hall of Fame. He brings more than 40 years of real-world experience, plenty of humour and practical ideas people can use straight away.
Meet with confidence
Let’s talk about your organisation, your meetings and a workshop that makes procedure simple.