Delegation Procedure

1. The purpose of our procedure

Our Delegation Procedure operationalises our Delegation Policy by outlining the process for granting, exercising, recording, and revoking Council delegations and Council authorised further delegations (hereinafter referred at as ‘sub-delegations’) at Adelaide University.

Please read this procedure in conjunction with our Delegation Policy and Delegation Register.

2. Who our procedure applies to

Our procedure applies to any position or body holding a delegation of the Council under section 32 of the Adelaide University Act 2023 (the Act), including any authorised sub-delegation of a Council delegation, to those bodies and positions listed in section 3 of our Delegation Policy.

3. Our delegation procedure

3.1 Our model of delegation

Council delegations and sub-delegations recorded in our Delegation Register are based on the following profiles across the functions of finance, human resources, research, academic, and legal:

3.2 Granting and revoking delegations and sub-delegations

Council delegations

Draft resolutions for the grant or revocation of an ongoing delegation for consideration by the Council must include the following information:

• position or body title of the delegator and delegate, and
• scope, conditions and limits of the delegated functions and powers (if applicable).

If the Council approves the draft resolution to grant or revoke the delegation, the [Director, Governance Services] must be advised of the required amendment to our Delegation Register.

Sub-delegations of Council delegations

A proposed grant or revocation of a sub-delegation by the Vice Chancellor or other Council delegate must include the following information:

• position or body title of the sub-delegator and sub-delegate
• scope, conditions and limits of the sub-delegated functions and powers, noting that section 3 of our Delegation Policy requires sub-delegations to be subject to the same, or narrower, conditions or limits as the delegation on which the sub-delegation is based, and
• duration of the sub-delegation (if it is not ongoing).

The Vice Chancellor or other Council delegate may grant a sub-delegation only where expressly permitted by Council. If the Vice Chancellor or other Council delegate approves the proposal to grant or revoke a sub-delegation, the delegate must ensure that the [Director, Governance Services] is advised of the required amendment to our Delegation Register.

3.3 Exercising delegations

Financial delegations

The total value of a commitment refers to the ‘whole of life’ value of a contract or other commitment at the time the commitment is made.  The value should be calculated to:

• exclude GST but include all other duties and taxes
• known or estimated value
• include the total expenditure required under the contract over its entire life, to the known or estimated value, and account for any extension or renewal options exercisable at Adelaide University’s discretion. For example, the value of a ten-year lease with a five-year option would be the total expected outlay over fifteen years.

Delegates must also comply with our [Procurement Policy] when exercising financial delegations relate to procurement activities.

Research contract delegations

Research contracts can take the form of revenue contracts (e.g., grants) or expense contracts.

The total value of a commitment for revenue contracts refers to the ‘whole of life’ value of the University’s monetary co-investment at the time the commitment is made.  This excludes expenditure of research contract revenue where there is no net cost to the University.

The total in-kind component over the life of the research contract must not exceed the net revenue retained by the University unless a documented strategic or business case is approved in writing by the Vice Chancellor or the Deputy Vice Chancellor Research and Innovation.

The total value of a commitment for expense contracts refers to the ‘whole of life’ value of the contract consistent with the financial delegations' rules above.

Delegates must also comply with our [Research Policy – NAME TBD] when exercising delegations related to research activities.

Variations

Any proposed variation to an existing commitment that increases the total value of the commitment must be considered in aggregate with the original commitment to determine the appropriate delegate.  Variations to the existing commitment should be approved by the same delegate (or their successor) who approved the original document, except where the variation increases the total value beyond the original delegate’s authority, in which case approval of the variation must be escalated to the delegate with the relevant authority.

Signing delegations

If a delegate is a body rather than a position, and the body has authority to execute a document, the document may be signed by: 

• that body’s Chair, or
• if that body does not have a Chair, by the person whom the body resolves may sign the contract on behalf of the body. 

3.4 Maintaining our Delegation Register

The [Director, Governance Services] will update our Delegation Register upon receipt of: 

• a Council resolution granting or revoking a delegation
• Vice Chancellor or other Council delegate (as relevant) approval to grant a Council-authorised sub-delegation
• a Council resolution, or Vice Chancellor or other Council delegate (as relevant) approval to revoke a Council-authorised sub-delegation.

Minor amendments to our Delegation Register to correct typographical errors may be approved by the [Director, Governance Services].

4. Definitions used in our procedure

Please refer to our Adelaide University glossary for a full list of our definitions.

5. How our procedure is governed

This procedure is categorised, approved and owned in line with the governance structure of Adelaide University and the offices and officers listed below.

6. Legislation and other documents related to this procedure

7. History of changes

At the time of writing, Adelaide University’s organisational structure, position titles, and committee names have not been confirmed. Square brackets [ ] indicate placeholders for these details. Brackets are also used to identify policy elements that are subject to further decision-making or confirmation. These will be updated once final decisions are made.