Copilot prompt library for Australian teams — 40 prompts that actually save time

The single piece of Copilot training material Frontrow gets asked for most often is a prompt library. Not a generic global one — an Australian one, in the language and format AU staff actually use, against the workflows that genuinely repeat. This is that library. 40 prompts across seven roles, written for Microsoft 365 Copilot in Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams and the M365 Copilot chat surface. Copy, adjust the company-specific bits in the brackets, and ship.

A note on the format. Good Copilot prompts have four parts — the role you want Copilot to take, the context, the task, and the output format. The prompts below follow that pattern. The response is always better when the prompt is specific.

Executive (5 prompts)

• Brief me on [client/customer name] before our 2pm meeting. Pull the last quarter of email correspondence, the most recent files I have shared with them, the open items on our last meeting agenda, and any recent activity in their SharePoint folder. Output as a one-page brief with three sections: relationship status, open items, talking points.
• Summarise this week's email I have not yet replied to in priority order. For each, suggest a one-sentence reply. Group by relationship value (clients, team, suppliers, internal stakeholders).
• Pull together a draft monthly board pack section on [topic — e.g. cyber posture, AI program, customer success]. Use the standing template, the most recent quarter of relevant emails and meeting notes, and the prior month's section as the format reference.
• Review the calendar for next week. Flag meetings without an agenda, meetings with more than 8 attendees and no clear decision sought, and standing meetings I have not driven a decision from in three months.
• Draft a 200-word internal note from me to all staff on [topic]. Tone: warm, direct, no jargon. Reference our most recent all-hands and the relevant SharePoint policy if there is one.

Finance (6 prompts)

• Build a sensitivity table in Excel showing the impact on EBITDA of [variable A] moving by 5%, 10% and 15% against [variable B] holding constant. Use the model I have open. Annotate the formula and explain it back to me in plain English.
• Summarise the variance commentary from the prior three monthly board reports into a one-page narrative on the trends I should highlight in the next pack.
• Read this M&A teaser document and produce a structured summary covering the asset, the financial profile, the risks the seller has flagged, the risks the seller has not flagged, and the questions I would want to ask in the management presentation.
• Pull the open accounts payable from our finance system and draft a payment-run summary email to [approver name] with totals by supplier, the largest items called out, and the items that are over [terms — e.g. 60 days].
• Draft the Q3 budget variance commentary for the executive pack. Use the standing format. Pull the variance numbers from the open Excel model and write the explanation in our standard tone — direct, no jargon, with the action being recommended on each material variance.
• Read the new ATO ruling on [topic] and summarise the practical implications for our business. Two sections: what changes, what we need to do.

HR (5 prompts)

• Draft an offer letter for [name] joining as [role] starting [date] on a base of [amount] plus super, using our standard template in SharePoint. Include the standard restraint clauses for the role tier.
• Summarise the recent engagement survey results into a one-page brief for the executive team. Pull from the SharePoint folder. Three sections: top three strengths, top three concerns, recommended actions.
• Draft the staff-wide email announcing [policy change]. Tone: warm, clear, brief. Cover what is changing, when, why, and where staff can ask questions. Reference the policy document in SharePoint.
• Review my draft performance review for [name]. Push back on anything that is vague, anything that is not measurable, and any praise that does not have an example.
• Draft the position description for a new [role]. Use our standard PD template. Pull the relevant capabilities from our framework in SharePoint. Include the standard cultural language we use across PDs.

Sales and account management (6 prompts)

• Draft a follow-up email after my meeting with [client] today. The next step we agreed was [next step]. Reference the prior thread for context. Tone: warm, professional, action-oriented.
• Build a draft proposal for [client] on [scope]. Pull from our two most recent winning proposals to similar clients in [sector]. Use our standard structure. Flag the sections where I need to insert pricing or specific scope language.
• Summarise the pipeline from our CRM (or Excel pipeline file) by stage and by salesperson. Flag the deals that have been in the same stage for more than 30 days, and the largest five deals not in the next 60 days' forecast.
• Draft talking points for tomorrow's call with [client]. Pull the recent thread, our last contract scope, and any open issues from the support inbox involving them. Output as a one-page brief.
• Read this RFP and produce a structured response plan. Sections: requirements we already meet, requirements we partially meet, requirements we do not meet, recommended bid/no-bid call with reasoning.
• Draft the post-loss email to [client] who awarded the work elsewhere. Tone: gracious, honest, request a 15-minute debrief, leave the door open. No defensiveness.

Operations and project management (5 prompts)

• Draft this week's project status report for [project] using our standing template. Pull from the project Teams chat, the recent files in the project SharePoint folder, and my notes from yesterday's stand-up. Cover progress, risks, decisions needed.
• Summarise the open RFIs for [project] by responsible party and by age. Flag any over our agreed turnaround.
• Draft a variation request for [client] covering [scope change]. Use our standard variation template. Include the cost estimate and the schedule impact, both flagged as preliminary pending detailed review.
• Read this contract clause and explain in plain English what we are agreeing to. Flag any obligations that look unusual for our scope.
• Draft the closeout report for [project]. Sections: scope delivered, schedule actual vs plan, cost actual vs plan, lessons learned, recommended next-engagement scope.

IT and security (5 prompts)

• Read this Microsoft Defender alert and explain in plain English what is happening, what the likely cause is, and what the recommended response is. Output as a one-page brief I can send to the executive sponsor.
• Summarise the Microsoft Entra ID sign-in logs for the past 30 days. Flag unusual patterns, password-only authentications, and sign-ins from unexpected locations. Output as a structured short report.
• Draft the monthly cyber report for the board. Use our standing template. Pull the patch latency, MFA coverage, PIM activations and incident summary from the relevant reports in SharePoint. Five-minute read for a non-technical audience.
• Read this new Microsoft Learn article on [feature] and produce a one-page implementation brief for our tenant. Cover what changes, what we need to configure, the licensing prerequisites, and any risks.
• Draft the post-incident review for [incident]. Sections: timeline, root cause, response actions, customer impact, what we are changing, owner of each change. Tone: factual, no blame.

Legal and compliance (4 prompts)

• Read this contract from [counterparty] and produce a redline summary against our standard form. Sections: clauses that match, clauses that diverge in our favour, clauses that diverge against us, missing clauses we usually require.
• Summarise the regulatory bulletin from [regulator] in plain English for the executive team. Two sections: what changes, what we need to do.
• Draft the response to this OAIC notification request. Use our standard structure. Pull the relevant facts from the incident report in SharePoint. Tone: factual, complete, no speculation.
• Read this new ASIC guidance on [topic] and produce a structured implications brief for our business. Cover what applies to us, what does not apply to us, what we need to change in our policies, and the suggested timeline.

How to use this library well

Three rules. Always replace the bracketed placeholders with real names, files and references — Copilot's grounding works much better when it has specifics. Always review what comes back — the prompts above produce strong first drafts, not finished work. And always feed the better prompts back into the team's own library — the prompts that work for the firm should be the next quarter's training material, not this one.

Frontrow runs Copilot adoption programs for Australian businesses, including the role-by-role prompt library that fits the firm's actual work. Phone 1300 012 466 or book a chat through the contact page.