Assistant Director

EL 1 - $115,663 - $124,403
- Legal
- Adelaide - SA, Brisbane - QLD, Canberra - ACT, Melbourne - VIC, Sydney - NSW
- Assist the department to manage its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act.
- Support the Principal Legal Officer and manage a small team.
- Work in a fast-paced and exciting environment.

**Who we are**
The Legal Division is managed by the Chief Counsel and is comprised of both lawyers and non-lawyers. Together we are responsible for all legal services and advice required by the department. We partner with the business areas of the department, the Executive, and the Secretary to identify and manage legal risk across the department and facilitate excellent legal outcomes for our clients. As a member of the Division, you will have a key role in growing this department which has been established to deliver on matters which are at the forefront of our national agenda. You will be involved in interesting and important work which may span environment protection, energy, climate change and heritage, and on-ground operations in Commonwealth national parks and Antarctica.

Work we do includes:

- providing legal advice on a broad range of issues including statutory interpretation and administrative law, regulatory actions and investigations and commercial work and funding activities
- managing the department’s litigation across a broad range of matters including merits review, judicial review, commercial disputes, and Work Health and Safety matters, in a range of Courts and Tribunals
- developing legal risk and mitigation strategies, particularly in areas of novel or complex work
- developing and coordinating legislation bids and processes, including drafting instructions for the department’s ambitious legislative reform agenda
- developing legal guidance resources and delivering training for the department
- coordinating freedom of information requests and providing privacy advice
- providing administrative and financial support services to the Division.

The Legal Division operates in a fast paced, exciting environment. We focus on ensuring our staff are supported and developed so that they are in the best position to take on the challenges of the work. We provide competitive conditions and remuneration and provide opportunities for staff to both specialise and diversify their skills, while learning from and being supported by highly skilled senior staff.

The Corporate, Climate Change & Energy Branch is made up of four sections: Information Law, Commercial Law, Climate Change & Energy Legal, and the Legal Strategy & Coordination team. The Branch is responsible for advising on all information law and commercial law matters, corporate advising, and statutory and administrative law advice to the Climate Change & Energy groups. The Branch is also responsible for practice management support to the Division, including recruitment, managing the Divisional budget and the procurement of external legal services.

The Information Law team provides advice on information law issues to all areas of the department.

The team is responsible for:

- managing and advising on Freedom of Information requests including internal reviews and reviews by the Information Commissioner
- providing advice on privacy issues, including the assessment and provision of advice on privacy breaches and complaints
- providing advice on protected information and confidential information matters
- advising on scope and public interest immunity claims in the context of Orders for Production of documents.

**The Job**
The Assistant Director - Freedom of Information Operations assists the department to manage its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act by processing requests for information in accordance with the Act and established procedures and guidelines. The Assistant Director supports the Principal Legal Officer and manages a small team.

Assistant Directors are required to:

- manage a case load of moderately complex or more sensitive FOI requests and coordinate the department’s response to each request within strict timeframes
- provide specialised assistance and guidance to decision-makers and action officers on FOI matters, including actively participating in meetings
- prepare or supervise the preparation of draft correspondence and decisions
- mentor and supervise junior staff members and review the work of others in the team
- provide FOI assistance to the Ministers’ Offices and portfolio agencies, as required
- work with the FOI Contact Officer to manage the workflow and caseload in the team, to ensure timeframes are met
- develop guidance and training materials and deliver FOI training to the department
- demonstrate awareness of the strategic context in which the department operates, with a view to understanding potential risks and sensitivities relating to FOI requests
- exercise critical thinking and sound judgement on FOI issues
- identify and manage FOI related risks within the department, in