Solicitor

The Department of Health plays a critical role in the Victorian health system and is responsible for shaping it to meet the health needs of all Victorians. We’re focused on supporting Victorians to be as healthy as they can; whether through alerting them to seasonal risks like thunderstorm asthma, notifying them of contact with communicable diseases, safeguarding their drinking water, developing the best health, wellbeing and care facilities in the world, being at the forefront of mental health and wellbeing treatment or accelerating medical research. It’s all part of the way we partner with the community to help every individual lead a healthy life.

About the role:

• Reporting to the Specialist Privacy Lead, the Solicitor will support the Privacy Team which plays a central role in supporting the department to protect clients' privacy and support the sharing of information to help make Victorian health care safer and better for all patients.
• The Solicitor will provide legal advice to the Ministers, the Secretary, the Department of Health and relevant Administrative Offices on a range of privacy and information sharing issues. The Solicitor will take ownership of, and identify opportunities to ensure that, privacy templates, registers and other resources are up to date and optimised for purpose.
• The successful applicant will ideally have experience in providing legal and policy advice to government in compliance with the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014, and relevant enabling legislation.
• It is expected the successful applicant will possess conceptual, analytical and problem solving skills, combined with a flexible approach.
• Experience advising in relation to the Health Records Act 2001 and in the conduct of privacy impact assessments and technology-based agile project management would be well regarded.

About us:

At the Victorian Department of Health we want a future where Victorians are the healthiest people in the world. A Victoria where our children and people thrive, our workplaces are productive and safe, and our communities are more connected.

We see it as our job to support Victorians to stay healthy and safe. And to deliver a world-class healthcare system that ensures every single Victorian can access safe, quality care that leads to better health outcomes for all.

How you'll make a difference:

• Provide well-reasoned legal advice, briefings and correspondence.
• Collaborate with departmental colleagues to deliver client focused legal services.
• Prepare briefs and instruct counsel and contracted solicitors on the State Government Legal Panel.
• Maintain a good understanding of privacy and information sharing issues impacting health service sectors, as well as Commonwealth and State legislative and policy directions.
• Effectively identify and report high risk matters or possible system-wide improvements stemming from privacy breaches.
• Support the review and development of threshold privacy assessments and privacy impact assessments.

To learn more please click ‘Apply' to view the Position Description on the Careers.vic website.

What we offer:

• The opportunity to perform meaningful work, making direct contributions toward enabling Victorians to be the healthiest people in the world.
• A wide range of growth and development opportunities within the department and wider Victorian Public Service & Sector.
• A strong commitment to work-life balance, including a diverse array of