Legal services

The Legal team has qualified, experienced lawyers and contract officers.

We provide a range of legal services to the University that academic and professional staff can access. Legal advice is best sought as early as possible.

If we cannot provide you with advice we can assist you in obtaining advice from the best source. This will help you get the best advice as quickly as possible, keep the cost down and assist in risk management of your project for the University.

Services offered:

Assistance with litigation
Contract planning, drafting, review and negotiation
Dispute resolution (contracts, employment etc.)
Freedom of Information (FOI) advice
Intellectual property advice
Legal compliance advice
Managing external legal service providers
Privacy law and policy advice
Review of contracts and advice and representation as needed. Research contracts (such as grants) should in the first instance be directed to Research Development and Support (RDS).

How to request legal advice

Lodge a request with the Legal team on Service One.

For urgent matters, please call the University's General Counsel on 8201 2887, however you should generally allow ten business days for your request to be processed and the advice to be provided.

Once we have received your instructions and all of the documents, your request will be allocated to one of the lawyers in the team and that lawyer may contact you if further information is required.

Quick links

Contracts management

Delegations of Authority to Enter into Contracts

Intellectual Property Policy

Flinder's Privacy statement

Competition and Consumer Act

Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme

How will you know if you need legal advice?

You may need legal advice where:

You have agreed with another party that there needs to be a written contract but neither of you have one.
A contract has been provided to you by the other party.
You use a University template that needs some variations made.
You do not understand what you have been given.
The other party has a lawyer.

Note: Contracts can be entered into by verbal agreement (that is, without a written agreement) sometimes, this happens unintentionally. Contracts should not be entered into by verbal agreement. If the other party asserts this happened and you are unsure or disagree, contact legal services immediately.

Personal legal advice

We are unable to provide personal legal advice to staff and students however, one of the following organisations may be able to assist:

Further information

Legal service	Explanation
Affidavits	You may be asked to provide an Affidavit, contact us to discuss whether you are obliged to provide one and what it means if you do.
External lawyers	If you require assistance engaging an external lawyer, Legal Services can assist with recommending a lawyer, providing instructions, obtaining a quote and containing your legal spend.
Litigation	Legal Services lawyers have experience in litigation and although the University tries to avoid litigation, it sometimes unfortunately still occurs. Please contact Legal Services if you require assistance with a matter that is in a Court or Tribunal.
Subpoena	Subpoenas, Summonses and Notices to Produce are court orders issued in legal proceedings requiring attendance at court or, more commonly, production of documents required for those proceedings. On occasion the University is served with these documents. If you receive one of the above documents you should immediately contact one of the legal team.
Witness statements	You may be asked to provide a witness statement, contact us to discuss whether you are obliged to provide one and what it means if you do.