- Location: Adelaide, SA; Brisbane, QLD; Canberra, ACT; Hobart, TAS; Melbourne, VIC; Sydney, NSW
- Salary Range: $131,960 - $144,908 + Attractive Superannuation
- This vacancy has been identified to participate in VetPaths
The Legal and Audit Division is a specialist in-house practice that supports lawful implementation of the Department’s objectives by advising on the management of legal risk as well as providing legal advice, litigation and dispute resolution services, legal training and legislation services.
We are looking for candidates with strong technical legal skills, who are great communicators, can manage competing priorities, enjoy working collaboratively, think flexibly and have a positive attitude.
Lawyers at all levels work on a wide range of complex and interesting legal matters with friendly and high performing colleagues. You will be supported to further develop a highly sought after and transferable skill set.
Senior Legal Officers operate under broad direction and minimum supervision to perform complex legal work in a manner that is consistent with DVA’s vision.
You will be assessed on your ability to perform the core duties outlined below. To be successful, you are expected to have had experience:
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Providing legal services in a government in-house legal practice or similar
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Making, reviewing or investigating administrative decision-making
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Leading a small team or supervising junior officers.
DUTIES
As an
EL1 Senior Legal Officer you will be required to
- Deliver high quality legal services that meet client expectations, taking into consideration legal and non-legal risks, and the broader environment in which DVA and the Minister operate.
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You will manage a caseload of the more complex matters. Working at pace you will seek instructions from business areas and preparing submissions to decision-makers that contain robust analyses, well-crafted findings and sound recommendations. From time to time you will engage and provide instructions to external legal service providers.
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Foster networks and develop relationships with key business areas across the Department to ensure their collaboration and cooperation with the team’s investigations.
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Support the Director/Principal Legal Officer to ensure the team adheres to processes and policies that ensure the quality and timeliness of the team’s work; this includes monitoring the progress of casework, conducting case reviews and identifying any risks to timeliness and developing strategies to mitigate them.
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You will support the work of the EL2 by providing guidance and mentorship to more junior officers.
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Supervise (as required) and/or support other section members including contributing to the setting of the direction of work priorities and practices, monitoring workflow and contributing to shared learning
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You will undertake quality reviews of legal matters, submissions and other correspondence; imparting shared learning and feedback consistently to promote high quality outputs across the team.
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You will apply a client-centric approach, and be open to and able to communicate with DVA clients and their representatives in a trauma-informed way.
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As an Executive Level officer, you will have and apply good judgement to problem-solving, and have regard to the interests of your client, the Department and the Minister and promote the role of the Division as DVA’s trusted legal advisor.
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Support the team and the Branch more broadly with responses to Ministerial and executive correspondence and the preparation of submission to senior executives.
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Maintain professional legal expertise, through participation in development, training and study opportunities, and meet Continuing Legal Education requirements and other expectations.
MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS
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Must have at least a Bachelor of Laws degree (or equivalent) from a recognised Australian tertiary education provider.
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Must be admitted as a legal practitioner of the High Court or the Supreme Court of a State or Territory of Australia and must possess, or be eligible to obtain, at least a restricted government lawyer practising certificate.
ELIGIBILITY
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Under section 22(8) of the Public Service Act 1999, employees must be Australian citizens to be employed in the Australian Public Service (APS).
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Any successful candidate external to DVA offered employment will be required to undergo a pre-engagement screening check, even if they have a security clearance. The screening check is conducted in accordance with the Australian Government Protective Security Policy Framework requirements.
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Any successful candidate will also be required to obtain and/or maintain, a baseline Vetting (AGSVA) security clearance as a minimum.
NOTES
This recruitment process may be used to fill ongoing and/or non-ongoing position/s. For more information about the role, please see the .
A merit pool of suitable applicants may be created which may be used to fill future ongoing and non-ongoing vacancies should they become available over the next 18 months.
Successful applicants engaged into the APS will be subject to a probation period.
We welcome people with diverse skills, experiences and perspectives. DVA is committed to building a workforce that reflects the community we serve and encourages applications from:
- Veterans and former Australian Defence Force members, whose skills and experience are highly valued across the APS
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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
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People with disability
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People who identify as LGBTQIA+
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People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
We are a Veteran Employer of Choice! This means you benefit from a workplace actively supporting veterans and families of veterans – one that understands and values military experience. You’re joining an organisation publicly recognised for its commitment to fostering veteran-friendly employment pathways and long-term career success.
The Australian Public Service (APS) values the unique skills, perspectives, and experiences that veterans gain during their Australian Defence Force (ADF) employment and encourage veterans to apply. Support may be available to veterans transitioning to meaningful APS careers through participation in VetPaths, which offers veterans an opportunity to participate in a six-month program offering formal learning and development, career mentoring and activities for wellness and peer support.
RecruitAbility applies to this vacancy. Under the RecruitAbility scheme, you will be invited to participate in further assessment activities for the vacancy if you choose to opt-in to the scheme, declare you have a disability and meet the minimum requirements for the vacancy. All requests for reasonable adjustments will be considered and managed in consultation with you.
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