- Newly created senior legal role with significant autonomy
- Provide corporate, commercial, governance and public law advice across a nationally impactful regulator
- Melbourne or Adelaide | Hybrid and flexible working environment

Join a highly regarded, purpose-driven organisation that plays a vital role in keeping Australians safe across the nation's rail networks.

The Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR) is seeking an experienced Senior Legal Counsel - Corporate to take ownership of a broad and varied corporate legal portfolio, providing trusted advice across corporate and commercial matters, governance, legislative compliance, public law and policy.

This is a newly created position offering genuine autonomy and the opportunity to shape ONRSR’s corporate legal capability. You will become a key legal adviser to stakeholders across the organisation, translating complex legal and regulatory issues into clear, practical advice that supports sound decision-making.

Rather than specialising in one narrow area of law, you will work across a diverse portfolio of matters, from contracts and procurement through to legislative interpretation, governance frameworks, FOI, privacy and legislative reform.

Impact of the organisation
The Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR) is the independent statutory body responsible for national rail safety. Headquartered in Adelaide and with offices across Australia, ONRSR is deeply committed to promoting and improving rail safety.

Their culture is purposeful, inclusive and collaborative, where people are empowered to bring their authentic best selves to work, and each contributes to enhancing rail safety across the Australian community through targeted, risk-based regulation and actively sharing insights to raise awareness.

Impact you will have in this role
Reporting to the Executive Director, Statutory Compliance, you will operate as ONRSR’s primary in-house adviser on corporate, governance and broader public law matters.

Working within a small, high-impact legal function, you will have considerable ownership of your portfolio while partnering closely with the Executive Director, Corporate Services and the Governance and Risk, Finance and Policy teams.

A key focus will be helping ONRSR continue to strengthen its corporate governance and compliance capability, moving beyond frameworks that simply exist on paper to ensuring legislative obligations and governance practices are effectively understood, embedded and operating across the organisation.

You will also provide legal input into policy and legislative reform, advise on ONRSR’s statutory powers and obligations,



and support senior stakeholders to navigate complex legal questions within a government and regulatory environment.

Key Responsibilities

- Provide expert legal advice on governance and complex and sensitive corporate matters, including key ONRSR projects and initiatives.
- Act as a strategic partner to the organisation, aligning legal advice with ONRSR’s strategic objectives while maintaining regulatory integrity.
- Provide legal support, including the drafting of and review of contracts, procurement, commercial documents and other agreements.
- Provide legal support on and ensure compliance with information, privacy and data management frameworks, work health and safety legislation, whistleblowing, Freedom of Information (FOI) and other related matters.
- Monitor legislation and regulatory changes, assessing their impact on ONRSR and advising accordingly.
- Provide advice regarding legislative reform and update the legislative compliance register.
- Identify, predict and respond to legal and regulatory risks that arise, informing impacted Executives.
- Contribute to the development, review and maintenance of policies and procedures to ensure alignment with relevant legislation and standards applying to ONRSR.
- Participate in and provide legal leadership on specialist projects involving complex legal issues.
- Maintain and update legal precedents, templates and databases, incorporating legislative and case law developments.
- Assist with responses to FOI requests, privacy matters, and broader governance compliance obligations.
- Support internal review processes related to regulatory decisions, including accreditation outcomes, notices, and other statutory determinations.
- Proactively engage with key leaders in Corporate Services and develop collaborative consultation models that streamline the obtaining and receiving of legal advice.

Skills & Experience
We are looking for a lawyer with broad corporate legal capability who combines solid technical skills with commercial judgement, curiosity and a practical approach.

You will bring:

- A tertiary qualification in law and admission to practise as an Australian Legal Practitioner.
- Proven success and experience within a corporate, government, regulatory or similarly complex legal workplace.
- Strong corporate and commercial legal experience, including contract drafting, review and negotiation.
- Experience across procurement,



corporate governance and legislative compliance.
- Strong legislative interpretation skills, with the ability to research unfamiliar or complex areas and form a clear legal position.
- Experience across public and administrative law, FOI, privacy, WHS and broader compliance matters.
- Experience within government, a regulator or a highly regulated sector such as infrastructure, utilities, transport or energy will be highly regarded.
- Exposure to policy development or legislative reform would be advantageous.
- Excellent legal writing and communication skills, with the ability to make complex legal issues understandable and practical for non-lawyers.

Why Join ONRSR?
You will have the opportunity to:

- Shape a newly created senior legal role and make the portfolio your own.
- Work autonomously across an unusually broad mix of corporate, commercial, governance, regulatory and public law matters.
- Gain direct exposure to senior executives, policy leaders and the Regulator.
- Influence how governance and legislative compliance are embedded across a national organisation.
- Contribute to legislative and policy reform within a nationally significant regulatory environment.
- Join a supportive, personable and collaborative culture where balance and flexibility are genuinely valued.

Benefits

- Additional 3 days leave at Christmas
- Ability to access annual leave at half pay
- Annual salary increases in accordance with the ONRSR Enterprise Agreement 2025-2029
- 16 to 18 weeks of paid parental leave, depending on length of service
- Reproductive health leave
- Flexible and hybrid working environment

Apply Now
Please apply by uploading your resume and cover letter. For any questions, please contact Chloe Barton at [email protected]

Applications will be reviewed as they are received, with conversations progressing with suitable candidates throughout the recruitment process. Interviews may commence prior to the closing date, so we encourage early applications.

Impact Advising is committed to creating diverse and inclusive work environments that reflect the rich tapestry of our communities. We believe that diversity enriches organisations and fosters innovation. We are dedicated to building workforces that are representative of the diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives of our society. We actively seek to foster inclusive workplaces where all employees can bring their whole selves to work, feel respected and valued, and have equal opportunities for growth and advancement. We are committed to providing a fair and unbiased recruitment process and strive to eliminate barriers that may impede the inclusion and participation of underrepresented groups in the workforce.

📌 Senior Legal Counsel - Corporate | ONRSR (Melbourne)
🏢 Impact Advising
📍 Melbourne