- Senior Government Lawyer - EL1
- Canberra, ACT
- $129,477 - $158,609+ 15.4% superannuation

About the Department of Education
We contribute to Australia's economic prosperity and social wellbeing by creating opportunities and driving better outcomes through access to quality education and learning.

The Role
As a Senior Government Lawyer at the Department of Education, you will have the opportunity to work at the centre of some of Australia's most significant education policies, programs and reforms. This is more than a traditional legal role. It is an opportunity to influence the development and delivery of major government policies, navigate novel and complex legal challenges, and help the department achieve its goals in a rapidly changing environment. You will have highly developed legal expertise, robust interpersonal and leadership skills, and a proven ability to manage complex and sensitive matters. You will work with an appropriate degree of autonomy, build trusted relationships with clients and stakeholders, and play an important role in supporting the development of junior lawyers and the continuous improvement of the legal practice.

The department's legal practice comprises several teams that provide legal services to specific business groups across the department, as well as specialist legal teams that deliver expertise in key legal disciplines. This structure provides lawyers with the opportunity to build strong partnerships with clients, develop a deep understanding of the department's work, and engage in a diverse and intellectually stimulating range of legal matters. Our lawyers regularly collaborate across teams and subject areas, fostering professional growth, knowledge sharing and the delivery of high-quality legal services.

An attractive remuneration package is available, commensurate with the successful candidate's skills and experience,



and consistent with departmental policies

Duties and Responsibilities
In this role, your responsibilities will include the following:

- Providing high-quality, complex and sensitive legal advice that is solutions-focused and identifies and differentiates between legal requirements, risks and opportunities.
- Managing complex legal matters with an appropriate degree of autonomy, while reporting to the Principal Government Lawyer and exercising good judgement in escalating issues or seeking guidance as required.
- Building and maintaining trusted relationships with clients and stakeholders, and representing the department effectively in cross-agency and external forums where required.
- Working with clients to develop and implement programs, and providing complex advice on existing legislation, legislative reform proposals and legislative development.
- Applying statutory interpretation and administrative law skills to support the development and administration of the department’s programs.
- Advising on potential legal claims and disputes, and managing litigation matters, including opportunities to undertake in-house advocacy in tribunal proceedings.
- Working collaboratively and flexibly across the legal practice to support business priorities and client needs.
- Providing leadership and supervision to junior staff, including mentoring, capability development and professional support.




- Providing quality assurance and second counselling of legal advice and legal products prepared by other lawyers.

Qualifications and Education
To be eligible for a legal position in our practice, applicants must have:

- A degree in law from an Australian tertiary institution, or a comparable overseas qualification
- Admission as a legal practitioner in an Australian Court
- Eligibility to hold a restricted Government practising certificate

How to Apply
To apply for this position, please submit your application in our online recruitment system. You will need to:

- Provide a summary (no more than 750 words) that outlines your skills, knowledge, and experience and why you should be considered for this vacancy. You should take into consideration the position overview (including any detailed position specific requirements) when drafting your response. Where possible include specific relevant examples of your work.
- Upload your Resume
- Provide contact details for 2 Referees.

The APS work level standards are structured to clearly differentiate between the work expected (i.e. responsibilities and duties) at each classification level. We encourage you to review these when writing your application.

Eligibility
Citizenship - to be eligible for employment with the Department, you must be an Australian Citizen or, in limited circumstances, in the process of obtaining it.

Security Clearance - our successful candidate is required to hold, or have the ability to obtain, and maintain a Baseline security clearance.

Please refer to the Job Information Pack for more information about the role.

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📌 Senior Government Lawyer (Canberra)
🏢 Australian Government
📍 Canberra