agreements

It is important to ensure that a contract or agreement to which ECU is a party clearly sets out the key elements of the arrangement and safeguards the University's interests. Failure to ensure this could put the relationship and the University at risk.

Essential elements of any contract or agreement are the responsibilities of the parties, the consideration (often price), insurance and indemnity provisions, the duration of the relationship or the time for performance, and procedures for handling disputes.

A review of the processes relating to agreements is currently being undertaken with a view to setting in place clear processes to assist ECU staff and minimise risk. Meanwhile, staff should contact one or more of the staff listed below for assistance.

Contacts in relation to agreements are:

Agreements signed by the Vice-Chancellor

Certain kinds of agreements should be signed by the Vice-Chancellor. These include -
- agreements with a high level of risk
- agreements with high level financial implications
- agreements and MOUs involving alliances with international and Australian education institutions or other organisations.

Agreements for the Vice-Chancellor's signature should be forwarded to the Manager, Legal Services with a cover memo addressed to the Vice-Chancellor and signed by the Executive Dean or equivalent senior officer. The briefing memo should provide an outline of the background to the agreement and should conclude with a clear recommendation that the agreement be signed. The agreements will be reviewed by staff of Legal Services prior to being forwarded to the Vice-Chancellor for signature.

Agreements signed by other University staff

Agreements containing insurance or indemnity clauses should be forwarded to the Director, Risk Management and Audit Assurance for advice prior to being signed.

Please refer to the delegations manual at http://www.ecu.edu.au/GPPS/policies/delegations.html for information on delegations relating to the signing of agreements.

Agreements requiring the Common Seal

Agreements occasionally need to be signed and sealed with the University's common seal. These include agreements relating to land transactions and deeds (such as deeds of gift) where there is no consideration. Several days' extra time should be allowed for the application of the common seal. A two part procedure applies:

1) These agreements should be forwarded to the Manager, Legal Services with a cover memo addressed to the Vice Chancellor and signed by the Executive Dean or equivalent senior officer. The memo should provide an outline of the background to the agreement and should conclude with a clear recommendation that the agreement be signed and sealed.

2) Legal Services will arrange for the requisite approvals of the Vice-Chancellor and the Chancellor for the affixing of the Common Seal and for the execution of the agreement under seal.

If it is more convenient, a Faculty or Centre may arrange for the written approval of the Vice-Chancellor prior to forwarding the agreement to the Manager, Legal Services. In this case, the wording of the recommendation must make it clear that the Vice-Chancellor's approval is requested for the agreement to be signed and sealed.