About the position

As a Senior Lawyer within the Legal Services Team, the successful candidate will have a key role in providing accurate and strategic legal advice and assistance to TEQSA’s Commissioners and staff. The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate highly developed legal and analytical skills, excellent communication skills, and expertise in the key areas of law relevant to TEQSA or a capacity to develop this expertise.

The successful candidate will also be able to lead the Legal Services Team by providing guidance, direction and support, developing the capacity of staff in the team and planning the resources and priorities of the team.

- providing legal advice on administrative law and statutory interpretation to support TEQSA’s regulatory and quality assurance functions (including in relation to litigation that arises out of these functions).
- providing legal advice on regulatory investigations or enforcement proceedings, including in relation to litigation or administrative action involving academic cheating services.
- providing information law advice (including privacy, Freedom of Information and records management) on issues arising from TEQSA’s work.
- providing legal advice on employment law, contracting and procurement or intellectual property issues.
- drafting and managing legislative instruments, delegations, external correspondence and guidance material relevant to TEQSA’s regulatory and enabling functions.
- playing a central leadership role in the Legal Services Team, including supervising and building the skills set of more junior staff.
- fostering collaborative working relationships with internal and external stakeholders and liaise with them on a range of matters,



assisting with their needs and expectations. Under general direction, they will analyse, interpret, and apply legislation, policies, practices, and precedents to solve complex problems, escalating as appropriate.
- other duties as required.

Our ideal candidate

TEQSA is looking for someone who is passionate about contributing to the excellence of Legal Services and Australian higher education. Our ideal candidate will have:

1. highly developed knowledge of areas of law relevant to the agency’s work, including administrative law, statutory interpretation and litigation or administrative review, or the ability to quickly acquire this knowledge.
2. demonstrated ability to exercise sound professional judgement and problem-solving skills in a complex and changing workplace, using highly developed analytical and interpretative skills.
3. excellent interpersonal skills and be able to develop and maintain productive and collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
4. demonstrated excellent communication and negotiation skills, including in relation to complex and contentious matters.
5. demonstrated ability to lead a team of employees, providing direction, determining priorities and building capacity.

Qualifications and experience The following qualifications are mandatory:





- A law degree from a recognised higher education provider (or equivalent overseas qualification), and
- Admission as a legal practitioner in an Australian state or territory and a current legal practising certificate (or the capacity to obtain a practising certificate).

The following experience will be highly regarded:

- 3+ years post-qualification experience in practice or equivalent legal roles.
- Experience in providing legal services to Commonwealth government agencies or to regulatory bodies.

The successful applicant must:
- be an Australian citizen.
- complete a National Police Check satisfactorily.
- be able to obtain and maintain an Australian Government Security Vetting Agency (AGSVA) clearance to Baseline status, supported by TEQSA.

Failure to satisfy any of the above conditions may result in the withdrawal of an offer of employment or termination of employment.
- This recruitment process is being conducted to fill one ongoing and one non-ongoing vacancy up to 12 months. There is potential for the non-ongoing position to become ongoing after this time.
- A merit pool of suitable applicants will be created from this process and may be used to fill similar ongoing and non-ongoing vacancies. It is active for 18 months from the date of this advertisement.
- Before commencing in the role, the successful candidate will be required to disclose details of any material personal interests in connection with their employment at TEQSA via a Declaration of Interest form and seek approval to undertake any outside employment (paid or unpaid) via an Outside Employment application.
- For further information on this role, please contact Nicholas Riordan on 03 8306 2503 or [email protected]

📌 Senior Lawyer (Australia)
🏢 Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency
📍 Australia