Legal Officer

Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman; Sydney; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman in Sydney NSW is seeking a qualified lawyer to join the Defence, Investigations, ACT and Legal Branch. The Legal Team provides in-house legal support, manages FOI requests, oversees privacy obligations, and handles litigation on behalf of the Office.

The successful candidate will advise on statutory powers, draft decisions and submissions, and support Staff and Leaders in achieving goals.

Qualifications

• Be admitted or eligible to be admitted to practice law in an Australian State or Territory.
• Be an Australian citizen.
• Be willing to undergo a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (NCCHC).
• Be able to obtain and maintain a baseline security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Advise on the Ombudsman’s statutory powers, including instruments of delegation and authorisation.
• Manage FOI requests, communicate with FOI applicants, draft decisions, and draft submissions for OAIC review.
• Assist with instructions and management of litigation and merits review.
• Provide advice to staff on the management of potential privacy breaches and ensuring privacy obligations are met.
• Undertake legal projects including the preparation of staff training.
• Provide clear, accurate and timely legal advice to staff across the Office.
• Provide legal advice on contracts, MOUs, procurement, employment, or property issues.

Skills

In-house legal

Legal advisory

Administrative law

Information law

Litigation

Training delivery

Risk identification

Legislation interpretation

Education

Admission to practice law

Job description

Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman – Sydney NSW

The Defence, Investigations, ACT and Legal Branch is responsible for a range of the Office’s functions and includes the Office's in-house legal team.

The Legal Team is the primary point of contact for staff who need legal assistance in undertaking their work. Additionally, the team manages Freedom of Information requests, oversees the Office’s privacy obligations, manages litigation on behalf of the Office and provides training on legal issues.

Our successful candidate will:

• Ideally have experience in an in-house legal team in a government agency,orin a community legal centre, private law firm or experience managing FOI requests, internal reviews and information commissioner reviews.
• Have technical legal skills, including a demonstrated ability to provide pragmatic and practical legal advice, and ideally experience in administrative law, information law or litigation.
• Have the ability to work collaboratively in a team environment, fostering collaborative working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, liaising with them on a range of matters, assisting with their needs and managing expectations.
• Have the ability to identify risks and escalating issues to management as appropriate.
• Have the ability to analyse, interpret, and apply legislation, policies, practices, and precedents to solve complex problems, escalating as appropriate, under general direction.
• Provide support to Senior Legal Officers and Legal Directors in achieving the goals of the team and the Office.
• Have experience drafting and reviewing legislative instruments, delegations, external correspondence and guidance material relevant to the Office’s functions.
• Effectively manage priorities in a fast paced team and think flexibly.

The Defence, Investigations, ACT and Legal Branch is responsible for a range of the Office’s functions and includes the Office's in-house legal team.

The Legal Team is the primary point of contact for staff who need legal assistance in undertaking their work. Additionally, the team manages Freedom of Information requests, oversees the Office’s privacy obligations, manages litigation on behalf of the Office and provides training on legal issues.

Our successful candidate will:

• Ideally have experience in an in-house legal team in a government agency, orin a community legal centre, private law firm or experience managing FOI requests, internal reviews and information commissioner reviews.
• Have technical legal skills, including a demonstrated ability to provide pragmatic and practical legal advice, and ideally experience in administrative law, information law or litigation.
• Have the ability to work collaboratively in a team environment, fostering collaborative working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, liaising with them on a range of matters, assisting with their needs and managing expectations.
• Have the ability to identify risks and identify issues to management as appropriate.
• Have the ability to analyse, interpret, and apply legislation, policies, practices, and precedents to solve complex problems, escalating as appropriate, under general direction.
• Provide support to Senior Legal Officers and Legal Directors in achieving the goals of the team and the Office.
• Have experience drafting and reviewing legislative instruments, delegations, external correspondence and guidance material relevant to the Office’s functions.
• Effectively manage priorities in a fast paced team and think flexibly.

The key duties of the position include:

Your role will include:

• Advising on the exercise of the Ombudsman’s statutory powers, including under instruments of delegation and authorisation.
• Managing FOI requests, communicating with FOI applicants, drafting decisions, and drafting submissions for OAIC review.
• Assisting with instructions and management of litigation and merits review.
• Providing advice to staff on the management of potential privacy breaches and ensuring the Office adheres to its privacy obligations.
• Undertaking legal projects including the preparation of training to staff across the Office.
• Providing clear, accurate and timely legal advice to staff across the Office, in a way that helps them to achieve results.
• Providing legal advice to Office staff on contracts, MOUs, procurement, employment, or property issues.

Eligibility

• be admitted or eligible to be admitted to practice law in an Australian State or Territory
• be an Australian citizen
• be willing to undergo a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (NCCHC)
• be able to obtain and maintain a baseline security clearance.

Notes

• For questions about role, please contact:
• Amelia McCormick – Legal Director
  • ***************@ombudsman.gov.au / 07 3307 6***
• TinYan Wong – Legal Director
  • ***********@ombudsman.gov.au / 07 3307 6***

This role may be offered on a full or part-time basis (minimum 0.6 FTE).

Getting to know the Commonwealth Ombudsman

About the Office The purpose of the Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman (the Office) is to:

• provide assurance that the Australia Government entities and prescribed private sector organisations that the Office oversights, act with integrity and treat people fairly, and
• influence enduring systematic improvement in public administration in Australia and the Pacific region.

The Office does this through handling complaints, conducting investigations, performing audits and inspections and encouraging good administration. The Office also influences improvement in public administration in the Pacific region through collaboration with partner entities. The Office is statutorily independent within the Attorney-General’s portfolio with the following separate titles that describe some of our specific powers and functions:

• Defence Force Ombudsman
• Postal Industry Ombudsman
• Overseas Students Ombudsman
• Private Health Insurance Ombudsman
• Immigration Ombudsman
• Law Enforcement Ombudsman
• VET Students Loans Ombudsman.

The Commonwealth Ombudsman is also the ACT Ombudsman. Further information about the Office is available at the Commonwealth Ombudsman website.