About us

As a department our purpose is to help the community to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from the impact of fire and emergency events.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) is the primary provider of fire, rescue and emergency management programs and services throughout Queensland. The department encompasses the Fire and Rescue Service, disaster management services, the Rural Fire Service and the State Emergency Service, and also supports other volunteer groups providing emergency response to Queenslanders.

QFES is one department with many services, many capabilities and many partners.

Purpose of the role

The Legal team provides expert independent legal advice and representation on behalf of QFES in the following areas of practice: litigation and preparation of associated documentation; personal injury matters; coronial investigations and inquests; administrative law and statutory interpretation; employment and commercial law; prosecutions under the Fire and Emergency Services Act 1990 and associated regulations; emergency management levy appeals; judicial review; anti-discrimination; and intellectual property matters, including where appropriate to facilitate, instruct and/or direct the provision of legal services from Crown Law, barristers and external legal service providers. The team also provides advice concerning operational practices and procedures to ensure QFES legal obligations and responsibilities are met.

Reporting to the Director, Legal services you will contribute to the protection of the legal interests of the department through provision of professional legal advice and representation. You will be responsible for the provision of professional legal advice, research, preparation of associated documentation, and submissions in areas of legal practice, and related organisational risk, and/or litigation for a diverse range of matters, including prosecutions and compliance, WorkCover and/or Personal Injuries proceedings to ensure effective response, review, and resolution of matters on behalf of QFES.

Key requirements

Mandatory requirements

• Admitted, or eligibility for immediate admission, under the Legal Profession Act 2007, as a legal practitioner, of the Supreme Court of Queensland.

Highly desirable requirements

• Experience in employee relations, industrial relations, human rights, and general administrative law practice.

Special requirements

• Minimum C Class Driver's Licence (non-restricted). The incumbent may be required to undertake local or intrastate travel on official business.

Your key accountabilities

Your part in the ongoing success of our department, in supporting key frontline services will see you responsible for a variety of work, including, but not limited to:

• Provide high quality professional legal advice on a range of complex legal matters, legislation, and statutory instruments, including operational practices and procedures to ensure QFES legal risk and options are explained.
• Review and conduct necessary research of complex legal matters to prepare authoritative oral and written advice and/or draft legal documentation, contracts, deeds of agreement, and/or memoranda of understanding to ensure best practice resolution on matters is achieved.
• Provide recommendation for engagement of external legal providers if required, and instruct and brief Crown Law and/or providers on the management and interpretation of highly sensitive and complex legal issues.
• Manage and undertake litigation relating to prosecutions and compliance of breaches of fire safety under the legislation of QFES to ensure proceedings, prosecution of offenders and/or court injunction matters achieve positive outcomes for QFES and Queensland community.
• Manage litigation, by or against QFES and their officers, and matters relating to WorkCover and/or Personal Injuries proceedings, including advising on risk management, and administrative and operational issues, with a view to minimising future legal action and improving workplace health and safety.
• Represent QFES on internal and external meetings and on legal matters and mediations, including summary prosecutions, call overs and sentences, or appellate proceedings before Courts and Tribunals to ensure QFES legal obligations are met, and positive outcomes achieved.
• Review and prepare high quality reports, ministerial and departmental submissions, briefs, and correspondence on a wide range of complex legal matters, in accordance with departmental requirements.
• Participate in continuous legal education and maintain high-level knowledge of departmental activities and whole-of-government initiatives to provide direction and advice to achieve strategic outcomes.

Capabilities

To determine your suitability for the role, you will be assessed on the following Leadership Competencies for Queensland behavioural profiles that link to the “key accountabilities” for this role:

Leadership Competency Stream – Individual Contributor (leading self)

Vision

• Leads strategically
• Stimulates ideas and innovation
• Leads change in complex environments

Results

• Builds enduring relationships
• Drives accountability and outcomes

Accountability

• Fosters healthy and inclusive workplaces

Once you join us we will want you to exemplify the QFES shared values:

• Respect
• Integrity
• Courage
• Loyalty
• Trust