Senior Legal Counsel

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• 12-month fixed term, full-time opportunity
• Partner with executives on complex commercial, privacy and FOI matters
• Join a high-performing in-house legal team supporting one of Victoria’s leading health services
• Heidelberg location with flexible working arrangements and excellent public transport access

Austin Health is the major provider of tertiary health services, health professional education and research across three campuses in Melbourne’s north-east and state-wide. We have a highly engaged, diverse and collaborative workforce that is unified by our goal to help people live healthy and fulfilled lives.

About the Legal Office

The Legal Office provides strategic legal services across Austin Health. The team supports the organisation on a broad range of legal, governance, commercial, privacy, FOI and medicolegal matters. Working closely with the Executive and senior leaders, the Legal Office plays a critical role in enabling organisational objectives while managing legal and regulatory risk. The team comprises the General Counsel, Associate Director Medicolegal, Senior Legal Counsel, Legal Counsel, Contract Administrator, Paralegal and Administrative Support.

About the Role

This 12-month fixed-term position offers an opportunity to work at the centre of a complex and dynamic healthcare organisation. Reporting to the General Counsel, you will provide trusted legal advice to executives and senior stakeholders across a broad portfolio of commercial, governance, privacy, FOI and regulatory matters.

You will join a collaborative and supportive team that values practical problem-solving, continuous improvement and excellent client service. This is an opportunity to have a meaningful impact by helping Austin Health deliver high-quality healthcare services while effectively managing legal risk.

A regular day will see you:   

• Provide practical and commercially focused legal advice to executives and senior leaders on corporate, commercial, governance, privacy and regulatory matters.
• Draft, review and negotiate a wide range of commercial contracts and legal documentation supporting procurement and operational activities.
• Advise on complex privacy, health information and Freedom of Information matters across the organisation.
• Partner with business units to identify, manage and mitigate legal and organisational risks.
• Develop the capability of leaders and staff through training, education and guidance on legal, privacy and contract management issues.
• Contribute to policy development, legal precedents, process improvement initiatives and best-practice legal operations.

About You

You are an experienced and pragmatic lawyer who combines strong technical expertise with excellent commercial judgement. You thrive in a fast-paced environment, build trusted relationships with stakeholders and enjoy solving complex legal problems that make a real difference to organisational outcomes.

To be successful in this role you’ll bring with you:

• Admission as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria and a current practising certificate.
• 7+ years' post-admission experience in commercial, corporate, privacy, health or related areas of law. Experience in public health will be highly regarded.
• Expertise in commercial contracting, contract negotiation and legal risk management.
• Strong knowledge of privacy law and experience advising on complex Freedom of Information matters.
• Proven ability to manage legal matters end-to-end, exercise sound judgement and deliver practical legal advice in a complex environment.
• Excellent stakeholder management, communication and influencing skills, with the ability to work effectively with executives and multidisciplinary teams.

Our Benefits

Working at Austin Health means enjoying a strong sense of purpose, engaging in meaningful work every day. Our people also receive a variety of rewarding benefits, including:

• Greater take-home pay through generous salary packaging, for living expenses, meals, and holiday accommodation. 
• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements.
• A suite of wellness initiatives designed to support you, including discounted fitness memberships and special offers on health insurance, and a comprehensive wellbeing program. 
• Mentoring and career development opportunities. 

Work With Us

We are committed to cultural safety and health equity for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples. We celebrate, value and include people of all backgrounds, genders, identities, cultures, bodies and abilities. We welcome and support applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with disability, neurodiverse people, LGBTQIA+ people and people of all ages and cultures.

If you feel this role is right for you, we encourage your application. Even if you do not meet every requirement, we encourage you to apply. What matters most is your experience, judgement, curiosity and commitment to making a meaningful contribution to Austin Health.

All appointments are made subject to a satisfactory National Police Check and if required, a Working with Children Check. Austin Health is a child safe organisation, committed to upholding the rights, safety, and wellbeing of children and young people in line with Child Safe Standards. If you require any reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process, you are welcome to reach out to the hiring manager: Emma Turner, General Counsel at Emma.TURNER@austin.org.au

Interested in finding out more? Read the Position Description for further details.

Application closing date: Thursday 16 July 2026