Home
Help for Boards
Board Meetings
Public-excluded business (In-committee)

Public-excluded business (In-committee)

School board meetings are required to be open to the public.

However, there are occasions when your board needs to conduct its business in private.

The correct phrase used to describe board work done when the public has been excluded is "public-excluded business" (PEB), although "in-committee" is sometimes used.

When might a board need to exclude the public from their meeting?

Boards can exclude the public from their meetings when the need to discuss a matter in private outweighs the public's right to know that information.

The Official Information Act 1982open_in_new (OIA) specifies situations where boards can withhold information.

Commonly used grounds under the OIA are:

  • Clause 9(2)(a) – To protect the personal privacy of natural persons

  • Clause 9(2)(b) – To protect a trade secret or avoid an unreasonable effect on the commercial activity

  • Clause 9(2)(ba) – To protect information which is subject to an obligation of confidence

  • Clause 6(c) – Making available this information would prejudice the maintenance of the law, including the prevention, investigation, and detection of offences, and the right to a fair trial

  • Clause 6(d) – Making available this information would endanger the safety of any person

  • Clause 9(2)(h) – To protect legal professional privilege.

Wanting to have a “free and frank discussion” is seldom a valid justification for excluding the public.

How do we exclude the public?

To conduct business in private, your board must formally exclude the public.

Under section 48 of the Local Government Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA),open_in_new your board must pass the motion to exclude the public before asking any members of the public to leave.

The wording for this motion can be found in schedule 2A of LGOIMAopen_in_new. 

The motion must include:

  • The general topic to be discussed (such as personnel, complaint, trade quote)

  • The reason for excluding the public (such as leave request, individuals identified, trade sensitive data)

  • The related grounds under the OIA (such as those outlined in the section above).

For example:

“I move that the public be excluded from the following part of the proceedings of this meeting, namely item 4.3: complaint received, which identifies individuals whose identity should be protected under Section 9(2)(a) Official Information Act 1982. This resolution is made in reliance on section 48(1)(a) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987.”

(Each item to be discussed needs to be included in the motion.  This can be done in a table as shown in Schedule 2A).

If a majority of board members pass the motion, members of the public must leave the meeting room, and your board moves into PEB.

This resolution is recorded in your main meeting minutes, along with the time your board went into and came out of the PEB section.

Your board will now minute the general discussion around each item and the outcome of that discussion separately in your PEB minutes.

Are there times when members of the public are allowed to remain in PEB?

The LGOIMA allows members of the public to remain in the PEB meeting if they have information that might help your board.

Your board will need to pass a motion that the members of the public shall remain, which should include the reason for them to remain in PEB.

The wording for this motion is in schedule 2A of LGOIMAopen_in_new. 

"I move that [ individual's name ] be permitted to remain at this meeting after the public has been excluded, because of their knowledge of [ governance, employment, educational law, etc. ]. This knowledge will be of assistance in relation to the matter to be discussed and is relevant to the matter because [ for example, they are providing advice to the board ]."

This motion needs to be treated in the same way as the first motion.

Can the board or minute secretary remain in PEB?

The short answer is yes.

The concept of the minute secretary (who is not a board member) remaining in attendance while the public is excluded is not covered by law.

Still, it is possible because of the language of the LGOIMA.

Schedule 2A's wording is "I move that the public be excluded from...".

The minute secretary is not a member of the public.

They are present as an employee of your board and are there to do a particular task.

They remain with your board when the public is excluded and continue the task they are employed to do.

There should be an understanding that expectations around integrity and confidentiality apply to your minute secretary as much as they apply to board members.

Does your board need to do anything to move out of PEB?

When the confidential board business is completed, the board resolves to move out of public-excluded business.

The open meeting minutes need only to record when the public part of the meeting resumed.

A common misconception is that a board must repeat any motions from public-excluded business once it resumes in an open meeting.

This is incorrect. Motions and discussions from PEB should remain confidential.

What should you do with the PEB board documents?

In the open meeting agenda, any item to be discussed in PEB should be marked PEB and only state the type of issue to be discussed, such as "Progress report – students with special learning needs. PEB."

This indicates that the item will be discussed with the public excluded from your board meeting.

Board papers containing sensitive information (such as applications for staff leave, letters of complaint, and progress reports of small numbers of students) should be handled in PEB.

All papers relating to public-excluded business should be treated as strictly confidential at all times.

They should be securely stored in either hardcopy or digital form, with access restricted to the board and other authorised people.

Boards need to develop their own way of safely distributing these papers prior to or at a board meeting and filing them after the meeting so that they remain confidential.

For example, some boards will:

  • Use a special password-protected folder for PEB papers (ensuring passwords are updated regularly and securely saved and distributed).

  • Ensure every document containing sensitive information is clearly marked ‘confidential - PEB’.

  • Allow board members to read the papers at school before the board meeting.

  • Print hard copies on coloured paper to be handed out once in PEB. 

  • Number each copy so you know they have all been collected before moving out of PEB. 

  • Have a board member read out the document (such as a letter of resignation) so there is only the original copy.

  • Have a locked filing cupboard containing all PEB minutes and hard copy documents that is accessible to the presiding member and board secretary.

Can a member of the school community ask for the minutes of the board PEB session?

Any member of the public can request to see your PEB minutes and any other board or school related document.

Public-excluded meeting minutes are confidential but can be subject to an information request under the Official Information Act 1982open_in_new (OIA) or the Privacy Act 2020open_in_new.

Following the applicable legislated process, your board will determine whether to release all, part, or none of the information requested and your reasons for doing so.

For more information, read our article on responding to information requests.

Questions your board could ask

  • Do we have procedures to manage public attendance at our board meetings?

  • Do we make these procedures publicly available?

  • Do we know on what grounds we can exclude the public?

  • Do we have procedures to manage public excluded information before, during, and after the meeting?

  • Do we use the correct wording to move in and out of the public-excluded business section in meeting minutes?

  • Do we correctly minute the agenda items being discussed in PEB?

Templates, resources, and references

Click on the link(s) below to access the templates, resources, and references related to this topic.

These may download or open in a separate browser depending on your device.

Links from us

The Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987

Other Acts

Privacy Commissioner