Principal Legal Counsel, Chief Counsel & Integrity

About the Department

The Department of Industry, Science and Resources and our broader portfolio are integral to the Australian Government’s economic agenda. Our purpose is to help the government build a better future for all Australians through enabling a productive, resilient and sustainable economy, enriched by science and technology. We do this by :

• Growing innovative & competitive businesses, industries and regions
• Investing in science and technology
• Strengthening the resources sector.

The APS and the department offer a clear direction and meaningful work. You will be able to create positive impact in people’s lives whilst contributing to improved outcomes for Australia and our people.

If you would like to feel a strong connection to your work and you are accountable, committed and open to change, join us in shaping Australia’s future.

Please see the APSC’s APS Employee Value Proposition for more information on the benefits and value of employment within the APS.

About the team

The Chief Counsel and Integrity Division (CCID) supports the Department of Industry, Science and Resources to achieve its objective of a productive economy lawfully and with integrity.  Lawyers in CCID provide strategic, practical legal advice on high-profile, cutting-edge public policy issues including artificial intelligence, energy supply and security, science and manufacturing initiatives, space activities and technologies, and trade remedies.

Work in CCID is fast paced, intellectually challenging and rewarding. The team is made up of warm, collegiate, talented, legal professionals who are passionate about their role in government decision making and committed to providing high quality legal advice in a highly supportive culture.

The opportunity

Principal Legal Counsel work directly to a General Counsel and provide timely, accurate, practical and strategic legal advice to support the department achieve its policy and program objectives on a broad range of nationally significant issues. Principal Legal Counsel take responsibility for managing key priority matters or client areas to ensure early identification of legal risk.

With roles available in both the Public Law and Dispute Resolution and Corporate and Information Law branches we are seeking talented, experienced lawyers who are interested in working in any of the following areas.

• Administrative law including decision making, regulatory powers, delegations and authorisations
• Legislative compliance and complex statutory interpretation.
• Commercial legal issues surrounding grants administration.
• Procurement, contract drafting and negotiation and contractual issues.
• Intellectual property, data access and confidentiality issues
• Privacy and freedom of information matters including in relation to privacy threshold and privacy impact assessments and privacy governance
• Employment and workplace relations matters; public interest disclosure (PID) and integrity matters
• Merits and judicial review of administrative decisions relating to trade remedies, mining and resource activities, grants and other industry support programs.

What’s in it for you?

In the role you will gain legal experience and skills that are highly sought after by both public and private legal sectors.

You will have the opportunity to :

• work on interesting and complex legal aspects of contemporary public policy issues,
• apply your technical skills on a wide range of subject matters including technology, space, science, mining and resources, measurement and trade,
• work across public, corporate and information law from policy and legislative development, administrative and regulatory decision making, and administrative and judicial review,
• work in a team supportive of flexible and remote working arrangements, and
• access training opportunities and professional networks to support your development.

Our ideal candidate

We are seeking  EL2 Principal Legal Counsels to fill positions in the Legal Practice.

To be successful in a Principal Legal Counsel role, you need to have skills and experience in :

• One or more areas of law relevant to in-house practice.
• Providing concise legal advice that provides practical solutions and options and differentiates between legal requirements and legal risk.
• Preparing draft written material including advice, reports and briefs.
• Conducting research and making decisions based on evidence, good judgement, technical expertise and legal knowledge.
• Building and maintaining productive stakeholder relationships using outstanding communication and interpersonal skills.
• Working collaboratively in a legal team.
• Supervising and / or mentoring more junior lawyers.

Our department has a commitment to inclusion and diversity, with an ambition of being the best possible place to work. This reflects the importance we place on our people and on creating a workplace culture where each and every one of us is valued and respected for our contribution. Our ideal candidate adds to this culture and our workplace in their own way.

What you will do

Principal Legal Counsel duties include :

Practice leadership

• Leading, oversighting and managing a section.
• Developing a positive Legal Practice and shared sense of purpose in their section through our vision, mission and service offering.
• Using strategic collaboration, communication, and interpersonal skills that build relationships based on understanding, respect, and trust.
• Identifying and implementing business improvement opportunities and leading on change initiatives and Legal Practice projects.
• Helping ensure a joined up, positive, pragmatic and consultative approach in their section to key issues facing the Legal Practice.
• Managing the direct reports in their section including managing their workloads and well­being and assisting them with career planning, business contingency and risk management.

Legal advice and responsibilities

• Managing a busy, fast-paced section to deliver priority outcomes.
• Building and maintaining strong and positive working relationships with legal colleagues, clients and other stakeholders (including external legal providers).
• Clearly articulating and reporting on the priorities of their section and ensuring that their work group delivers on what they are responsible for.
• Supporting their General Counsel to ensure coverage of their duties, and ensuring they are aware of critical challenges and issues.
• Overseeing (in a technical sense) the quality of legal work conducted by their section.
• Providing strategic advice, problem solving and issues management for their section's key stakeholders in relation to complex, high risk or potentially controversial matters including :

Communicating and making balanced decisions using professional judgement, factoring in risks, and being sensitive to the context.

• Undertaking complex analysis and interpretation and applying significant judgement in choosing a course of action to manage highly complex and / or sensitive issues.
• Making use of systems, processes and tools to ensure quality and consistency of advice.
• Taking responsibility for meeting objectives and leading the work in their section and managing all but the most complex of legal-risk matters while escalating appropriately and providing support in relation to the handling of escalated legal matters.
• Communicating with the General Counsel regularly about workload and complexity of work.
• Demonstrating resilience and personal accountability for the quality of advice and delivery of results in their section.
• Providing reports and briefs on key legal matters, risks and priorities to the General Counsel and broader senior management as required and appropriate.

Eligibility

Principal Legal Counsel must hold :

• Admission as a legal practitioner, however described, of the High Court or the Supreme Court of an Australian State or Territory, and
• A current practising certificate issued by the Law Society of the ACT or in their state or territory of residence (or be eligible to acquire one).
• Applicants for a Principal Legal Counsel based in South Australia must hold, or be eligible to hold, an unrestricted practising certificate issued by the Law Society of South Australia.

It is also desirable that applicants applying for any Principal Legal Counsel position in South Australia meet the requirements under South Australian law to supervise staff who hold a restricted practising certificate.

To be eligible for employment in the APS and the department, candidates must be Australian Citizens.

Positions require a Baseline security clearance, and successful candidates will be required to obtain and maintain a clearance at this level.

Notes

A merit pool may be established and used to fill future vacancies within 18 months from the date the vacancy was first advertised in the Gazette.

The department offers flexible work opportunities for many roles. Current vacancies can be based in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or Adelaide, and flexible or remote work arrangements may be considered for the right candidate. Please reach out to the contact officer to discuss this further.

Application information

Your application must not contain any classified or sensitive information. This includes in your application responses, CV and any other documents. The selection panel may not consider applications containing classified information.

Please provide a pitch explaining how your skills, knowledge and experience will be relevant to this role and why you are the best candidate for the position. Your pitch can contain no more than 750 words and should align to the key duties listed above.

Please complete your application online and provide your current CV with your application. (CVs must be in .doc, .docx, or .pdf format).

Accessible application documentation is available in other formats on request. Please contact

• or (
• if you require assistance with your application.

Please refer to our Applying for a position information for additional information on how to apply.

Contact Information

For more information regarding this opportunity, please contact Janean Richards via email on