Senior Lawyer

Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission; Canberra; On-site; AUD 128,000 - 152,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Superannuation

Job summary

The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission in Canberra seeks a senior legal professional to join the Corporate Law team within the Legal Services Section, delivering strategic advice on employment, commercial law and regulatory compliance.

You will draft and negotiate contracts, procurement and ICT arrangements, advise on governance and intellectual property, and mentor junior staff while supporting risk management across the Commission.

Qualifications

• Be admitted as a legal practitioner of the Supreme Court of an Australian State or Territory.
• Be eligible to hold and maintain a practising certificate.
• Minimum of 5 years' post-admission experience in employment law and/or commercial law.
• Eligibility to hold and maintain a baseline security clearance.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead high-quality legal advice on employment law, commercial law and legislative compliance.
• Draft, review and negotiate contracts, procurement, ICT arrangements, intellectual property, leasing and governance documents.
• Provide strategic legal guidance to support the Commission's operations as a Commonwealth agency.
• Engage external legal providers per the Legal Services Directions 2025 and CPRs.
• Lead development of templates, guidance, and training; mentor junior staff.

Skills

Admitted as legal practitioner

Practising certificate eligibility

Employment/commercial law (5+ years)

Security clearance eligibility

Written and oral communication

Legal research

Independent work

Job description

Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission – Canberra ACT

About the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission

The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission is the national regulator of Australian Government-funded aged care services.

We protect and enhance the safety, health, wellbeing, and quality of life of people receiving aged care. This includes managing complaints and feedback about the care older people receive.

We help build confidence and trust in aged care, by promoting best practice and a culture of safety and quality in the sector. We register providers and hold them to account if they don’t meet expected standards of care.

We work with providers, workers, older people, their families, and supporters to make sure they understand and uphold older people’s rights.

Meet some of our people and learn more about the Commission and our Regulatory Strategy on our website www.agedcarequality.gov.au

The Legal Services Section’s Purpose and Responsibilities:

The Legal Services Branch, led by the Chief Counsel, provides the full scope of legal services relevant to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner’s (the Commissioner) and Complaints Commissioner’s functions, principally in relation to the interpretation and application of the legislation that currently regulates aged care providers, being the Aged Care Act 2024 and Aged Care Rules 2025 (the aged care scheme). These legal services include, but are not limited to, advising on the Commissioner’s and Complaints Commissioner’s regulatory activities, advising on matters of administrative law, commercial law, information law and employment law, managing the Commission’s involvement in litigation in relevant courts and tribunals and facilitating the Commission’s engagement with external legal services providers.

About the Role

The successful candidate will work in the Corporate Law team within the Legal Services Section. The Corporate Law team provides strategic and practical legal advice to support the Commission's role as a Commonwealth statutory agency and employer. The team works closely with business areas across the Commission to manage legal risk, support sound decision-making, and enable the Commission to achieve its operational and strategic objectives.

The team advises on a broad range of matters including:

Commercial Law

• Contract review, negotiation, variations and termination, information communications technology (ICT) arrangements, licensing agreements, memoranda of understanding (MoU), intellectual property, leasing, and other commercial transactions.
• Commercial risk mitigation including advice on legal risks arising from procurement and probity matters, along with emerging technologies (AI and digital platforms).

Employment Law

• Legal advice on employment, industrial relations, Work Health and Safety (WHS) and discrimination law. This includes advising on APS Code of Conduct investigations and other matters involving workplace rights and obligations.

Legislative Compliance

• We provide general advice and assistance to the Commission, to ensure compliance with the Commonwealth legislative and policy framework. This includes the review of internal policies, procedures and instruments of delegation.

Key Accountabilities:

• Lead the provision of high-quality legal advice on employment law, commercial law and/or legislative compliance matters.
• Work in the commercial law practice will include:
  • Lead the provision of advice on contracts, procurement, ICT arrangements, intellectual property, leasing, governance and commercial risk.
  • Draft, review and negotiate commercial agreements and legal documentation.
• Work in the employment law practice will include:
  • Lead the provision of advice on workplace investigations, misconduct, integrity, industrial relations, WHS, discrimination and enterprise agreement matters.
• Engage external legal providers in accordance with the Legal Services Directions 2025 (Cth), Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs).
• Lead the development of legal templates, guidance and deliver training to promote legal awareness.
• Peer review legal advice and work products to ensure quality, consistency and legal accuracy.
• Contribute to strategic initiatives within the Legal Services Section.
• Actively contribute to a collaborative, high-performing and solutions-focused Branch culture.
• Provide leadership, mentoring and professional development to junior legal staff.
• Other duties as required.

Key Capabilities and Eligibility Requirements:

Mandatory Requirements

• Be admitted as a legal practitioner (however described) of the Supreme Court of an Australian State or Territory.
• Be eligible to hold and maintain a practising certificate in the jurisdiction in which they practise.
• A minimum of 5 years' post-admission experience in employment law and/or commercial law.
• Eligibility to hold and maintain a baseline security clearance.

Experience and Technical Expertise

• Knowledge of legislative frameworks applying to a Commonwealth statutory authority.
• Significant experience advising on highly complex matters in the areas of:
  • employment and workplace relations law; and/or
  • commercial and corporate law, including procurement, contracting, ICT, intellectual property, leasing and governance.
• Sound knowledge of:
  • the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (Cth), Commonwealth Procurement Rules; and the Commonwealth procurement and contracting framework; and/or
  • the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), and the public sector workplace framework including the Public Service Act 1999 (Cth), APS Code of Conduct, etc.

Professional Skills

• Excellent written and oral communication skills, legal research skills and attention to detail.
• Demonstrated ability to set priorities, meet short deadlines and work effectively under pressure.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain effective working relationships and collaborate with legal and other Commission staff.
• Demonstrated ability to provide practical, risk-based and solutions-focused legal advice.
• Be able to work independently and with a geographically dispersed team, and be able to triage, manage and prioritise workflow.
• Self-motivated to continuously improve and develop (including by responding to constructive feedback).
• The ability to communicate complex legal concepts clearly and persuasively in plain English.
• Have integrity and be committed to practising in accordance with the Statement of Expectations for Government Lawyers.

While not essential, our ideal candidate may also have some experience in one or more of the following:

• Government legal experience (Commonwealth, State or Territory) is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated understanding of the APS Code of Conduct, Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and their application in the workplace.
• ICT procurements, projects and contractual arrangements.

Position Notes:

• Salary offered will be between $127,956 - $151,738 per annum depending on skills and experience. In addition, 15.4% superannuation will be paid.
• Only candidates who hold Australian citizenship can apply. Appointment is conditional on successfully completing a national police check. For more information, please visit www.apsc.gov.au/citizenship-aps
• Non-ongoing opportunity will be offered for an irregular/intermittent term. Opportunities will be offered for varying periods up to 12 months with the option to extend to a total of 24 months.
• Merit Pool established through this selection process may be used to fill this or future ongoing or non-ongoing vacancies.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Commission is committed to fostering a workplace with flexible work arrangements to support a diverse, respectful and inclusive culture for all staff.

The Commission recognises the richness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and is committed to the implementation of our Reconciliation Action Plan. The Commission values the unique knowledge and experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees which strengthens and supports our focus on protecting and enhancing the safety, health, wellbeing and quality of life of aged care consumers.

RecruitAbility

RecruitAbility applies to this vacancy. Under RecruitAbility you will be invited to participate in further assessment activity for the vacancy if you choose to apply under RecruitAbility; declare you have a disability; and meet the minimum requirements for the position. For more information, visit https://www.apsc.gov.au/recruitability.

We provide reasonable adjustments such as access, equipment or other practical support at relevant stages of the recruitment process. Please email ***********@agedcarequality.gov.au if you need any adjustments made.

Further information:

For further information about the Quality Commission, office locations and other related resources, please visit https://www.agedcarequality.gov.au

For more information on the Australian Public Service, please visit http://www.apsc.gov.au/publications-and-media/current-publications/cracking-the-code