Frequently Asked Questions
- Are any charges made for legal advice or assistance provided by the legal office?
- Does the Legal Office assist staff and students with personal issues?
- How do I obtain a copy of the Curtin University of Technology Act?
- If I am asked to supply information such as a Certificate of Incorporation (for example in a tender document) how do I respond?
- Is the University a corporation?
- What is the Common Seal?
- What other options are there to contacting the Legal Office?
- When will external solicitors be used?
- Who do I contact if I need a Justice of the Peace?
Question: Are any charges made for legal advice or assistance provided by the legal office?
Answer: There is currently no charge for services provided by the Legal Office. It should be noted however that where the Legal Office is required to undertake company searches, registration of business names etc on behalf of a School, then these costs will be charged back to the School.
In some instances it may be necessary to engage an external practitioner to assist on a file. Generally the cost for this outsourced work will be borne by the Legal Office. In some cases, however, these costs will be passed to the School. Where this is the case the School will be informed before the matter is briefed externally.
Question: Does the Legal Office assist staff and students with personal issues?
Answer: No. The Legal Office works only on behalf of the University and is only able to assist staff or students as necessary for them to carry out their work in the University.
Question: How do I obtain a copy of the Curtin University of Technology Act?
Answer: An electronic version of the Act is available from State Law Publishers through Curtin's homepage - access 'About Curtin', then 'General Policies and Procedures' then access the Official document tab at the top of the page.
Please note that Curtin does not own copyright to the Act.
Question: If I am asked to supply information such as a Certificate of Incorporation (for example in a tender document) how do I respond?
Answer: Legal Services has a standard letter, which can be obtained through calling the General Counsel (Commercial) on ext 7004.
Question: Is the University a corporation?
Answer: The correct legal description of the University is:
CURTIN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, a body corporate established under the Curtin University of Technology Act 1966.
The University is not an incorporated company under the Corporations Law. Therefore it does not have an Australian Company Number (an "ACN"), nor does it have a Certificate of Incorporation.
Question: What is the Common Seal?
Answer: Some documents, for example require the affixing of the Common Seal. Statute 1 - Common Seal and Graduation Seal details the process for the use of the Common Seal.
Documents signed under Common Seal are signed by both the Vice-Chancellor and the Administrative Secretary. All uses of the Common Seal are recorded in a register and reported to Council at the first opportunity.
All documents signed under Common Seal, once fully executed (i.e. signed by all parties), are retained by Legal Services in the safe.
Naturally the Vice-Chancellor and the Administrative Secretary can only sign documents where they are fully satisfied that it is appropriate that they do so. In almost all cases this means that only documents that have been approved by Legal Services will be signed.
Question: What other options are there to contacting the Legal Office?
Answer: Some matters can be handled by other areas of the University. For example Staff Services are able to assist with matters relating to superannuation, workers compensation, employment and industrial matters; Risk Management deals with insurance issues; the Ethics, Equity and Social Justice Office can assist with discrimination and harassment issues.
Question: When will external solicitors be used?
Answer: Only the Legal Office is authorised to contact external practitioners to do work on behalf of the University. Work is briefed externally only when the Legal Office does not have the capacity or the necessary expertise to deal with a matter.
The Legal Office will oversee any external work and is responsible for negotiation and payment of fees unless otherwise agreed with the School.
Question: Who do I contact if I need a Justice of the Peace?
Answer: There are two Curtin staff members who are also Justices of the Peace. They are available subject to their work commitments, please contact:
- Dr A Qadeer Rathur, Lecturer, Applied Geology (ext 7975)
- Professor Steve Errington, Dept of Chemistry (ext 7145) - available from 8.45am to 12noon, Wednesdays
