• Section 1 -  Purpose of Policy
• Section 2 - Application and Scope - Exclusions or Special Conditions
• Section 3 - Policy Requirements
• Section 4 - Interpretation of UOW Policy Documents
• Section 5 - UOW Policy Hierarchy
• Table 1 UOW Policy Hierarchy
• Section 6 - Approval and Authority
• Table 2: Approval Authorities
• Section 7 - Reporting
• Section 8 - Development of New Policy Documents
• Section 9 - Review of Policy Documents
• Section 10 - Amendments
• Section 11 - Urgent Amendment
• Section 12 - Feedback
• Section 13 - Implementation and Communication
• Section 14 - Monitoring
• Section 15 - Records Management
• Section 16 - Roles and Responsibilities
• Section 17 - Definitions

Section 1 -  Purpose of Policy

(1) The purpose of this Policy is to:

1. shape a policy framework that guides consistent, appropriate, accountable decisions actions and processes across the University;
2. provide a consistent and enforceable system for the development, approval, implementation and review of policy documents at the University of Wollongong (UOW); and
3. provide a mechanism to ensure that policy documents are compliant with the strategic direction of the University and with relevant legislation.

Section 2 - Application and Scope - Exclusions or Special Conditions

(2) This Policy applies to any person, unit, division, faculty or committee responsible for the development, maintenance and communication of UOW policy documents within UOW.

(3) The University’s policy framework is applied university‐wide, across all UOW locations and functions, including controlled entities unless otherwise specified within a specific framework or policy document.

(4) The provisions contained in this Policy apply to all UOW policy documents, with the exceptions of:

1. pursuant to section 21B of the University of Wollongong Act 1989, any changes to the Commercial Activity Guidelines must be submitted by the University Council for approval by the NSW Minister for Education;
2. Local Protocol documents are exempt from section 8 to 15 of this Policy;
3. students are bound by provisions relating to course content and structure contained in the version of the Coursework Rules or Higher Degree Research (HDR) Award Rules that was in effect at the time that they commenced their studies.

Section 3 - Policy Requirements

(5) All UOW policy documents must:

1. be consistent with applicable legislation, including regulations, by-laws or statutory rules and are invalid to the extent of any inconsistency;
2. support and be consistent with UOW vision, mission and values;
3. assign responsibility and accountability to ensure due diligence in the operations of the University;
4. comply with the requirements set out in this Policy;
5. be relevant, transparent in their intention and meaning;
6. be developed in consultation with appropriate UOW officers and stakeholders;
7. be categorised as being either for public or staff only publication;
8. be written in plain English;
9. be audience appropriate (e. the policy custodian should not assume a prior knowledge of the subject area by the reader);
10. be consistent with the Inclusive Language Guidelines.

(6) policy documents shall be written in the approved template. In exceptional circumstances modifications to the template may be required in order to meet requirements of the specific policy document.

(7) All amendments to policy documents shall be summarised in the review and change history of the policy document.

Section 4 - Interpretation of UOW Policy Documents

(8) In interpreting UOW policy documents, unless the contrary intention appears, the following apply:

1. in the event of an inconsistency between two policy documents the provisions in the document that has a higher position in the hierarchy takes precedence over the document that is lower in the hierarchy.
2. any reading down or severance of a particular part of a UOW policy document does not affect the other parts of that policy document.
3. an uncertainty or ambiguity in the meaning of a provision will not be interpreted against the University just because the University drafted the provision.
4. a defined term shall have the meaning ascribed to it in the policy document in which it is use.
5. if a position or committee is abolished or re-named, the responsibilities assigned in a policy document should be taken to be a reference to the principal successor to the functions of that position or committee.
6. if a policy document defines a word or expression, other grammatical forms of the word or expression have corresponding meanings.
7. a word or expression that indicates only one gender shall be construed as reflecting all genders unless a specific gender is clearly intended.
8. a reference to a word or expression in the plural form includes a reference to the singular form and vice versa.
9. the words ‘shall’, ‘must’ or ‘will’, if used to bestow a duty or power, indicate that the action or decision must be enacted.
10. the words ‘may’ and ‘should’ when used to bestow a duty or power indicates that the action or decision may be enacted or not, at discretion.
11. a reference to the word ‘including’ in any form is not to be construed or interpreted as a word of limitation.
12. a schedule or appendix to a UOW policy document constitutes part of the policy document.
13. the supporting documents listed at the start of a UOW policy document do not constitute part of the policy document.
14. headings are inserted for convenient reference only and have no effect in limiting or extending the language of provisions to which they refer.
15. reference to any statute or other legislation (whether primary or subordinate) is to a statute or other legislation as amended from time to time.

Section 5 - UOW Policy Hierarchy

(9) UOW policy documents are part of a structured hierarchy of documents that govern activities at the University.

Table 1 UOW Policy Hierarchy

Section 6 - Approval and Authority

(10) All delegations to make decisions specified in a policy document are set out in the Delegations of Authority Policy.

(11) All UOW policy documents are categorised as either Academic or Operational.

(12) If it is not clear whether a policy is academic or operational, advice regarding consultation and approval pathways should be sought from the Governance and Policy Division.

(13) In some cases, both Academic Senate consultation and Vice-Chancellor and President approval may be required.

(14) The relevant approvers for the making and amendment of policy document types are outlined in Table 2. In the case of any inconsistency regarding approval authority, the Delegations of Authority Policy takes precedence over Table 2.

(15)  Recommendations for ‘No Change’ to Rules, policie and codes resulting from a policy review must be approved by the Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President or Chief Operating Officer and Vice-President Operations in accordance with the Delegations of Authority Policy.

(16) Any requests for approval of major or minor amendments to the Delegations of Authority Policy must include an Instrument of Authorisation of Deeds Form, which must be signed by the Vice-Chancellor. This does not apply to administrative amendments.

Table 2: Approval Authorities

Section 7 - Reporting

(17) The approval of all new academic codes and policies shall be reported twice yearly to the University Council.

(18) Urgent amendments to UOW policy documents (excluding Rules) under Section 11 of this Policy shall be reported to the next University Council meeting and, in the case of academic policies, to the next meeting of the Academic Senate.

(19) Minor amendments to operational codes, policies shall be reported twice yearly to the Finance and Infrastructure Committee of University Council. Minor amendments to academic codes, and policies shall be reported twice yearly to the Academic Senate.

(20) No Change Review for an operational policy document shall be reported to the next Finance and Infrastructure Committee meeting occurring after the approval of the No Change Memorandum.

(21) A No Change Review for an academic policy document shall be reported at the next Academic Senate meeting occurring after the approval of the No Change Memorandum.

(22) The rescission of academic Codes, standards or policies must be approved by the Vice-Chancellor and President, on recommendation by the Academic Senate, and reported to the University Council.

Section 8 - Development of New Policy Documents

(23) A new policy document should be developed when a requirement for standardising practice in a particular area, not covered by an existing policy document (a “policy gap”) arises.

(24) It is generally preferred to incorporate policy gaps into existing policy documents, rather than create a new policy document.

(25) Policy development at UOW shall follow a staged approach as set out below (as detailed in the Policy Management Procedures) and includes:

1. executive Sponsorship;
2. research, development, consultation and drafting;
3. seeking feedback;
4. approval; and
5. communication, implementation and monitoring.

Section 9 - Review of Policy Documents

(26) Reviews are required to ensure that policy documents remain current and fit for purpose.

(27) Policy custodians are responsible for undertaking reviews.

(28) Each policy document will have a scheduled review, revised at each subsequent scheduled review. As a minimum this should be every five years, but should be more frequent for documents that are high risk or impacted by dynamic circumstanced (e.g. regulatory changes).

(29) The date for the next review will only be revised if the full review is completed.

(30) Any amendments that result from a review must be approved by the delegated authority.

(31) The process for review is set out in the Policy Management Procedures.

Section 10 - Amendments

(32) Any amendments must be approved by the delegated authority, with reference to:

1. document type (according to the policy hierarchy);
2. amendment type (see definitions).

(33) The process for amendment is detailed in the Policy Management Procedures.

Section 11 - Urgent Amendment

(34) Extraordinary circumstances may necessitate urgent amendment (either temporary or permanent) to UOW policy documents, for example where there has been a change to the external environment requiring urgent action to mitigate risk to students or staff of the University or to the University as a whole.

(35) In such circumstances, urgent amendments to UOW policy documents (excluding Rules) may bypass the usual development, consultation and approval pathway, and may be expedited for approval as per the Delegations of Authority Policy.

1. Any amendments to Rules must be approved by the University Council.
2. The Vice-Chancellor and President may approve urgent amendments to codes and policies.
3. The relevant Senior Executive may approve urgent amendments to procedures and guidelines.

(36) In each such case the Governance and Policy Division shall develop the approval memorandum to the nominated delegate in consultation with the Policy Custodian(s).

(37) In the case of temporary changes to the policy documents, the memorandum shall specify the period during which the amendment is to be effective. The amendments shall cease to have effect at the end of the specified temporary period and the previous provisions of the policy document will resume operation.

(38) Upon approval by the nominated delegate, all urgent amendments to UOW policy documents shall become operational.

(39) All urgent amendments shall be documented in the Review and Change History of the policy document.

(40) The latest version of the policy document shall be placed in the Policy Directory by the Governance and Policy Division (including, in the case of temporary amendments, details of the period during which they are effective).

(41) An Urgent Amendment does not constitute a review.

Section 12 - Feedback

(42) Feedback provides UOW staff and students with the opportunity to have input into Policy development and review, and to provide transparency in policy management.

(43) Feedback should be used for:

1. any new policy documents;
2. any review of a policy document (excluding guidelines), regardless of the outcome of the review;
3. any major amendments to Rules, Codes, Policies and Procedures;
4. any rescinded Codes or Policies.

(44) Feedback is not required for:

1. in-cycle administrative or minor amendments to any policy document;
2. rescinded Guidelines or Procedures;
3. amendments to Guidelines.

(45) Feedback should occur prior to approval.

(46) The period of feedback should be at least 10 business days.

(47) The mechanism for feedback should include as a minimum:

1. publicly available policy documents will be published on the UOW Website; and
2. staff only policy documents will be published on the Staff Intranet.

Section 13 - Implementation and Communication

(48) Any new or amended policy documents must be communicated and implemented effectively so that relevant stakeholders are aware of policy principles and requirements.

(49) All Policy Custodians are required to prepare and submit a communication and implementation plan for major amendments, and for new or rescinded policy documents.

Section 14 - Monitoring

(50) All policy documents must be monitored by the Policy Custodian for currency, issues and fit for purpose.

(51) The Policy Custodian must maintain written records (the "issues log”) and respond as required to issues as they arise.

Section 15 - Records Management

(52) UOW policy documents shall be stored in the UOW Policy Directory, which is accessible through the UOW Website. Policies on the Directory shall be considered the authoritative source.

(53) Records relating to all policy documents will be retained and disposed of in accordance with the State Records Act 1998, relevant General Authorities issued by the NSW State Archives and Records Authority and the UOW Records Management Policy.

Section 16 - Roles and Responsibilities

(54) The Governance and Policy Division shall:

1. manage the UOW policy suite, policy management database and control mechanisms;
2. provide policy advice;
3. report policy document changes as required under this Policy;
4. manage policy processes, including templates etc;
5. classify policy document amendment types and relevant approval pathways;
6. manage policy document approvals; and
7. inform custodians of the policy document review schedule in advance of policy reviews falling due.

(55) Custodians must:

1. ensure policy documents are fit for purpose and consistent with legislative requirements (where appropriate);
2. maintain a record of policy document issues arising to inform reviews and keep records relating to policy reviews;
3. complete policy document reviews within the specified review period;
4. develop new policy documents as required in consultation with the Governance and Policy Division; and
5. provide subject matter expertise in relation to UOW policy documents.

(56) Local managers/divisional managers shall manage and review any applicable Local Protocols.

Section 17 - Definitions