This article examines emerging norms of good practice for Australian university governing boards and issues that university governing boards could address to develop effective governance cultures. It firstly considers the ways in which support for many Australian university governing boards has become professionalised over the past decade. At the same time, longstanding tensions or "paradoxes" persist, (Cornforth, "2003") notably between "corporate" and "participatory" board models. To "tame" these tensions requires formative processes of deliberation and debate. The article outlines understandings that may assist boards to engage in such processes and to develop their awareness of differing values in governance practices.