About Russell

Russell provides Commonwealth Government clients with strategic advice in a variety of different politically sensitive contexts. His experience includes complex procurements and asset sales for the Australian Government, as well as grants and funding agreements having developed the first APS wide template funding agreement and advising numerous agencies on development of their funding programs.

Russell has experience advising on national security issues from working closely over an extended period with law enforcement and members of the Australian intelligence community in dealing with change management, money laundering and terrorism financing and cyber related matters.

Russell worked for 10 years as AUSTRAC's first General Counsel and played a strategic role in providing advice on new legislation, and establishing processes and procedures to implement the legislation, in conjunction with major domestic and international financial organisations and regulators.

Experience

• Defence CIO Group

  ICT procurement - Advising Defence CIO Group on a range of ICT matters including software end user licence agreements, purchase of satellite services, RFT for global internet access for deployed military staff (including drafting all contractual documents).

• Department of Education

  Grants and funding agreements - Advising the Department of Education on South Australian Enterprise Scholarships Program including assisting with development of program guidelines, drafting primary funding agreement and advising on procurement to select funding manager.

• Department of Education

  Probity and legal process - advising the Department of Education on South Australian Enterprise Scholarships Program including assisting with development of program guidelines, drafting probity plan (including probity protocols) and tender evaluation plan, providing ad hoc advice on procurement to select funding manager and providing final sign off letter.

• Department of Defence

  Contractural advising/drafting - Advised the Department of Defence on the AIR9000 Additional Troop Lift Helicopter contracts and negotiating with contractor on issues including:○ acceptance of supplies under the contracts;○ postponement claims by the contractor and remedies available to Defence including liquidated damages;○ delay claims by the contractor and remedies available to Defence;○ resolving complex intellectual property issues involving main contractor and approved subcontractors to enable clarification of IP rights in order to progress development of strategic software.

• Regulatory advice

  Advice and assistance on Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regime (including registration of digital currency exchanges, devising workable AML/CTF programs, AML/CTF reporting and international sanctions regime compliance) and agricultural and veterinary chemical products (including registration and approval of active constituents, products and labels, suspension and cancellation action, permits and chemical reviews).