University standard consultancy agreement
Can I use the agreement? | Conditions of Use | What if the Conditions are not met? | Completing the Schedule | Signing and submitting | Contact us
Can I use the agreement?
This agreement is for use with consultancy work. Consultancies are generally fee-for-service arrangements (charged at commercial rates on an hourly or daily basis), tend to be short term with specific deliverables, and the University would not expect to own the Project IP, use it for further research, or expect to be able to publish the results arising from the consultancy. Consultancy is a provision of expertise on a specific field.The agreement must NOT be used for:
- Collaborative research projects or contract research
- Clinical trials
- Work in which students are or will be involved
Conditions of Use
- There are no students working on the consultancy project
- The consultancy fee is <$100,000
- No amendments have been made to the terms and conditions of the agreement
- Additional terms have not been added as an annexure to the agreement, or in the Schedules to the agreement
- The Schedules to the agreement have been completed, and clearly describe what the University will do, as well as the payment details
- You use the latest version of the standard agreement (on this page)
What if the conditions cannot be met?
If the Conditions cannot be observed, or if terms require modification, the agreement cannot be signed by the Dean or Head, and must be sent to the Research Office for review by an authorised officer. In these circumstances the use of the consultancy standard agreement is still beneficial as the legal review process will be faster. Refer to our page Completing the Forms for instructions.In these circumstances the use of the consultancy standard agreement is still beneficial as the legal review process will be faster. If the Dean or Head cannot sign the agreement because the total amount is above $100,000 but the remaining conditions of use have been met, contact the Research Contracts Group to arrange sign-off.
Completing the Schedule
Complete the relevant details in the Schedule page (including External Party details) and insert this in the agreement (pdf) in place of the blank Schedule before signing. You are required to complete the Sponsor name, ABN and address. Contact the sponsor for its ABN, or use ABN Lookup (Commonwealth website).Once the agreement is signed it is a binding agreement and cannot be varied by simply substituting a new Schedule. If you need to vary the terms of the Agreement or the details in the Schedule post-authorisation, see our Amendments page.
Signing and submitting the agreement
Print one copy for each party to the agreement and have it signed by the Dean or Head, as each party must retain one original signed agreement. Arrange for an authorised representative of the Sponsor to sign each original and return one copy to you. The last party to sign must insert, on the first page, the date they have signed. Send to the address below:- One original fully signed agreement
- One University Standard Agreement Checklist
- One Budget Form for Research (if financial)
Ana Brown
Manager, Research Contracts
Melbourne Research Office
Level 5, 161 Barry Street
University of Melbourne