Job Description

Special Counsel, Region Tasmania/Victoria

• Location: Nipaluna/Hobart or Naarm/Melbourne
• Term: Ongoing
• Job Type: Part-time 30.0 hours per week
• Remuneration: SCHADS Level 8: $143,955 ($115,164 pro rata) + 12% Superannuation + 17.5% Annual Leave Loading
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and members of the Global Majority* are particularly encouraged to apply.

Job title: Special Counsel, Region Tasmania/Victoria

Reporting to: Managing Lawyer, Region Tasmania/Victoria

Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) is the largest environmental legal centre in the Australia Pacific, dedicated to protecting our climate, communities and shared environment by providing access to justice, running ground-breaking litigation and leading law reform advocacy.

As the region’s legal experts in our field, we aim to be a brave, unified, and focused team, committed to inclusion and excellence in all that we do. We strive to be a diverse and inclusive workplace supporting a highly skilled, engaged, and effective team, where everyone can feel that they belong.

The opportunity:

We seek an experienced environment and planning lawyer to work with clients to protect our climate, communities and shared environment by providing access to justice, running ground-breaking litigation, and leading law reform advocacy. The Special Counsel will engage with legal issues surrounding climate change, biodiversity and environmental protection in Tasmania and Victoria. The role will involve leading complex litigation and providing strategic legal advice while mentoring and supervising junior legal staff. The role will also contribute to non-litigious advisory work, policy development and law reform initiatives, working collaboratively with clients, communities and stakeholders to advance EDO's strategic objectives. .

Candidate Profile:

You will hold an unrestricted practising certificate and have substantial post-admission experience as a lawyer, with demonstrated expertise in environment and planning law. You will be passionate about advancing EDO's work to protect climate, biodiversity and the environment across Tasmania and Victoria, and will thrive working with a degree of autonomy within a collaborative, national legal practice. You will bring strategic thinking, sound judgement and a commitment to using the law as a tool for systemic change. You will also enjoy supervising, mentoring and developing junior lawyers, fostering technical excellence and supporting the continued growth of the team.

EDO is a diverse and inclusive workplace. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and members of the Global Majority* are particularly encouraged to apply.

Key selection criteria:

Essential requirements

• An unrestricted practicing certificate or entitlement to one.
• A minimum of 5+ years PAE (8+ years desired) working as a solicitor.

Substantive experience

• Demonstrated experience in administrative and/or environment and planning law
• Technical experience in the legislative frameworks applicable to the Role, and experience advising clients and leading and supervising litigation. Experience in law reform and policy, and/or community legal education/early intervention is highly desirable.
• Practice management experience.
• Experience in a leadership role within a legal setting. Experience within a not-for-profit and/or geographically dispersed team are both highly desirable.
• Experience supervising and mentoring junior staff for staff development and to build team skills capacity.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and implement strategic objectives within a legal practice.
• Demonstrated experience working with diverse communities and individuals, including First Nations, desirable.

Core Skills

• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to confidently exercise sound judgement and make decisions in high-pressure scenarios, based on consideration of different views
• Demonstrated ability to work productively autonomously, within a collaborative team environment, and to deadlines.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills suited to a range of audiences.
• Good file management and delegation skills.
• Ability to represent EDO in the media.

Personal qualities and cultural competency

• A champion of the EDO values
• Strong initiative and self-motivation
• High degree of discretion and emotional intelligence
• Commitment to the protection of the environment and related human rights
• A strong sense of ethics and understanding of professional obligations
• Demonstrated awareness of, and sensitivity to, the needs and concerns of First Nations peoples and peoples from diverse cultures, backgrounds and orientations in both the delivery of our work and our internal culture
• Thrive in a collaborative team-based environment

Our Culture and Benefits:    

• We care deeply about creating a workplace where our team members feel valued, respected, and empowered. We are committed to providing equal opportunity regardless of gender identity, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, or life stage. 
• The chance to be part of the largest environmental legal practice in the Australia-Pacific 
• A very flexible and family-friendly workplace 
• While primarily office-based, some flexibility to work from home
• 8 weeks paid parental leave, regardless of gender or carer status
• 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave per year
• 3 days paid cultural leave per year
• Extra leave over the Christmas period
• Access to Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Opportunities and encouragement to attend NAIDOC Week events
• ICIP and Colonial Loading protection within employment contract
• Ongoing professional development opportunities 
• EDO proudly has a JEDI (Justice, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion) Committee and a Mental Health Ambassador Committee, and has developed a First Nations Program with the aid of indigenous-led consultancies. 
• Three Affinity groups for the following: Disability, Global Majority* and LGBTQIA+

*Global Majority is a collective term that first and foremost speaks to and encourages those so-called, to think of themselves as belonging to the majority on planet earth. It refers to people who are Black, African, Asian, Brown, dual-heritage, indigenous to the global south, and or, have been racialised as ‘ethnic minorities’.

Our Values

Commitment – We are committed to a united organisation, to each other, to collaboration, to justice, to our communities and to creating a world where nature thrives.  

Diversity – We are respectful of, and welcome, diversity of staff, volunteers, offices, environmental regions, communities, stakeholders.  

Integrity – We work effectively, efficiently, strategically, professionally, and ethically; “justice is in our nature”.  

Vision – We lead change and environmental empowerment using innovation, creativity, and courage.  

How to Apply

• Click 'Apply here' above
• To review the position description, please see this link: https://www.edo.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/EDO-Position-Description-Special-Counsel-Tas_Vic-July-2026.pdf

If you have queries in regard to this advert, please feel free to contact us at recruitment@edo.org.au

Applications close on Monday, 3 August 2026 at 9:00AM AEST.

Applications must include a CV and a letter that clearly addresses each of the selection criteria above (Essential & Substantive sections).

The Key Selection Criteria show the minimum essential requirements of the position. The desirable criteria outline additional attributes which would enable the successful candidate to perform the role more effectively; they are not essential but may be used to distinguish between applicants during the shortlisting process.

EDO particularly encourages applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Pacific Island people, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, workers of all ages, people with disabilities and people who identify as LGBTQIA+.

Please note: Your application may be considered for future roles at the EDO within the next 12 months without additional advertising. Please notify us in your application if you would not like to be considered for similar roles beyond this recruitment.

If you have any accessibility needs for the recruitment or interviewing process, please let us know in your application or by emailing recruitment@edo.org.au.

Other Information

All offers of employment may be subject to satisfactory background checks including a National Police Check, disclosure of previous or current disciplinary action, referee checks, proof of eligibility to work in Australia and qualification checks.