Paralegal

AFCA; Melbourne; Hybrid; AUD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Gold AWEI Accreditation

Family Friendly Workplace

Hybrid Working

Inclusive Leave Options

Job summary

AFCA is seeking a Paralegal for a 12-month contract in Melbourne. You will work closely with the Senior Privacy Manager & Counsel and support privacy and regulatory matters. This role suits a 3rd-year or later law student or junior lawyer seeking practical experience in financial services law.

You’ll manage information requests, prepare documents, and assist with investigations while gaining exposure to experienced professionals in a not-for-profit environment. Hybrid working available.

Qualifications

• You might be a third-year or later law student or a junior lawyer looking for an opportunity to develop your legal career and build deeper expertise.
• You’ll also bring a genuine interest in privacy, regulatory and financial services law.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent attention to detail and a high level of accuracy.
• The judgement and discretion to work with confidential and sensitive information.

Responsibilities

• Assist with identifying, collecting, reviewing and preparing documents for privacy and other information requests.
• Help ensure information requests are managed accurately and in line with legal, confidentiality and privilege requirements.
• Prepare correspondence, acknowledgement letters, file notes and other legal and administrative documents.
• Support our Privacy and Legal teams with legal matters, projects and investigations.
• Monitor developments across privacy and regulatory law and prepare clear, practical summaries for the team.
• Maintain accurate records and internal registers.

Skills

Legal research

Privacy law

Regulatory law

Document management

Attention to detail

MS Office

AI tools familiarity

Team collaboration

Education

Law student (3rd year or later)

Tools

Microsoft Office suite

Legal software

Job description

Make a real impact at AFCA. Where fairness drives every decision. Help us deliver world-class, independent complaints resolution for Australians. As a not-for-profit and progressive financial ombudsman, we’re championing positive change. Achieving our purpose takes progressive thinking, accountability and resilience. At AFCA, our inclusive leadership values every voice. We offer our people flexible work options, thoughtful benefits and opportunities to deepen expertise. Flourish in a diverse, caring culture. Feel the difference of belonging to an organisation intentionally designed to put people first.

Job Description

Start your legal career somewhere the work really matters.

At AFCA, fairness feels good. Our Legal and Privacy teams play an important role in supporting fair outcomes, protecting information and helping AFCA navigate an evolving legal and regulatory environment.

We’re looking for a Paralegal to join our team, working closely with our Senior Privacy Manager & Counsel and the broader Privacy and Legal teams.

This is a great opportunity for a third-year or later law student or junior lawyer who wants to build hands-on experience across privacy, regulatory and financial services law.

You’ll play a key role in managing privacy and other information requests, while supporting a diverse range of legal and privacy matters, projects and investigations. It’s varied, detailed work that will give you exposure to experienced legal professionals while building your knowledge in areas of law that have a real impact on consumers and financial services.

Please note, this is a 12 month contract with full time working hours for the duration of the contract.

What you’ll be doing:

Assist with identifying, collecting, reviewing and preparing documents for privacy and other information requests.

Help ensure information requests are managed accurately and in line with legal, confidentiality and privilege requirements.

Prepare correspondence, acknowledgement letters, file notes and other legal and administrative documents.

Support our Privacy and Legal teams with legal matters, projects and investigations.

Monitor developments across privacy and regulatory law and prepare clear, practical summaries for the team.

Help manage correspondence and routine enquiries from internal and external stakeholders.

Maintain accurate records and internal registers.

Work with the team to keep matters moving and deliver timely, high-quality support.

Qualifications

What you’ll bring:

You might be a third-year or later law student or a junior lawyer looking for an opportunity to develop your legal career and build deeper expertise.

You’ll also bring:

A genuine interest in privacy, regulatory and financial services law.

Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Excellent attention to detail and a high level of accuracy.

The judgement and discretion to work with confidential and sensitive information.

Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage competing priorities in a busy environment.

An analytical mindset and an ability to think logically and work through problems.

Confidence using Microsoft Office and other digital tools, with familiarity with AI tools.

A proactive, resourceful approach and the ability to work both independently and collaboratively.

Curiosity, adaptability and a willingness to learn.

Additional Information

• Gold AWEI Accreditation 2025 – Recognised for LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion.
• Accredited Family Friendly Workplace – Supporting work-life balance and inclusivity.
• Hybrid working – Flexible arrangements with two days a week in our modernoffices designed for collaboration and wellbeing.
• Additional and inclusive leave options – Flexible public holidays, gender affirmation leave, women’s health leave, and bonus paid time off over the end of year holiday period.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, cultures, abilities, sexual orientations, and gender identities. If you require any accessibility support during the recruitment process, please reach out to our team at [e-mail].

We believe fairness starts with people. That’s why we don’t use AI or automated tools to screen candidates. As a result, our processes may take a little longer, and we thank you for your patience.

About AFCA

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) was established in 2018 as a private not-for-profit ombudsman service providing free, fair and independent help with financial disputes. The original team has grown to over 1600 dedicated professionals. Since 2018, AFCA has received more than 634,000 complaints, helping to secure $2.1 billion in compensation for consumers.

AFCA is a 2026 Circle Back Initiative Employer - we are committed to responding to every applicant.