Job Summary
- Applications close:
- Job posted on: 3rd Feb 2025
- Canberra & ACT > Braddon
The Law Council of Australia represents the legal profession at the national level, to speak on behalf of its Constituent Bodies on national issues, and to promote the administration of justice, access to justice and general improvement of the law.
The Law Council advises governments, courts, and federal agencies on ways in which the law and the justice system can be improved for the benefit of the community. The Law Council also represents the Australian legal profession overseas and maintains close relationships with legal professional bodies throughout the world.
The Law Council was established in 1933 and represents 16 Australian state and territory law societies and bar associations and the Law Firms Australia, which are known collectively as the Council’s Constituent Bodies.
The Secretariat serves the Law Council nationally and is based in Canberra. This is a Canberra-based role. Please do not apply if you intend to work remotely.
The Policy Division performs a critical role in a prestigious national peak organisation, coordinating strategic policy and advocacy for the legal profession on critical issues affecting access to justice, the administration of justice, regulatory policy, rule of law and human rights.
In our work we champion the rule of law and its effective delivery as the foundation of a just legal system and aim to lead law reform and legal policy discussions with expertise at the national level. We also advocate on behalf of the Law Council’s Constituent Bodies and in turn the legal profession. Our objective is to provide the federal government and other stakeholders with balanced, respected, independent and apolitical policy positions.
The Law Council’s Policy Division is extremely fast-paced and requires dynamic, intellectual individuals with problem-solving skills and a desire to promote positive change, while defending important institutions and rights.
Reporting to the Deputy-General Manager of Policy, the Senior Policy Lawyer is responsible for preparing papers and submissions and managing projects on critical law reform and public policy issues. While having primary responsibility in Criminal and National Security Law, the Senior Policy Lawyer will be expected to work in, or assist, in all areas of the Law Council’s policy endeavours.
The position will also be required to work closely with the Law Council’s advisory committees, working groups, sections, and Constituent Bodies. The Senior Policy Lawyer will be primarily responsible for providing secretariat support to the Law Council’s National Criminal Law Committee and National Security Working Group. As such, this is a unique opportunity to work closely with eminent legal practitioners in these areas.
The Senior Policy Lawyer will have advanced legal research skills and high-level communication skills. The Senior Policy Lawyer will also have the ability to manage projects and to supervise junior staff members if required. The position also requires a solid understanding of Australia’s legal and political systems and an appreciation of key legal and public policy issues at the Commonwealth level.
In recent years, this role has had a focus on proposals for new Commonwealth criminal offences particularly where they involve an extension of criminal liability and/or strict liability; statutory reviews of aspects of Australia’s counter-terrorism framework; sentencing issues including mandatory sentencing; reforms to criminal procedure at the Commonwealth level and powers of Federal law enforcement and intelligence gathering agencies.