Education

Our team of education sector lawyers advises and represents universities and other tertiary education providers, as well as preschool and childcare facilities, schools, educational businesses and education industry associations.

We can help you make better decisions and give you more certainty in what is one of Australia’s most rapidly changing industries.

We know that as an education provider you need to navigate many regulations. We also know you face many of the same challenges as other businesses: attracting the best talent, building your reputation, managing and growing your finances and infrastructure effectively and avoiding negative publicity.

And, yet many of the decisions you need to make can’t - and shouldn’t - be about economics. They’re about what’s best for your students, not what’s best for the business.

Because we understand this tension we can help you bridge the gap between commercial decisions and learning-focused ones.

Whether you need advice on setting up a new school or faculty, negotiating results-based salary agreements with your staff or the impact of deregulation on your organisation, we can help.

We can:

• Advise you on new businesses, joint ventures and other projects so that you have the best chance of succeeding.

• Help you draft employment agreements and staff policies that get all your staff on the same page and working to achieve your goals.

• Advise you on acquiring new assets, including real estate and other investments and businesses.

• Help you resolve disputes informally and minimise the impact on your organisation through alternative dispute resolution.

• Represent you in the Supreme Court, Federal Court and other courts and tribunals, in discrimination claims and commercial disputes.

• Advise you on sustainable funding, including government funding, research grants, bequests, sponsorship deals and other financial arrangements, as well as on key tax concessions for education.

• Help you protect your intellectual property rights from being compromised or stolen so that others don’t profit from your research and expertise.

• Guide you through your rights and obligations when it comes to workplace health and safety, employment and industrial relations and more.

Publications

Philanthropic gifts to universities - 2018 SOUL Conference