(1) This Procedure is effective from 23 May 2022. (2) This Procedure documents the steps which must be followed when entering into University Contracts. (3) This Procedure applies to all University staff and to all Contracts entered into by the University. (4) This Procedure is pursuant to the Contracts policy. (5) The Contract Sponsor must seek advice, guidance and assistance from all relevant areas of the University prior to and during the negotiation of a proposed Contract. Such areas may include Office of General Counsel, Risk, Compliance and Business Continuity, Finance and Procurement Services, Infrastructure and Property, Deakin Research, People and Culture, Digital Services and Deakin International. (6) The Contract Sponsor must ensure that all proposed University Contracts are approved in accordance with the requirements of the Portfolio Board and all relevant University policies and procedures. For example, a Memorandum of Understanding with an overseas institution must be approved in accordance with the Academic Partnerships Policy and the purchase of goods and services must be approved in accordance with the Procurement policy and procedure. If there is no approval process under a policy or procedure, the Contract must be approved by an Authorised Signatory under this Procedure. (7) University Contracts must take the form of a formal written agreement with appropriate terms and conditions approved by Office of General Counsel prior to signing (except for the transactions referred to in clause 11). The following agreements are pre-approved by Office of General Counsel for the purposes of this clause: (8) Office of General Counsel Standard Form Agreements should be used to document University Contracts whenever it is appropriate. (9) University Contracts to be included in a Tender Document must be approved by Office of General Counsel prior to release or publication of the Tender Document (unless a Office of General Counsel standard form agreement is used). (10) In each of the following circumstances the Contract Sponsor must instruct Office of General Counsel to finalise the form of a Contract: (11) The following transactions may be made by purchase order in accordance with the Procurement policy and procedure: (12) If the Contract Value exceeds $500,000 (or for a research contract exceeds $2 million), once the form of the Contract has been approved by Office of General Counsel, a Contract Submission Form must be submitted to and approved by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University Services. National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Australian Research Council (ARC) funding agreements with non-negotiable, generic terms and conditions are exempt from this requirement. (13) A University Contract must be signed by the University and the other party or parties before any obligations under the Contract are performed. (14) University Contracts may only be signed on behalf of the University by an Authorised Signatory. The authority to sign a University Contract cannot be delegated to anyone who is not an Authorised Signatory. (15) Prior to signing a Contract the Authorised Signatory must be satisfied that all advice, guidance and approvals required under this Procedure have been obtained and may request that the Contract Sponsor provide them with a completed and signed Contract Approval Checklist for this purpose. (16) A University Contract may be signed by an Authorised Signatory whether the Contract is expressed to be executed as an agreement or as a deed. (17) Contracts that are required to be signed under seal must be signed and sealed in accordance with the University Common Seal policy. (18) After a Contract has been properly signed, the Contract Sponsor must ensure that: (19) The Contract Sponsor is responsible for: (20) For the purpose of this Procedure:Contracts procedure
Section 1 - Preamble
Section 2 - Purpose
Section 3 - Scope
Section 4 - Policy
Section 5 - Procedure
Advice prior to entering into a contract
Approvals prior to entering into a contract
Approval of the terms of the contract by Office of General Counsel
Contracts valued more than $500,000 (or more than $2m for a research contract)
Signing the contract
Record keeping
Managing the contract
Top of PageSection 6 - Definitions
View Current
This is the current version of this document. To view historic versions, click the link in the document's navigation bar.