About Belinda

Belinda is a procurement, technology and intellectual property lawyer who advises State, Territory and Commonwealth departments and agencies. Belinda is known for her experience and expertise working with the Commonwealth Government in relation to a wide range of major Commonwealth projects dealing with drafting, tender compliance assessment, negotiation and provision of legal advice.

Belinda has extensive experience advising on whole-of-government agreements with major vendors (some of which have been accessed by the States) and whole-of-government technology panels established by the Department of Finance and the Digital Transformation Agency, for example, the establishment of the Cloud Services Panel and more recently, the new Cloud Marketplace that replaced the Cloud Services Panel. She has negotiated with many of the major suppliers to the Commonwealth, including SAP, IBM, Amazon Web Services and Oracle, and has advised on major technology projects such as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s contract for the provision of the Consumer Data Right solution and managed services.

Belinda adopts a proactive, personable and client-focused approach aimed at fostering positive outcomes for her clients. She is recommended by the Legal 500 Asia Pacific (2023) Guide for her work in IT & Telecommunications.

Experience

• Commonwealth whole-of government

  Advising on the establishment of whole-of-government coordinated procurements with major vendors (SAP, Concur, IBM, Rimini Street, Amazon Web Services, and Oracle). This included attendance at negotiations, and updating contracts to include changes to Commonwealth laws and policies, reviewing vendor’s amendments to contracts and preparing high level issue tables on indemnities, termination, step-in rights, audit rights, insurance, privacy, cyber security, data security and other security issues, intellectual property rights and software licensing.

• Digital Transformation Agency's Marketplaces

  Advising on the establishment of various technology Marketplaces for the Digital Transformation Agency, including drafting and advising on procurement documentation and guidance material for establishing various panels, and providing advice on ongoing interpretation and issues arising out of those panels (including the Hardware Marketplace, Telecommunications Services Panel, Cloud Services Panel (and more recently the current RFT for the Cloud Marketplace Panel), Software Marketplace, and Data Centre Panel). This included drafting RFT documentation, legal risk assessments and tender compliance reports for multiple tenderers, and negotiating with a range of Tier 1 and other vendors.

• Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

  Advising on a range of ICT contracts including a new contract for the national Broadband Monitoring and Reporting Program to test and publicly report on speed and performance of broadband services provided over Australia’s NBN, a contract for the provision of ICT services, a contract for the provision of services related to the Energy Made Easy website, and a contract for the provision of a Solution and Managed Services for the Consumer Data Registry and Accreditation Application Services (CDR Contract). Belinda advised on contractual risks, and assisted in conducting negotiations and updating the contracts for final execution. Belinda continues to act as a legal adviser to the ACCC in relation to any issues and variations to the CDR Contract.

• Services Australia

  Advising on procurements associated with a drug testing trial for particular welfare recipients, including the provision of drug testing, issuing of legislatively required notices and subsequent referrals to medical assessors. These procurements to implement public policy initiatives have involved ensuring consistency with the legislative framework, achieving clarity for the required services and incorporating protections for vulnerable members of the community.

• Defence

  Assisting and advising on the End User Support Services project for the support of Defence ICT infrastructure including preparing the RFT and contract documentation, and undertaking tender compliance reviews and preparing a report.