It is at the meeting that the bulk of the formal work of the committee is done. This is your chance to influence the committee and to present the consumer perspective.

Stage one:

Before the meeting committee members are asked to add items to the next meeting's agenda. If draft minutes of the previous meeting are sent out to committee members, this may be the opportunity to propose any corrections you may have. An agenda is sent out to members before the meeting.

Stage two:

At the commencement of the meeting, apologies are made, and minutes from the last meeting are adopted by the committee. Be aware that if a committee meets infrequently any corrections to the minutes are often made as out-of-session changes.

Stage three:

The agenda items are dealt with by the committee and if there is time for other business you can bring up a new item if you were not able to add it to the agenda. Other business is usually the last item on the agenda and once it is dealt with the Chairperson usually closes the meeting.

Last minute agenda items added at the start of a meeting or raised during other business may be too complex to discuss at that meeting. If the matter is serious, an extraordinary meeting may be called to discuss it.

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