Senior Lawyer - HSL

WorkSafe Victoria; Melbourne; Hybrid; AUD 152,000 - 185,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work

Superannuation

Job summary

WorkSafe Victoria is seeking a Senior Lawyer to provide expert legal advice supporting health and safety compliance and enforcement within the Legal & Governance Division, and to guide policy development and legislation. You will mentor junior staff and deliver strategic projects while engaging with internal and external stakeholders.

The role requires specialist knowledge in occupational health and safety, administrative law, civil procedure and capability to manage complex workloads in a

Qualifications

• Tertiary qualification in law.
• Admission to practice as an Australian Lawyer with at least five years post admission experience.
• Eligible to hold a practising certificate as an Australian Legal Practitioner.

Responsibilities

• Provide timely expert oral and written advice on complex legal issues.
• Manage the day to day conduct of litigation and inquiries, including applications for administrative review of inspector decisions, injunction applications, Coronial Inquests and Royal Commissions.
• Provide strategic and practical legal advice about formation and implementation of guidelines, legislation, policies and projects relating to health and safety.
• Identify and propose legislative, procedural or policy reform where required.
• Supervise the work performed by junior staff in relation matters under the Senior Lawyer's control.
• Build and maintain effective working relationships with key internal and external stakeholders.

Skills

Legal practice

Education

Tertiary qualification in law.

Job description

• $168,512.00 per annum + 12% superannuation
• Full time, fixed term 18 January 2027 to 25 February 2028 (parental leave)
• Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung / Melbourne CBD based role (hybrid - 3 days a week in office)

About the opportunity

Health & Safety Legal (HSL) sits within WorkSafe's Legal & Governance Division and provides WorkSafe's health and safety business units and other internal stakeholders with legal advice on a broad range of issues relating to compliance and enforcement. HSL also has the care and conduct of WorkSafe's coronial and Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (Review and Regulation Division) proceedings.

As a Senior Lawyer, you will provide legal advice to support the development of health and safety compliance and enforcement operations, guidance, policy and legislation, and strategic projects. You will also play an important role in mentoring and supporting junior staff while contributing to key organisational priorities.

Key accountabilities include:

• Provide timely expert oral and written advice on complex legal issues.
• Manage the day to day conduct of litigation and inquiries, including applications for administrative review of inspector decisions, injunction applications, Coronial Inquests and Royal Commissions.
• Provide strategic and practical legal advice about the formulation, development and implementation of guidelines, legislation, policies and projects relating to health and safety.
• Identify and propose legislative, procedural or policy reform where required.
• Supervise the work performed by junior staff in relation matters under the Senior Lawyer's control.
• Build and maintain effective working relationships with key internal and external stakeholders. The incumbent must manage constructive relationships in sensitive and dynamic environments.

Please ensure you review the Position Description for additional information on accountabilities for this role.

About you

You are a skilled legal professional who thrives in a complex regulatory environment and can communicate effectively with a broad range of stakeholders. You bring sound judgement, strong problem‑solving capability and a collaborative approach to working with multidisciplinary teams, while successfully managing competing priorities and delivering quality outcomes.

Additionally, you will possess the following skills and experience:

• Demonstrated specialist knowledge in the field of occupational health and safety, administrative law and civil procedure.
• Experience managing a portfolio of litigious claims.
• Experience in providing legal advice in a compliance and enforcement context.
• Demonstrated ability to work as an effective member of a high functioning, multidisciplinary team, to meet deadlines and effectively manage varying and complex workloads.
• Experience working independently as a specialist or directly managing project work, including coordination and supervision of staff, to achieve specified outcomes within designated time frames.
• Experience managing internal and external stakeholder relationships, including management of competing stakeholder interests.
• Demonstrated accountability for achievement of team results.
• Demonstrated ability to allocate and align resources to achieve core business objectives.
• Knowledge of the occupational health and safety law, privacy law, criminal law, evidence and criminal procedure, coronial proceedings and / or inquiries under the Inquiries Act 2014 (Vic) are desired.

Qualifications

• Tertiary qualification in law.
• Admission to practice as an Australian Lawyer with at least five years post admission experience.
• Eligible to hold a practising certificate as an Australian Legal Practitioner.

Working with us

At WorkSafe, our goal is for every employee to feel connected, safe, and valued within their team, for teams to feel appreciated in the workplace, and for WorkSafe to be respected in the community.

We believe that a diverse workforce is essential for delivering the best outcomes for the Victorian community. We strongly encourage applications from all individuals, including First Nations people, people with disabilities, those from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and individuals of all sexualities and genders.

What's next?

Preferred candidates will be required to satisfactorily complete a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check and/or other checks as required for the position as part of the recruitment process.

Eligibility for ongoing employment with WorkSafe Victoria requires Australian or New Zealand citizenship or permanent residency.

Due to the volume of applications received, individualised feedback will only be provided to candidates who progress to interview stage.

For further enquiries please contact Bianca Stojanovski via email ***************@worksafe.vic.gov.au