Senior Freedom of Information

Senior Freedom of Information and Privacy Officer

• Salary: $113,022 - $136,747 (Plus superannuation)
• Ongoing position
• Usual hours of work: Full time (flexibility may be available)
• Usual work location: 121 Exhibition Street, Melbourne VIC 3000 (flexibility may be available)

The Role

As a Senior Freedom of Information and Privacy Officer, you will be responsible for ensuring compliance with the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic) (the FOI Act) and the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) (the Privacy Act). The role sits within the Public and Administrative Law Unit within the within the Legal and Legislation Branch.

The Senior Freedom of Information and Privacy Officer manages complex privacy and Freedom of Information queries. Working as part of a small team, this role requires expert technical skills, the ability to influence and negotiate effectively and a willingness to support a positive team culture. The position also assists in driving continuous improvements including identifying process improvements, tracking and reporting on trends, and responding to regulatory bodies.

Key accountabilities include:

• Enhance departmental compliance with the FOI Act and Privacy Act by providing expert advice and support to staff in relation to complex FOI and privacy matters, including the handling of sensitive information.
• Contribute effectively to the planning, development, maintenance and improvement of the Freedom of Information & Privacy unit, including mentoring, training, quality control, procedures, and systems.
• Prepare quality written material, including briefings, reports, correspondence, and training material.
• Influence and negotiate respectfully and effectively with a variety of stakeholders, including departmental staff, Ministerial offices, portfolio agencies, regulatory bodies and other government departments.
• End to end management of FOI & Privacy requests in line with internal business rules and legislative timeframes.
• Maintain accurate and complete records of the work activities in accordance with legislative requirements and the department's records, information security and privacy policies and requirements.

The Team

The position of Senior Freedom of Information and Privacy Officer will work within Legal and Legislation Branch, which sits within Corporate Services Group.

The Legal and Legislation Branch is the centralised provider of legal services to the Department.  It supports the Department's strategic priorities by partnering with our client areas and delivering quality legal advice, dispute management, legislation development and commercial legal services. We provide practical and solutions focused legal services that appropriately manage risk, so that we assist our clients to achieve their strategic outcomes.

We do this by engaging with our client areas and fostering strong relationships so that we better understand our clients' context and needs as well as the strategic objectives of the Department.

We provide legal advice on the development of legislation, regulations and instruments, statutory decision making, statutory interpretation, administrative law, negotiation and drafting of commercial and other agreements, review of contracting and grant arrangements, advice on dispute resolution and management of litigation. We also manage FOI functions for the department and its Ministers and provide advice in relation to privacy and the management of personal information.

About You

To be successful in this role you will have the following skills and experience:

• Technical expertise: Highly proficient in the administration of the FOI Act and/or Privacy Act or significant experience in governance, compliance or administrative law.
• Stakeholder engagement: Able to identify and use common issues across clients or stakeholders to build mutually beneficial partnerships. Uses understanding of the stakeholder's organisational context to ensure outcomes are achieved.
• Innovation and continuous improvement: Reviews and analyses internal and external information to improve effectiveness and quality of work. Supports and drives a team environment where innovation and creativity are fostered and rewarded.
• Critical thinking and problem solving: Demonstrated ability to make timely, robust decisions based on a consideration of available facts and alternatives in a time pressured environment. Considers wider business context within business unit when exploring options to resolve issues.
• Working collaboratively: Guides others to create a culture of collaboration. Identifies and works to overcome barriers to knowledge or information sharing. Identifies opportunities to work with other teams to deliver outcomes.

Further Information

For a confidential discussion, please contact Cindy Tata, Manager, Freedom of Information (FOI) & Privacy on

The department is committed to creating and maintaining a child safe organisation. We have zero tolerance of child abuse and are committed to taking the necessary steps to protect children from harm by adopting a preventative, proactive and participatory approach to child safety in accordance with the Child Safe Standards.

Successful candidates will be required to undergo a National Police Records Check prior to commencing employment with the Department. For further information on the position, please refer to the attached position description.

Please note: We are accredited as a Disability Confident Recruitment (DCR) organisation and committed to inclusive recruitment. If you require an adjustment to participate in any stage of the recruitment process or have a particular requirement to be communicated with by either telephone or email only, please notify the DJSIR Recruitment Team on , or via email at  with the position number in the subject line. For additional contact details for our team please review the attached Position Description, located under Job Attachments in the right hand menu.

How to Apply

Please click the 'Apply Now' button. As part of the application process, you will need to provide a copy of your Cover Letter and Resume outlining your interest in this position.

Applications close at 23:59pm on Wednesday, 26 November 2025.