Information Lawyer – (FOI and Privacy)

Our client is seeking a Information Lawyer to support a team that provides legal advice on privacy, protected information, information sharing, and freedom of information (FOI) matters across the Department.

The position requires the successful candidate to:

• identify, research, and advise on matters related to FOI, privacy, data handling and management, and secrecy provisions in legislation relevant to the department’s programs and activities;
• work with business areas on and drafting Privacy Impact Assessments and data sharing agreements between Commonwealth agencies and third parties;
• undertake activities to ensure the department meets its requirements under the privacy code, including helping and support to the department’s privacy champion;
• process and drafting FOI requests received by the department and advice to the relevant Minister’s office in relation to their FOI requests; and
• draft internal review decisions and submissions to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

The successful candidate must have outstanding stakeholder engagement, coordination and analysis skills with a demonstrated ability to work independently and collaboratively within a small team environment, with a focus on quality service delivery to internal clients across a range of matters.  

Candidates will need to be familiar with the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth), Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), the Australian Privacy Principles, and be experienced and comfortable with conducting reviews of projects involving personal information.

Legal qualifications a Baseline Clearance and the ability to obtain a practicing certificate are essential.

‍