The By‑law uses a limited set of recurring legal and administrative concepts to allocate decision‑making and procedural duties. The principal concepts are Council governance, ex officio membership, election Rolls, candidate qualification, nomination and appointment processes, Academic Board authority, faculty constitution, rule‑making and delegation. Each concept functions through specified actors and procedural steps.
Council governance and committee membership
- The Chancellor and Deputy Chancellor are ex officio members of every committee the Council establishes, with presiding rights (cl 4(1)-(2)). This is an explicit mechanism for office‑holders to participate across the Council’s committee system (cl 4).
- The Vice‑Chancellor likewise is an ex officio member of committees, boards and faculties and has presiding rights (cl 5(2)-(3)), though the Council may determine the Vice‑Chancellor not be a member of the audit committee; in that event the Vice‑Chancellor may only attend audit committee meetings as an observer (cl 5(4)-(5)).
Elections and Rolls
- The Returning Officer compiles Rolls from university information for academic staff, non‑academic staff, undergraduate students and postgraduate students (cl 10(1)(a)-(d)). The By‑law defines address for Rolls as last known email address, or if none, last known postal address (cl 10(2)).
- Candidate eligibility is procedural: to stand for election a candidate’s name must be on the relevant Roll at the close of nominations and the candidate must meet the “fit and proper person” threshold as defined by the TEQSA Act (cl 11-14).
Nominations and appointments
- The Council must establish a Nominations Committee, typically composed of the Chancellor, Deputy Chancellor, Vice‑Chancellor, President of the Academic Board and two external Council members, though the Council may vary composition (cl 48(1)-(3)).
- The Nominations Committee proposes and recommends persons eligible for appointment under section 8F or 8G of the Act, recommends who should be suggested to the Minister or appointed by the Council, and proposes lengths of appointment (cl 50(1)(a)-(c)). The Council then considers those recommendations and makes determinations, forwarding Ministerial suggestions via the Chancellor (cl 51).
Academic governance and faculties
- The Academic Board is the principal academic body with functions including oversight of academic governance and standards, advising Council and Vice‑Chancellor, and exercising delegated functions (cl 56).
- Faculties are constituted by Council (cl 60(1)), their membership consists of specified academic ranks and other appointed qualified persons (cl 60(2)), and their powers operate under the Academic Board’s authority (cl 61(6)).
Rule‑making, publication and delegation
- The Council may make rules under section 28 of the Act; rules must be published on the University website and a copy provided free on prior written request to the University Secretary (cl 64(1)-(4)).
- Certain persons and entities are prescribed for the purpose of section 16 delegations by the Council, including affiliated research institutes, officers of those institutes, emeritus professors and former Chancellors (cl 66).
Cross‑references and external standards
- The By‑law operates by reference to the Act for appointment paths and to the TEQSA Act for the “fit and proper person” standard (cl 3). The By‑law repeatedly references election rules made by Council under section 28 of the Act for detailed election procedure (see definition of election rules and cl 9).
Several concepts or functions present in earlier versions of the By‑law have been repealed, and the text includes amendment notes at many clauses indicating substitution, repeal or insertion by years 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2022 (see amendment notes attached to cl 3, 4, 10, 11-14, 44, 48-51, 55-57, 60-61, 64-67).