- Purpose
- Scope
- Legislative context
- Definitions
- Document statement
- Instrument and Register of Delegations
- Maintenance of the Instrument and Register of Delegations
- Grants, Contracts and Tender Delegation
- Staffing Delegations
- Financial Delegations
- Supporting Documents
- Records management
- Responsibility
- Promulgation and implementation
This document establishes and outlines a Guideline for delegations of authority for University decision making; prescribed under the Federation University Australia Act 2010, its Statute, Regulations, Policies and Procedures and as determined by the University Council or the Vice-Chancellor and President where delegated.
The Delegations of Authority Guideline will ensure:
- clarity around decision making within the University;
- effective internal controls and monitoring are in place;
- accountability and responsibility are devolved to the appropriate level within the University;
- that Delegations pertaining to either Contract, Financial, Staff and Tender related decisions align with a specific position or the appropriate University board, committee or body; and
- efficiency and effectiveness in administrative decision making.
This guideline aligns with the Corporate Governance Policy (CG2075).
This Guideline applies to all officers, University boards, committees or bodies who may be in a position to make decisions or exercise authority on behalf of the University.
Delegations of authority establish which officers or boards, committees or other bodies of the University can make decisions or act on behalf of the University. Delegations may relate to financial transactions, legal or contractual arrangements, academic decision making, staffing matters or other administrative matters.
This Guideline should be read in conjunction with the University’s Instrument and Register of Delegations.
This Delegations of Authority Guideline encompasses the following:
- Federation University Australia Act 2010
- Federation University Australia Statute 2021
- Federation University Australia AcademicRegulations 2022
- Federation University Australia (Operations) Regulations 2022
- Federation University Australia (Students) Regulations 2022
Together with all delegations of authority contained within university policies, procedures and the approved Instrument and Register of Delegations.
| Term | Definition |
| Account /Dept & Project Codes | General ledger codes used to identify accounts. |
| Agreement | For the purpose of this governance document: A contract, legally binding agreement or memorandum of understanding. |
| Approved Operating Budgets | Budget approved by the Vice-Chancellor & President via Vice-Chancellor’s Senior Team. |
| Budgeted Project Income | Income budgeted for specific projects. |
| Capital | Individual assets over $5,000 in value, and individual library books. |
| Commercial Activity | The activity of providing goods and services involving financial and commercial and industrial aspects. |
| Delegations | Approval to officers to sign for the recruitment of staff, expenditure, contract and tender arrangements as required by the Vice-Chancellor's Senior Team. |
| Delegate / Delegated Officer | Means an individual or a board, committee or other University body, established by or constituted under the University Statute and Regulations, who has authority to act on behalf of, make decisions on behalf of or represent the University. |
| DJSIR | Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions |
| Officer | Includes staff members, members of the University Council and members of any board, committee or other body established by or constituted under the University Statute and Regulations. |
| Short Term Contracts | Contracts for a fixed period of time. |
| Statute 2021 | Means the Federation University Australia Statute 2021. |
| Staff Member | Includes any person employed by the University on a full-time, part-time, sessional or casual basis, or those employed through a contract for services. |
| The Act | Means the Federation University Australia Act 2010 (Victoria) as amended from time to time. |
| University-wide Accounts | University-wide costs not contained within a specific school or section budget but reporting to various officers for expenditure authorisation. |
| VET Enrolment | VET Enrolment refers to all VET enrolled students including: ALL eligible and ineligible VET enrolments as identified in the TAFE Performance Agreement. |
The Instrument and Register of Delegations applies to all agreements, dealings and/or transactions made or undertaken on behalf of the University.
This includes, but is not limited to, business activities involving deeds, purchase orders, goods/services contracts, maintenance agreements, funding agreements, research agreements, payment against invoices, credit card purchases, refunds, casual salary payments, software licences, overtime returns, other licences, independent agreements, standard consultancy agreements, memorandums of understanding, disposal of equipment and furniture. Transfers within the University, such as journals, staff reimbursement, asset transfers and income generated from agreements are also governed by the delegations.
It is important to remember that what constitutes a legally binding relationship in any given situation can be a complex legal issue.
A failure to comply with the terms of a legal document which the University is bound may expose the University to legal, financial and/or reputational risk.
Staff must seek advice from the Legal Office if they require clarification on the legal effect or nature of a particular document. Staff must also seek advice from the Legal Office prior to formalising any type of legal document using an template which is not a University template approved for use by the Legal Office.
The Council may reserve some decisions for its sole authority, notwithstanding any delegation set out in a University delegation of authority.
Section 7 of the Act provides for the use of the University’s common seal. The common seal must be kept and used as directed by the Council or in any other manner authorised under University Statute or Regulation.
Section 19 of Statute 2021 provides that the University’s common seal “must not be used except as authorised by this Statute or the Regulations”. It provides further that the common seal may be affixed “as directed by the Council in accordance with Section 7 of the Act or as authorised by the Vice-Chancellor”.
In all other instances, a resolution of Council is required in order for the seal to be affixed to a document, unless the law imposes a technical formality for the execution of a particular type of contract.
University Council
The Council of the University, in accordance with section 18 of the Act, may delegate its powers or functions under the Act to:
- a member of Council;
- a committee of Council;
- any staff member of the University;
- the Academic Board or its equivalent; or
- any other entity prescribed by the University’s Statute.
The Council must not delegate:
- its power of delegation under Section 18;
- the power to appoint officers under Section 9(1)(a) of the Act; or
- the power to make University Statute.
Committees of Council
The Council, in accordance with section 15(3) of Schedule 1 of the Act, may delegate to any committee or member of a committee all or any of its powers, authorities, duties and functions, other than:
- this power of delegation; and
- the power to make University Statutes and, except in accordance with section 30 of the Act and Statute 2021, the power to make Regulations.
The Council may revoke a delegation under section 15(3) by resolution of Council.
Academic Board
The Academic Board in accordance with the Statute 2021 may delegate by resolution, any of its powers, authorities, duties and functions to:
- an Institute, School or Federation TAFE;
- a Portfolio;
- a committee constituted and appointed by the Academic Board;
- a member of the Academic Board; or
- a prescribed officer of the University.
Vice-Chancellor and President
The Vice-Chancellor and President, under section 26(7) of the Act, may delegate any of their functions, powers and duties to:
- any appropriately qualified staff member; or
- any committee established from appropriately qualified staff members.
This Instrument of Delegation is made on behalf of the Council, pursuant to the Committee’s Charter and in accordance with section 18 of the Act. The Council has delegated certain powers, functions and responsibilities to its Committees and Subcommittees which powers, functions and responsibilities are set out in their Charters (refer to the University’s website). The same also applies to the University’s Academic Board as a Committee reportable to Council (refer to the University’s website).
The Register of Delegations comprised within the Instrument and Register of Delegations is maintained by an authorised responsible officer within the Office of the Vice-Chancellor and President and comprises of four parts being:
- Part 1: Financial and Commercial
- Part 2: Legal and Contractual
- Part 3: Human Resources
- Part 4: Academic, Students and Awards.
The Instrument and Register of Delegations details the authority levels (delegation bands) determined by Council applicable to purchasing as well as the negotiation and execution of Agreements on behalf of the University to procure, expend or deliver goods and services (subject to compliance with relevant Tender requirements). These limits apply to all Agreements, transactions or dealings undertaken on behalf of the University, except those relating to Library acquisitions. Limits also apply to reimbursements and internal journals/transfers (except for the Finance Office performing operational duties).
All staff holding a delegation to authorise transactions on behalf of the University must ensure they are aware of their responsibilities and accountabilities as authorising officers. Delegations of authority are made to positions, as listed within each Band, in the Instrument and Register of Delegations which gives authority to exercise approval rights in accordance with each delegation clause.
For an individual's authority to take effect, the staff member occupying a position outlined in this section must provide a specimen signature to Finance as evidence.
Where the Council, the Vice-Chancellor or the holder of an office, a board, committee or other body established or constituted by or under the Act, Statute or Regulations, delegates any of their/its powers, authorities, duties or functions, these may be exercised or performed by the delegate:
- in accordance with the terms of the Instrument and Register of Delegations;
- if the delegated act is not dependent upon the opinion, belief or state of mind of the delegate; and,
- and cannot further delegate the power, authority, duty or function.
The delegation referred to above:
- may not be revoked or varied by the delegate; and
- does not prevent the exercise of a power or authority or the performance of the duty or function to which the delegation relates by the delegate.
Delegates must also comply with all relevant policies, procedures and guidelines including the Finance Governance Procedural Manual: see also Parts 1, 2 and 3 of the Register of Delegations.
A delegation cannot be exercised where it would provide the delegate with a direct or indirect benefit, including approval of their own appointment, remuneration or other payment, promotion, travel, absence or termination.
Where a power is conferred to appoint a person to an office or position, under any Statute or Regulation, that power shall, unless otherwise prescribed, be deemed to include the power to appoint a person to act in the place of that office or position Statute 2021.
The Vice-Chancellor may impose financial limits or other conditions on any Acting Officer’s delegation. The COO or CFO may impose financial limits or other conditions on an Acting Officer’s delegation where the officer in question is within Band 6, Band 7, Band 8 or Band 9.
- Delegations are to be exercised only for University business and, subject to any conditions or limitations imposed by the Instrument and Register of Delegations or the delegate and within the Guideline of the Act, Statute, Regulations, Policies, Procedures and external legislation.
- Delegates are not to exercise their delegated expenditure on personal expenditure.
- The delegate accepts responsibility for approving the transaction in full knowledge of the conditions, both internal and external, that apply to the use of the designated funds.
- Delegations are to reflect the organisational structure of Federation University Australia.
- A delegation may be for a specific instance or on a continuing basis.
- The Instrument and Register of Delegations is accessible to all staff and, wherever possible, be contained in the University’s Statute, Regulations, Policies or Procedures. Instruments of delegation can only be created, altered or revoked by the approval authority for that Instrument.
- Notwithstanding 6 above, delegations not contained in an Instrument and Register of Delegations:
- may be altered by a delegating board, committee or University body on a temporary basis in response to business imperatives; or
- may be withdrawn at any time by the delegating board, committee or body or by the Vice-Chancellor and President.
- In the case of an individual, as delegations are assigned to a position and not the occupant of the position, these cannot be transferred in the event of an existing staff relocating to a new role within the University.
- In the case of an individual, delegations can only be exercised with regards to matters within the officer’s area of responsibility.
- Where an officer is on leave or unavailable to exercise their authority, an acting delegate may be approved for a specified period of time or alternatively the delegation may be exercised by the officer’s supervisor.
- An officer formally appointed to act in another position, has the same delegations as apply to the position they are acting in, regardless of whether they receive a higher duties allowance.
- A financial delegation can only be exercised within an approved budget and subject to any legal arrangements.
- Delegations cannot be sub-delegated, however where an Instrument of delegation allows, a delegate may nominate another officer or board, committee or body of the University to act on their behalf. In such instances, the responsibility for the delegation remains with the original delegate.
- A delegate may authorise routine administrative functions within the delegate’s area of responsibility to be carried out by a nominated staff member, in which instance the delegate remains responsible for the nominated staff member’s actions and accountable for the exercise of the delegated function. Examples of such tasks include booking travel or minor purchase requisitions.
- A delegation held at a particular Band as prescribed in the Instrument and Register of Delegations is also held by all higher Bands through reporting lines up to and including the Vice-Chancellor and President.
A delegation to a board, committee or other University body must be in accordance with the board, committee or body’s terms of reference/Charter. The delegation applies only to the board, committee or body as a whole and cannot be exercised by individual members or the Chair of the board, committee or body, unless formally delegated to a member of the board, committee or body by the Council in accordance with section 15(3) of Schedule 1 of the Act.
All staff holding a delegation to authorise transactions on behalf of the University must ensure they are aware of their responsibilities and accountability as authorising officers.
The Instrument and Register of Delegations is maintained by an authorised responsible officer within the Governance and Policy Team, in consultation with the Finance Team.
Financial delegations are made only to officers who hold positions listed within each band in the Instrument and Register of Delegations. A staff member seeking the assignment of a Financial Delegation must verify that the position they hold is listed in the Instrument and Register of Delegations.
The Financial Delegation Application Form must be completed by the staff member seeking to hold a delegation of authority within an existing Delegation Band. The form must be authorised by a senior financial delegate prior to submitting to the Finance Service Hub Portal for processing. Once approved, the Finance team will advise Governance and Policy via the Service Hub portal of the new delegation to enable the officer’s title to be added to the Delegation Bands Table within the Instrument and Register of Delegations.
Where an officer’s position is listed in the Register, that officer will become a delegated officer and be able to exercise the Financial Delegation shown in the Register when that delegation has been activated.
In the event where a specific delegation is required to be assigned to one or more positions regardless of whether it is attached to a financial delegation (i.e. Authority to sign Articulation agreements), the applicant must submit a Request for New or Revised Delegation Form for approval.
Financial delegations are effective from the date the delegation is approved by the Chief Financial Officer. All other delegations are effective from the date the delegation is approved by the Vice-Chancellor and President.
Acting delegations can only be authorised by a senior delegate and in accordance with the Instrument and Register of Delegations.
If an acting delegate requires access to Finance systems for financial approval delegation, the authorising delegate must publish the authorisation in FedNews for system access to be activated.
The following exclusions apply to all acting delegations. The limit indicated is the maximum permitted level and this maximum level will be confirmed by the Vice-Chancellor and President at the time of the appointment.
- No acting delegation has authority to approve new positions.
- Where Council and committees have delegated their authority to the VC/COO/CFO, this does not extend to appointing any acting delegation in these roles.
When a position listed in the Instrument and Register of Delegations ceases to be required by an area (in the instance other than staff ceasing to be employed by the University), the head of the impacted organisational area is required to notify the Finance and Governance and Policy teams via the Service Hub portal to process the required delegations removal.
Denotation of Research
For a project to be considered “research” it must meet the definition of research and development as outlined by Department of Education (DE) in the Higher Education Research Data Collection HERDC Specifications for the Collection of Data, which are released annually. Changes to the definition of research are under the control of DE. For further information please refer to Research Services.
Part 2: Legal and Contractual of the Register of Delegations details that the delegation to authorise contracts on behalf of the Vice Chancellor & President are subject to the following conditions:
- All legally binding documents and memoranda of understanding MOU which are proposed to be formalised using a template supplied by an external third-party must be reviewed by the Legal Office prior to being signed or otherwise accepted by the University.
- Notwithstanding that a transaction might fall within an officer’s delegation, the officer cannot sign a legal agreement unless expressly authorised to do so and the nature of the agreement falls within the officer’s portfolio.
- All expenditure must be within annual budget and within portfolio.
- All research agreements must be approved by the Pro Vice-Chancellor Research or the Research Office/Director Research and Innovation as appropriate to their delegation.
A University template approved for use by the Legal Office should always be used to formalise a legal document where a suitable template exists and it is practicable to do so.
- Staff should contact the Legal Office for advice if they are unsure which University template to use for a particular activity.
- All variations to the standard legal terms of a University template approved for use by the Legal Office, or the insertion of special conditions, must also be referred to the Legal Office for advice prior to the document being finalised.
- Staff do not need approval from the Legal Office to populate business and/or commercial information/specifications within the annexures, schedules or other variables of a University template approved for use by the Legal Office.
Staff whom are responsible for managing the performance of a legal document must retain a copy of that signed document for their own reference. A copy of electronically signed documents should also be sent to the Legal Office for filing. Physical and original signed legal documents must be provided to the Head of Legal for storage.
Where the terms of an Agreement or MOU do not contain a monetary level, any negotiation or execution of that document by an officer on behalf of the University may only take place on terms approved in writing by the responsible member of the Vice-Chancellor’s Senior Team, subject to the prior review and approval by the Legal Office of any legal document that is not a University template approved for use by the Legal Office.
Contracts between the DJSIR and TAFE training providers enable for the delivery of government-subsidised training under the Skills First program.
An extract from the Victorian Government’s 2025 Guidelines About Eligibility (Skills First Program) prescribes:
Section 2.2: Prior to the commencement of training, for each student who is assessed to be eligible, your authorised delegate* must complete the information and declarations in the Evidence of Eligibility and Student Declaration form (as attached to the Guidelines), or in a form that collects the same information.
Section 2.3: An authorised delegate* means:
- employee/s to whom your CEO (or equivalent) has formally delegated this function (written evidence of such a delegation must be available at audit), or
- an agent with whom you have a legally binding agreement (and this agreement must be available at audit).
Furthermore, the Victorian Government’s 2025 Guidelines About Eligibility (Skills First Program) prescribes that Federation:
“must make available to DJSIR for audit or review purposes, the completed Evidence of Eligibility and Student Declaration form (or an equivalent form that Federation may use) and any of the evidence that is sighted and retained in relation to any individual student.”
The University’s Instrument and Register of Delegations prescribes authorised delegates approved to undertake this process on behalf of the Chief Executive TAFE. Authorised delegates are responsible for ensuring that only authorised delegates are assessing and signing the Evidence of Eligibility and Student Declaration Form.
Associate Directors TAFE must undertake audits of authorised enrolment forms against the Authorised Delegates Register by September each year.
The delegation for the authorisation for the submission of Tenders for the supply of university services on behalf of the Council is subject to:
- Compliance with the Finance Governance Procedural Manual - Procurement of Goods & Services, Corporate Purchasing Card, Travel, and Motor Vehicles
- Compliance with the Strategic Procurement Framework
- Compliance with TAFEAgreements for Commercial Activity
- Compliance with Higher Education costing pro-formas
- Tenders which include the acceptance of terms of a standard contract must be approved by the Legal Office
Refer to Part 3: Human Resources of the Instrument and Register of Delegations.
The delegation to create staffing positions, recruit employees, make offers of employment to new and existing staff on behalf of the Council is subject to:
- The cost of the employment being within approved budgets;
- compliance with other relevant University staffing policies and procedures; and,
- compliance with University Policy in regard to employment of private contractors
A schedule of officers authorised to operate the University's transactional bank, at call and term deposit accounts is held by the Head, Corporate Finance
The release and payments of funds by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) must be approved by two authorised signatories. All cheques must be approved by and have two authorised signatories on all cheques before release.
Authorised Signatories must:
- Exercise due diligence before signing a cheque or approving an EFT; and,
- Examine supporting documents before signing a cheque or approving an EFT.
Refer to Part 1 – Item 1.12. Write off bad debts in the Instrument and Register of Delegations
The authorisation of expenditure may take the form of a hand-written signature or electronic authorisation via University computer systems, whichever is the more appropriate.
Periodically, and at least annually, the office of Finance will review the Financial Delegations that have been assigned to officers within the University’s finance system to confirm that the:
- officer to whom a delegation has been assigned still holds a financial delegation;
- levels of delegation are correct;
- reporting relationships for the purpose of escalating the delegation required for a particular transaction are correct;
- that position titles are correct.
The Responsible Officer working with the Manager, Governance and Policy will incorporate the results of these reviews to effect required changes to the Instrument and Register of Delegations and advise finance.systems@federation.edu.au of any amendments that need to be made.
- Federation University Act 2010 (Vic)
- Federation University Australia Statute 2021
- Federation University Australia AcademicRegulations 2022
- Federation University Australia (Operations) Regulations 2022
- Federation University Australia (Students) Regulations 2022
- Instrument and Register of Delegations
- Operations Governance Policy
- Corporate Governance Policy
- Records Management Procedure
- Finance Governance Procedural Manual - Procurement of Goods & Services, Corporate Purchasing Card, Travel, and Motor Vehicles
- Staff Code of Conduct
- Managing Conflicts of Interest Procedure
- Records Management Procedure
Forms
- Financial Delegation Application (PDF 163.9kb)
- Request for New or Revised Delegation (PDF 98.6kb)
| Title | Location | Responsible Officer | Minimum Retention Period |
| Financial Delegation Application | Finance | CFO | 7 years |
| Request for New or Amended Delegation | Governance and Policy | Governance and Policy | 7 years |
University records are to be managed, captured, accessed, stored and disposed of in accordance with University procedures and guidelines to ensure compliance with the Public Records Act 1973 and other regulatory instruments, including Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) Standards. Records created, received or used by University staff in the normal course of business are the property of the University, unless otherwise agreed. This includes reports compiled by external consultants commissioned by the University.
The University’s corporate records constitute its corporate memory, and as such are a vital asset for ongoing operations, and for providing evidence of business activities and transactions. Corporate records assist the University in making better informed decisions and improving business practice by providing an accurate record of previous activities.
All University staff, including sessional staff, researchers and research staff are required to adhere to the requirements within this policy to ensure full and accurate records are created and maintained and that disposal of records is only completed by authorised Officers as part of an authorised destruction program. This also applies to individuals who may perform work on behalf of the University, including:
- Partner Providers (onshore/offshore)
- Commercial Delivery
- VETiS (including Auspicing)
- Volunteers
The Vice-Chancellor and President (as the Approval Authority) is responsible for monitoring the implementation, outcomes and scheduled review of this guideline.
Director, Strategy and Office of the Vice-Chancellor (as the Document Owner) is responsible for maintaining the content of this guideline as delegated by the Approval Authority.
The Instrument and Register of Delegations is to be maintained by Manager, Governance and Policy in consultation with the Finance Team.
The Delegations of Authority Guideline will be communicated throughout the University via:
- an Announcement Notice under ‘FedNews’ website and through the University Policy - ‘Recently Approved Documents’ webpage to alert the University-wide community of the approved Policy;
- inclusion on the University Policy, Procedure and Forms website; and/or
- distribution of e-mails to the Vice-Chancellor’s Senior Team / Head of Department / University staff; and/or documentation distribution, e.g. posters, brochures.
Prev
Up
Next