- How do I obtain advice?
- Do we charge?
- Should agreements be checked by the Legal Office?
- Who should subpoenas be addressed to?
- How are court documents served on the University?
- What do I do in a dispute?
- What is legal professional privilege?
- What is our ABN?
- Does UNSW have an ACN?
- Who can sign agreements for the University?
- What is the University seal?

How do I obtain advice?

Contact us by telephone or email or arrange a meeting. For any urgent issues or preliminary inquiries ring one of our three solicitors on 9385 2701.

Do we charge?

We don’t charge for legal services provided in-house. If external legal expenses are incurred we may charge them back to the academic or administrative unit concerned, however we will advise you of this in advance.

Should agreements be checked by the Legal Office?

If you receive an agreement for signature on behalf of the University, we ask that you forward a copy to the Legal Office with an accompanying memorandum explaining what has or will be agreed to and your analysis of any advice you require or unresolved issues. A conference may be needed between the Legal Office and an appropriate member of staff to clarify aspects of an agreement.

Who should subpoenas be addressed to?

If delivered by hand the subpoena should be addressed to:

The Proper Officer
Legal Office
The University of New South Wales
Room 159
Chancellery Building
High Street (through gate 8)
KENSINGTON NSW

If delivered by post the subpoena should be addressed to:

The Proper Officer
Legal Office
Room 159, Chancellery Building
The University of New South Wales
UNSW SYDNEY NSW 2052

UNSW Faculties or Units that receive a subpoena should direct the subpoena to the University Solicitor and General Counsel in the Legal Office who will manage the request.

How are court documents served on the University?

The University Solicitor and General Counsel will confirm that we have instructions to accept service of court documents properly served on the University of New South Wales. If court documents are served on Faculties/units of the University they should be delivered to the Legal Office as soon as possible.

What do I do in a dispute?

To give advice on a legal or contractual dispute some of the questions we may ask are:

• Is there a written agreement for the arrangement now in dispute?
• What are the issues in dispute? Eg. what clauses in the agreement?
• When did the dispute begin?
• Have there been discussions to resolve the dispute? Is there any record of those discussions?
• Who has been notified of the dispute within the University?
• Is there a history of past disputes with this person or organisation?
• Should the University's insurers be notified? Have they been?
• What is the University's position? Is any other section of the University affected by the dispute or likely to be affected by any outcome.

Please remember the earlier you consult the Legal Office the more help we can be, so please contact us if in doubt.

What is legal professional privilege?

In most cases, advice given by the Legal Office is protected by legal professional privilege. A claim for legal professional privilege may protect documents, emails or advice provided verbally, from disclosure. Legal professional privilege can be inadvertently waived (lost) if proper care is not taken of legal advice forming the subject of the privilege. For further advice contact the Legal Office.

What is UNSW's ABN?

The ABN for UNSW is 57 195 873 179.

Does UNSW have an ACN?

No, UNSW does not have an ACN or Australian Company Number. This means UNSW is neither a corporation, nor a government department of agency. UNSW is a body corporate constituted by the University of New South Wales Act 1989 (NSW).

Who can sign agreements for the University?

Authority to sign agreements is set out in the Register of Delegations. To view the Register click here.

What is the University seal?

Certain documents which the University signs, such as deeds and leases, require the affixing of the University Seal. There is a formal process approved by Council for authorising the affixing of the seal. Documents requiring sealing need to be in final form, as once sealed, no additional pages or removal of pages can occur without re-sealing the documents. Any document requiring the University Seal must be delivered to the Legal Office. To have a document signed under the University Seal you are also required to accompany your request with the Admin File for that matter.

If negotiations have been completed between the academic or administrative unit concerned and the other party/ies, the staff member involved in the negotiations of the contract should contact the Legal Office, prior to final sign off (the earlier the better). The Legal Office will then ask the academic or administrative unit staff member responsible for the progress of that document to sign the memorandum submission accompanying the document for sealing. The Legal Office will attend to having the Seal applied to the documents and will return the original sealed documents to you.

The Legal Office will retain a fully executed and signed copy of the document in a Legal Office file.