Royal Commission
Taskf
orce
Legal Section
GENERAL COUNSEL DIVISION
NEW
STARTER PACK
1
DOCUMENT DETAILS
DOCUMENT OWNER
Royal Commission Taskforce - Legal Section
DOCUMENT AUTHOR s 47E; s 47F
DIVISION
General Counsel Division
BRANCH
Royal Commission Taskforce
SECTION
Royal Commission Taskforce - Legal Section
TRIM LOCATION
222152907E
DOCUMENT STATUS
Draft
STATUS DATE
4 August 2022
DOCUMENT VERSION 2.0
DOCUMENT ENDORSEMENT
APPROVED BY
TITLE
SIGNATURE
DATE
Andrew Shel ey
Special Counsel
7 July
2021
REVI SION HISTORY
VERSION
DATE
AUTHOR
CHANGES
2
s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
DVA OVERVIEW
General Counsel Division
General Counsel Division is the principal legal, risk and audit advisor responsible for
ensuring that the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (
DVA) receives high quality, strategic legal
advice for program delivery, litigation, legislation and policy development. The Division
provides audit, risk and assurance services to protect the agency from business and fraud
risks and inform strategic and operational decision making. The Division works to support the
achievement of government policy, departmental objectives and corporate consistency,
within the rule of law.
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide (
Royal Commission) was
established by Letters Patent on 8 July 2021. As a result of the establishment of the Royal
Commission, DVA established the Royal Commission Taskforce (
RC Taskforce) within
General Counsel Division. The RC Taskforce is led by Thy Huynh and is separated into the
Legal section (
RC Legal) and the Operations section. The Operations section supports the
Legal section to respond to requests from the Royal Commission and has responsibility for
managing Royal Commission related parliamentary work. The General Counsel Division is
led by Nicole Ingram, General Counsel.
Royal Commission, Reviews and Inquiries Implementation Team
DVA has implemented a Royal Commission, Reviews and Inquiries Implementation Team
(
RCRIIT) with a dedicated focus on implementing recommendations of Reviews and
Inquiries. This includes the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide Interim
Report, which was handed down on 11 August 2022. The RCRI IT team is headed by First
Assistant Secretary Mark Harrigan, and supported by Assistant Secretary Jane Stuart.
DVA Royal Commission Legal Section Responsibilities
• Prepare DVA’s responses to Notices to Give (
NTG) and Notices to Produce (
NTP)
issued by the Royal Commission, coordinate DVA input, hearing and witness support,
and conduct document discovery
• Consult with Divisional contacts to support DVA’s General Counsel and the Secretary in
responding to requests and providing information to the Commonwealth’s legal
representative, the Australian Government Solicitor (
AGS), the Attorney General’s
Department (
AGD) with respect to the Royal Commission
• Act as the key point of contact with AGD and AGS for the Royal Commission and other
legal issues for DVA
• Manage and support DVA witnesses who are called to give evidence (written and/or oral
testimony), including assisting AGS with the preparation of witnesses and associated
documentation
• Assist AGS with the preparation of DVA specific content in legal submissions
• Identify key issues and exposures and the provision of DVA specific advice on mitigation
strategies
• Establish and implement governance processes to support DVA’s input and response to
the Royal Commission
5
• Manage both legal and non-legal external stakeholder relationships on matters relating to
the Royal Commission with relevant portfolio entities, other departments and agencies
etc, and
• Provide support to the Secretary DVA, the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, and senior
executives as required.
RC Legal Team
NAME
POSITION
PHONE
EMAIL
Thy Huynh
Senior Executive
s 47E; s 47F xxx.xxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx
Lawyer (Assistant
Secretary)
s 47E; s 47F
Senior Legal Of icer s 47E; s 47F
s 47E; s xxx@xxx.xxx.xx
s 47E; s 47F
Senior Legal Of icer s 47E; s 47F s 47E; s xxx@xxx.xxx.xx
s 47E; s 47F
Senior Legal Of icer s 47E; s 47F s 47E; s 47F x@xxx.xxx.xx
s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
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s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
s 22 - Out of scope, s 47E
Document Outline