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UNE Delegations Framework Rule

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Section 1 - Overview and scope

(1) UNE’s delegations framework and associated schedules outline the delegations functions within the University.

(2) These guidelines should be read in conjunction with the overarching Governance Integrity and Standards Principles.

(3) All UNE Representatives are required to comply with these guidelines.

(4) Within these Guidelines:

  1. Part A outlines delegations principles;
  2. Part B outlines how changes are made to delegations and the Delegations Schedule; and
  3. Part C outlines the authority for UNE delegations.

Part A -  Delegation principles

(5) There are three (3) delegation principles

Principle 1 - Functional and financial delegations are only to be exercised by a delegated UNE Representative or committee/body.
When presented with a request for a decision;
• UNE Representatives should ensure, by reference to policy, the delegations register and schedules, that they are operating within their approved delegation.

• a committee or body of the University should refer to the approved terms of reference to confirm they are operating within their delegated authority.
Principle 2 - The exercise of a function or an approval carries with it responsibilities.
UNE Representatives with delegated functions are required to exercise the responsibilities of the role with care, including as mandatory:

• exercise due diligence when applying a delegation, including being informed and ensuring that they are not under any undue influence in exercising a delegation;

• avoid or manage (with their Supervisor or Head of Cost Centre) any perceived Conflicts of Interest in relation to a delegation;

• keep a Record in an approved University records management system of the use of their delegation;

• seek advice or help if they have questions about exercising their delegation; and
• support clarity of instructions and intent when applying a delegation, through the use of agreed UNE terminology in decision-making (see Definitions section).
Principle 3 - The exercise of a delegation should be undertaken consistent with delegation protocols
Protocol 1: Delegations are either functional (relating to a function or activity) or financial (e.g. relating to expenditure or income or changes to assets, liabilities or investments).

Protocol 2: Delegations are assigned to a position or a body rather than ‘belonging’ to a person. This means that delegations:

• can be exercised by a person duly appointed as a temporary or acting occupant of a position or role; and

• may be assigned to an authorised employee under supervision who exercises the delegation on behalf of that position.
 
Protocol 3: Delegations may be advisory or obligatory for example, as:

 • a delegation to a management committee is often advisory, so as not to override the assigned authority for a specific function or matter;

 • in the case of UNE’s governance bodies of Council and Academic Board, the delegation to the body is a shared delegation, where a quorum of members or other specified majority vote is required to enact the delegation.
 
Protocol 4: Delegations are aligned to UNE’s organisational hierarchy (for example, a lower delegation is also held by the position’s immediate supervisor).
 
Protocol 5: Delegations may be subject to limits, including for example:

• a specified level of financial expenditure may be assigned but can be limited by whether there is allocated budget for that expenditure;

• a delegation may be ‘part of’ an approval process rather than an absolute authority (see management committees below); or

• by area of responsibility (e.g. a Dean of Faculty (Dean) is limited to exercising their delegation within their Faculty unless specifically authorised).
 
Protocol 6: A delegation to undertake an action or expenditure will not automatically mean the delegate has the authority to undo or reverse an action or expenditure (reversal of a decision may require higher level approval).
 
Protocol 7: Delegations are considered to be transferred where a position or a body has a change in name only.
 
Protocol 8: Delegations are subject to suspension, where special or temporarily changed circumstances are notified via a direction from the Council or Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer. A direction to suspend one or more delegations:

• can be made at any time, but will be generally be either:

• a standing suspension – which comes into force in specific circumstances – such as on the declaration of an emergency situation; or

• an application of temporary controls over specific activities (e.g. expenditure/recruitment/travel etc) which are put in place via communications and which are in place to be followed until otherwise revoked.
 
Protocol 9: Matters where there is no clear authority or delegate are required to be referred to the Council.
 
Protocol 10: the body or position delegating the function or authority retains precedence and authority over the delegation.
NOTE: Records of decisions of the University are required to be kept by law. It is also a mandatory requirement that all decisions and associated documents and emails be recorded in an approved University records management system.
Delegates who would require help or advice regarding saving records should contact the Records Team via records@une.edu.au.
Approved records management systems at UNE include UNE Records Management System (Content Manager/TRIM); HR System (Web Kiosk); Finance System (Finance One/CIA Anywhere); and Student Management System (Callista).

Part B -  Changes to Delegations Schedules

(6) The Delegations Schedules are an online database of UNE positions and bodies who hold delegations at the University. The purpose of the Delegations Schedules is to maintain and provide up to date and accurate information about delegations within the University.

(7) The Council approves changes to the Delegations Schedules. The Council may either:

  1. agree to make changes to the Delegations Schedules, following a review of those schedules; or
  2. make resolutions that have the effect of changing the Delegations Schedule. For example, where Council or committees make a resolution that impacts delegations, the Director Governance and University Secretary (or delegate) is authorised to make a corresponding amendment to the Delegations Schedule(s), for example:
    1. a Council resolution to change the Senior Executive position titles or structures reporting to the Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer will trigger an action by the Director Governance and University Secretary (or delegate) to update the Delegations Schedule to reflect the agreed new titles from the relevant date of effect; and/or
    2. a Council resolution to amend a Council Policy or Terms of Reference (e.g. to the Vice-Chancellor Functions Rule) where there are changes to delegated functions or authorities, will trigger an action by the Director Governance and University Secretary (or delegate) to update the Delegations Schedule to reflect the changed delegations from the relevant date of effect; or
  3. make resolutions that allow the Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer to make or amend Rules or Policies for specific functions (see Vice-Chancellor Functions Rule). Changes to assigned responsibilities and roles within Vice-Chancellor approved policy instruments will trigger an action by the Director Governance and University Secretary (or delegate) to update the Delegations Schedules to reflect the change.

(8) The Council authorises the Director Governance and University Secretary (or nominee) to make minor administrative changes to Council documents (including Policies and Delegations Schedules). This is limited to amendments that do not change the purpose or intent of a delegation, including for example:

  1. replace references to out-of-date Council committees or other Council bodies or representatives with a reference to the updated body;
  2. replace references to out-of-date position titles with a reference to the updated position title;
  3. replace references to out of date “terms, expressions or glossary items” such as "senior staff" with a reference to the current “term or expression”;
  4. add references to new position titles into the Policies or Delegations Schedules, where the new position has been authorised by Director People & Culture and/or Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer;
  5. replace any other out-of-date references or url links with the current terminology;
  6. correct typographical and grammatical errors without changing meaning of the relevant clause or delegation.

(9) The Council has authorised the Director Governance and University Secretary to certify documents that have been approved by Council.

Help:
• To search the Delegations Schedules, navigate to Delegations Register.
• To notify of issues with Delegations Schedule email delegations@une.edu.au. 

Quality assurance

(10) A review of the exercise of delegations will be prepared at least annually for the Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer and the Audit and Risk Committee of the Council. The report will consider:

  1. programs of support for delegates in place;
  2. evidence of recordkeeping consistent with these Guidelines;
  3. consistency of terminology in governance reporting;
  4. changes to delegations made by the Director Governance and University Secretary either:
    1. in response to a Council resolution or decision; or
    2. consistent with provisions for minor administrative changes.

Part C -  Authority and compliance

(11) The University of New England Act 1993 (UNE Act) establishes the UNE Council and its authority to undertake the functions of the University.

(12) The UNE Council may exercise any function or authority of the University, regardless of whether it has been delegated.

(13) The delegation of the functions of the University and the making of rules or policies is provided for in the UNE Act and UNE By-Law 2005. By virtue of section 17 of the UNE Act, the UNE Council may:

  1. delegate all or any of its functions (other than the authority to delegate) to
    1. a member or committee of the Council;
    2. to any authority or officer of the University or any other person or body prescribed by the UNE By-laws.
  2. make rules, so long as they are not inconsistent with the UNE Act or UNE By-laws or excluded by section 29 of the UNE Act [Clause 25 (a) of the UNE By-laws];
  3. consent to the Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer making rules about any subject matter for or with respect to which the Council may make rules.

(14) The Delegations Framework reflects the University’s organisational structure, the flow of supervisory responsibilities and approval pathways.

(15) The Delegations Framework records the assignment by Council of its functions and activities to members or committees of Council or to authorities or officers of the Univesity including the Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer.

(16) These University Governance Framework Guidelines and associated Delegations Schedules are made by the Council, under the authority of Section 29 the UNE Act.

(17) UNE Representatives must observe these guidelines in relation to University matters.

(18) These guidelines operate as and from the Effective Date.

(19) Previous rules and policies relating to UNE delegations framework are replaced and have no further operation from the Effective Date of this new guideline.

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Section 2 - Definitions

Types of Bodies

(20) Governing body: References to a governing body at UNE include references to the Council (or its Committees) or the Academic Board (or its committees) are identified within the UNE Act, and whose members have specific duties on behalf of the institution.

  1. The peak governance body is the Council which has overarching responsibility for corporate and academic governance;
  2. The peak academic body, with responsibility for academic governance and advising Council and the Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer on academic matters, at UNE is the Academic Board.
Note: UNE Controlled Entities may also have a governance body or board.

(21) Committee: At UNE, a ‘committee’ is a group of officers authorised by Council or the Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer, or a Senior Executive, to undertake specific functions on behalf of the University, where:

  1. the scope of the committee’s delegation, members, functions, processes of appointment, secretary and operations have been defined and made available in a Council or Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer approved ‘Terms of Reference’ and accessible via the UNE policies website (may require staff login);
  2. provision has been made for recordkeeping including minute taking for the committee, to meet the mandatory requirements that all UNE committees keep records of their activities, papers and minutes consistent with the State Records Act 1998;
  3. for clarity, it is noted that:
    1. a group will not have authority or recognition at UNE as a ‘committee’ without approved terms of reference and provision for recordkeeping;
    2. Course Advisory Boards/ Review Boards and Panels, Project Steering Committees etc will generally have the status of a committee and be subject to the requirements of a committee;
    3. a ‘governance committee’ will generally be focused on monitoring performance and compliance, plans, strategies and frameworks, rather than operational matters;
    4. a ‘management committee’ will generally be involved reviewing operational, tactical or project proposals and information related to operations. As identified in Protocol 3
      • a management committee will typically be established to support and provide advice (endorsements, recommendations, suggested actions) to the Executive (or Chair) who retains authority and accountability for a decision; and
    5. a ‘sub-committee’ is a committee which reports to another committee. A sub-committee must adhere to the requirements of the committee (approved terms of reference/recordkeeping). A sub-committee must also provide a formal report to the higher Committee following each meeting.