About Rebecca
I started in governance at 20. I’ve been in the room ever since.
I’m Rebecca Murphy, a governance professional with more than 20 years inside boards and committees across financial services, government and higher education. I’ve seen board and committee papers from every seat: writing them, reviewing thousands as a company secretary, and in the room as directors work through them. I teach people what good looks like, because I’ve seen it from all sides.
Why I teach this
I wasn’t a bad paper writer. I’d just never been shown what good looks like.
Early in my career, my executive used to hand my papers back covered in red pen, in handwriting I could barely read, with no explanation of what they wanted changed or why. I just had to fix it. In those moments I felt like a terrible paper writer. I wasn’t. I’d simply never been shown what good looks like. No one had.
And that’s the pattern I’ve seen ever since. The people writing board and committee papers are capable, conscientious professionals. They were simply never shown what good looks like, or properly trained to do it. They might have a template with a few prompts, and feedback here and there, but no one has actually sat them down, shown them the standard, and given them the practical tools to write to it.
That’s exactly why I built this training, and why it’s so practical. It focuses on the few things that genuinely move the needle on a paper, and the pain points that keep coming up, rather than trying to cover everything at once.
The pre-work behind the training: mapping out what good looks like, and the pain points that keep coming up.
Every seat at the table
Most people see a board paper from one seat. I’ve worked from four.
01 · Writer
I’ve drafted the papers
Board and committee papers across every sector I’ve worked in. Some start from a blank template, some from a template with generic guidance, and either way you are trying to draft a good paper having never been shown what good looks like.
02 · Reviewer
I’ve reviewed thousands
I’ve reviewed thousands of papers as a company secretary, so I know what directors need to see in them: the key messages, what they are being asked to do and why, what happens next, and what the implications are.
03 · Observer
I’ve watched directors work through them
I’ve sat in board and committee meetings watching directors work through the papers in real time: discussing, deliberating, asking management probing questions, asking for more information, and sometimes having to make the links themselves because the insight was not in the paper. You see what they question, and what they want more or less of.
04 · In-room teacher
I’ve trained professionals to write them
Trained professionals in the room, and coached executives and writers one-to-one, uplifting and rewriting their papers with them, one paper at a time.
“It isn’t theory. It’s what I’ve seen from every seat at the table.”
My background
From the boardroom to the training room, I uplift capability as I go.
I’m the founder of Proactive Governance, which I started in 2019, advising boards and executives. I’ve held senior governance roles including Company Secretary, Chief Governance Officer, Head of Governance and Head of BEAR (now FAR), across the private and public sectors.
I run governance reviews and board and committee performance reviews, design and embed governance frameworks and accountability regimes, and lead large governance uplift programs in complex, regulated environments. And through the Proactive Governance Academy I teach practical governance skills, face-to-face and online.
People describe me the same way: practical, calm under pressure, and able to make the complex simple. Whatever the work, one thing never changes: I uplift capability as I go, from the boardroom to the training room.
Worked with
Reserve Bank of Australia · The Star · Bank of Queensland · APRA · AICD · Aon · Rabobank · ARPC · UTS
Many of them, more than once.
20+
years inside boards and committees
150+
professionals trained
Thousands
of board and committee papers reviewed
Selected engagements
A sense of the work behind the training.
Across financial services, government and higher education, I’ve reviewed governance and worked hands-on with the people who write board and committee papers, meeting after meeting. It’s the experience the training is built on: real boards, real papers, not theory.
The Star · listed entity
Governance remediation, under regulator scrutiny
Brought in during a period of regulator scrutiny, with tight timeframes, to embed a new governance framework and lift practice across the boards. Working alongside report writers and senior leaders: observing board and committee meetings, then offering observations and opportunities to improve the meetings, the papers and the practices, so the quality of the papers lifted from meeting to meeting.
Bank of Queensland · committee governance
Seven committees, reviewed and signed off
A governance review of seven management committees under an APRA-endorsed Remediation Action Plan, then hands-on implementation: new charters, cleaner escalation and better information flow to the board. The governance review and the roadmap supporting its implementation were submitted to APRA and passed by the independent assessor.
Reserve Bank of Australia · governance review
A governance review for a new model
A governance review of accountability, delegations of authority, and the effectiveness of the executive and key committees, as part of the Bank’s transition to a new governance model. The review informed the internal governance structure, and the uplift program that followed to implement the changes.
APRA · board and committees
A regulator’s own governance, reviewed
A comprehensive review of the board, its committees, management committees and interagency forums: more than 30 interviews, charter reviews and benchmarking. The findings led to a governance uplift and a new set of board and committee charters, implemented over a multi-year program.
Global bank · Australia and New Zealand
Board reviews, then real implementation
Two bespoke board effectiveness reviews for the Australian and New Zealand boards, then a governance uplift across 19 internal management committees: development and delivery of governance principles and standards, redesigned board and committee paper templates, and enhanced board and committee charters. Partnered with the CEOs and executives of both companies to implement the priority recommendations.
Rabobank · accountability regime (BEAR/FAR)
An accountability framework, end to end
A two-year build of an accountability framework (BEAR, now FAR) at Rabobank, in two phases: first as Governance Stream Lead, creating everything the framework needed and handing the project to business as usual two months ahead of schedule; then setting up the Accountability Office and acting as interim Head of Accountability for a year while it embedded. This work also included writing board and committee papers and accountability reports that went to the risk committees and boards on behalf of the executives, and designing the CEO’s and executives’ accountability reports.
Different sectors, different mandates, but the same thread runs through all of it: knowing what a good board or committee paper looks like, and what a board actually needs from one. That’s what I teach.
In their words
What it’s like to work with me.
“Rebecca quickly builds excellent working relationships and trust, essential in the governance and board field. She worked collaboratively with our people to build their skills in preparing board papers.”
Samantha Lawrence
Chief Governance and Risk Officer, ARPC
“The trust Rebecca built with stakeholders won her the ability to positively influence key decision makers and obtain the outcomes we needed. She has high quality standards and provides thorough pieces of work. I would have no hesitation in recommending her.”
Sanne van der Heijde
Group Governance Executive (Australia and New Zealand), Rabobank
“I’m really pleased with the thoroughness of the report and the straightforward, practical approach to the findings and recommendations. The review process was of real value, and the outcomes have been a catalyst for moving the board and executive team to the next level.”
Board Chair
Governance Review, Financial Services
“Rebecca is practical, solution oriented and able to build trust quickly with executive stakeholders, and tailors her recommendations to the specific needs of her clients.”
Delivery Lead
Australian Bank, Governance Uplift
“Rebecca has an exceptional ability to research, analyse and communicate with stakeholders at all levels to deliver quality solutions. She greatly enhanced our governance and the way our board operates.”
Director, Corporate Services
An Australian University
Credentials
Rebecca Murphy GAICD, FGIA
Master’s in Strategic Management · degree in Accounting and Human Resources · certified in Governance, Risk Management and Governance Practice.
A graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia.
A little about me
Irish-born, Sydney-made. Keen traveller and lover of adventure. Year-round ocean swimmer, sunrise chaser and ocean lover through and through. Hiking, walking and breathwork keep me grounded. Music lover and festival-goer. Always in bright colours, even in the boardroom. And yes, an Irish tractor licence, put to good use in the Outback when I first landed, many moons ago.
Let’s talk
If your papers aren’t landing, let’s have a conversation.
Tell me the feedback you’re getting from your directors and executives, and we’ll work out together whether it’s a fit. No pitch, no pressure.
Tell me about your papers
Tell me a little and I’ll be in touch. No pitch, no pressure.
Your details stay with Rebecca. No spam, ever.
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The occasional note
Stay in the loop.
The occasional note on what’s coming up at Proactive Governance Academy, plus a practical tip or two on sharper board and committee papers.
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Governance made practical.
Rebecca Murphy GAICD, FGIA · Founder, Proactive Governance Academy
Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors · Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia
Email [email protected]
© Proactive Governance 2026
