(1) The Charles Darwin University Act 2003 allows the Council to delegate its authority to positions or committees of the University. Council makes these delegations under Section 42 of the Charles Darwin University Act 2003. (2) These delegations constitute a legal authority conferring to a position the authority of the Council of the University. With the delegation conferred to a position, the person appointed to that position then becomes the Authorised Officer, to perform the specific task associated with the delegation. (3) The University Council, under the Charles Darwin University Act 2003, may delegate some of its powers and functions to any position or committee of the University or to any other person or body prescribed by the Council; except: (4) This Policy is underpinned by the following guiding principles: (5) The scope of the power or functions of a delegation conferred to a position or committee by Council is limited to the functions the Council itself is allowed to perform. Even though the Council has conferred a delegation of its powers or functions to a position or committee of the University, the Council retains and can exercise all those same powers and functions in accordance with Section 42(4). (6) Where a function is not specifically conferred to a position or committee, the Council is the sole body that may exercise that function. (7) In addition to any delegation conferred on the Chancellor, the Chancellor has the authority to exercise any delegation conferred by the Council on the Vice-Chancellor. However, this may only be exercised where the Vice-Chancellor is unable to exercise the delegation in his or her own right, for example, where there is a conflict of interest. This does not include delegations: (8) The Deputy Chancellor may exercise the powers or functions conferred on the Chancellor during an official absence of the Chancellor, while the Chancellor is outside Australia or during a vacancy in the office of the Chancellor. (9) The Vice-Chancellor has the power and authority to exercise any delegation conferred by the Council on any position or committee in accordance with section 42(5), except delegations: (10) To avoid any doubt, the Acting Vice-Chancellor may exercise all the powers or functions conferred on the Vice-Chancellor during an official absence of the Vice-Chancellor, while the Vice-Chancellor is outside Australia or during a vacancy in the office of the Vice-Chancellor. (11) The Vice-Chancellor has the temporary power and authority to assign, amend or vary any delegation between meetings of Council in order to ensure the proper management of the University. Principally this will be the case with the establishment of new positions, committees, other bodies or new financial management arrangements. (12) All such temporary modifications will be presented to the next meeting of Council for conferral (including amendment) or cancellation. (13) Except where a position is responsible to the Council directly, the Authorised Officer remains subject at all times to the direction and authority of the Council on the Vice-Chancellor in accordance with Section 15 of the Charles Darwin University Act 2003. (14) An Authorised Officer must exercise a delegation or assignment in accordance with any conditions to which the delegation or assignment is subject. (15) Delegations may also be referenced in University policies, procedures, guidelines and individual position descriptions, however, these documents must be consistent with the delegated authorities set out in this policy. Where any inconsistency arises between the approved delegations and those other documents, then the approved delegations in this policy takes precedence. (16) The delegations conferred on a position are included in those held by the supervisor or line manager of that position and each position in line of organisational authority superior to that position in turn. (17) If an Authorised Officer is unable to carry out the duties associated with that delegation for any reason, including a potential or actual conflict of interest or an absence or incapacity, the delegation must be exercised by the supervisor of the position holder in the first instance followed by the next superior position in the line of authority. (18) A delegation is to a position and not the individual occupying the position. (19) A power or function delegated to a position extends to the substantive Authorised Officer of that position and any staff member acting in the position on a temporary basis, during the term in which the staff member is authorised to act, unless otherwise specified in the appointment to act. (20) A power and function assigned to a position only extends to the substantive Authorised Officer of that position and not any staff member acting in the position on a temporary basis. (21) A delegation may be exercised from time to time, as occasion requires and more than once during the life of a function, activity or project. (22) Any delegation to incur expenditure must be exercised within the limits of the relevant approved available funds of the cost centre to which the position belongs, or an approved source of funds. (23) All delegations are subject to the expenditure delegation conferred by Council on that position. While a position may be conferred an administrative authority, where this involves any expenditure this may only be exercised within that expenditure limit. (24) All financial delegation limits are based on being exclusive of the Goods and Services Tax. (25) The following categories of positions are not generally eligible for a financial delegation or assignment: (26) The following categories of positions where an assignment is made have as a default a limited financial delegation: (27) Request for an exception to these default positions can be submitted the Director Strategic Services and Governance, via the E-centre workflow, and are ultimately approved by the Vice-Chancellor. Approval is based on the requirement of individual positions need for operational continuity. (28) An Authorised Officer may assign a delegation to perform parts of the delegations conferred on their position. In general, an Authorised Officer with an assignment of a delegation may only act on behalf of the higher-level Authorised Officer when making routine decisions that do not require the exercise of significant independent judgment. (29) An Authorised Officer cannot sub-delegate their delegated function. (30) An Authorised Officer who authorises or assigns another staff member or committee to exercise a power or function must ensure that the staff member or committee is qualified to exercise the power or function and is fulfilling their responsibilities at all times. (31) An Authorised Officer retains personal accountability for the exercise of the delegation conferred by Council including compliance with applicable laws and University governance documents. (32) Conflicts of Interest and Commitment (33) An Authorised Officer may not exercise a delegation that would provide them, or an associate, with a direct personal benefit. Therefore, an Authorised Officer may not, among other things, approve their own appointment, any form of remuneration or payment, promotion, transfer or secondment, travel, absence or termination concerning themselves. (34) Where a conflict does arise, Authorised Officers must disclose such conflicts and act in accordance with the Conflicts of Interest Policy and Conflicts of Interest Procedure. (35) A delegation or assignment may be, wholly or partially, withdrawn or restricted (permanently or temporarily) at any time by the substantive Authorised Officer to which that position is immediately or ultimately accountable, or by the Council on the Vice-Chancellor. Such removal must be reported to the next meeting of Council for approval. (36) The development of by-laws, rules, policies and procedures must conform to the arrangements for delegations. (37) Where a new by-law, rule, policy, procedure or position requires the granting of a new or varied delegation to a staff member or committee of the University, the new or varied delegation must be approved by Council. (38) As the Council is the only body that can approve delegations, the commencement date of the by-law, rule, policy, procedure or positional delegation (where it requires the conferral of a new or varied delegation) will be the date on which any new or varied delegation is approved by Council (unless the by-law, rule, policy, procedure or position holder can operate in whole or part within existing delegations). (39) Where a staff member believes a delegation or assignment has been improperly exercised by an Authorised Officer, that staff member should notify the Director Strategic Services and Governance in writing and with sufficient detail. (40) If deemed to be an incident of improper conduct the University is obligated to make a report to the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption in accordance with the ICAC Act. (41) All staff members have an individual responsibility to raise any suspicion, allegation or report of bribery or improper conduct in accordance with the Fraud and Corruption Control Policy and Whistleblower Reporting (Improper Conduct) Procedures. (42) To allow for the transition to the new Delegations system, despite any other provision of this Policy, a delegation that has been given, generally or specifically, under a Rule, policy, procedure, guideline or other instrument approved by the Council or the Vice-Chancellor prior to the date of commencement of this Policy shall cease to be in force but not invalid as at the date of approval of this Policy, unless otherwise determined by the Council. (43) Non-compliance with Governance Documents is considered a breach of the Code of Conduct and is treated seriously by the University. Reports of concerns about non-compliance will be managed in accordance with the applicable disciplinary procedures (44) For advice on any aspect of Delegations please contact delegations@cdu.edu.auDelegations Policy
Section 1 - Policy Statement
Section 2 - Policy Principles
Guiding Principles
Scope of Delegated Functions
Chancellor's General Delegation
Vice-Chancellor's General Delegation
Authorised Officer Subject to Direction by Council on the Vice-Chancellor
Delegations Exercised Subject to Conditions
Delegation Hierarchy
Delegations to Position and Officer Acting in the Position
Continuous Exercise of Delegations
Delegations Limited by Budget
Administrative Delegations Limited by Expenditure Delegation
Financial Delegations and the Goods and Services Tax
Financial Delegation Exclusions
Assignment of Delegation
Delegate Responsible for Decisions
Removal of Delegations
Delegations and Governance Documents
Misuse of Delegations or Authorisations
Transitional Arrangements
Section 3 - Non-compliance
Section 4 - Explanatory Notes
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