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Home > Resources > Publications and forms > Recruitment and Selection FAQ

Role evaluation

• 

  I’ve heard that there are the guidelines about the percentage of duties and responsibilities that have to change before a job can be re-evaluated. I’ve also heard that if a job has been evaluated you can’t ask for it to be re-evaluated within two years. Where are the guidelines that say this?

  • There are no whole-of-government guidelines mandating at what point or how often a role can be evaluated. Evaluations cost time and resources though, so some agencies develop their own set of guidelines around when it might be reasonable for a job to be re-evaluated.
  
  
• 

  When does a job need to be evaluated and when can it be benchmarked against a similar job?

  • This is a case-by-case judgement based on the degree of similarity between the roles. It is not based on any formula.
  
  

Role description

• 

  The directive says that the role description for a job has to provide applicants with information on the “basis for assessment of merit”. Where do I find this information in the role description?

  • The basis for assessment of merit can be called a range of things, for example: key competencies, critical success factors, ideal candidate profile, selection criteria. Basically it’s the part of the role description that lists the attributes (knowledge, skills, qualifications etc) that define what “merit” is for that particular job.
  
  

Advertising

• 

  OO3 public service officer roles were entry-level in the previous directive, so we didn’t have to advertise them in the Gazette or on Smart Jobs and Careers. Do we really have to advertise them under the new directive?

  • Yes. OO3 roles aren’t automatically entry-level. They can involve supervising other staff, for example, or require skills which result in a higher-level classification than a base-level role. The chief executive of an agency can seek approval from the Public Service Commissioner and the Director-General of DEIR to have an OO3 role considered entry-level. If approval is given, the role does not need to be advertised unless it will be filled through a continuous applicant pool. Entry-level continuous applicant pools must be advertised on the Smart Jobs and Careers Website.
  
  
• 

  Does the number of vacancies have to be included in the advertisement?

  • No. Whether it’s appropriate or even possible to specify the number of vacancies depends on the circumstances at the time. Some agencies communicate to applicants that there are multiple vacancies rather than a specific number.
  
  
• 

  We have public service officer roles that are identical to roles in another agency. Are there any restrictions to our agency using the applicant pool for the other agency, or vice versa?

  • The directive provides for agencies to share applicant pools if the vacancy notification includes the names of all the agencies potentially using the pool and information in the vacancy notification is otherwise identical. However, you can’t use another agency’s applicant pool if you weren’t identified as a participating agency in the advertisement.
  
  
• 

  Can we advertise a role as a salary range, so that we can negotiate salary with individual applicants depending on their skill levels and experience?

  • No. There is no legislative provision for positions to be classified across a range. Consistent with this, the JEMS methodology evaluates a role as a single classification based on job requirements and not on the skills and experience of the position holder. The directive is clear that the applicable classification level - not level(s) - must be included in the vacancy notification.
  
  
• 

  What about TO2 and PO2 positions that might be subject to progression? Can’t we advertise them as TO2/TO3 etc?

  • No. Progression is based on a personal classification that is awarded to an employee who has spent at least 12 months at the highest pay point of TO2 or PO2 and has met eligibility criteria under the Award or an industrial agreement. The position itself remains at TO2 or PO2 even if the employee progresses. If the role is of a type that lends itself to progression (for example, research roles) an agency might like to include information on progression in marketing the role to potential applicants.
  
  
• 

  I want to find out if our agency can advertise on CareerOne, SEEK and maybe other media. Can websites like SEEK link to our agency website?

  • The directive covers only the mandatory advertising of public service officer roles in the Gazette and the Smart Jobs and Careers website. TMP is the government provider for co-ordinating other forms of vacancy advertising and it is suggested that you discuss your needs with the TMP Client Contact in your shared service provider in the first instance. If you have a general question about advertising policy, please contact the Marketing Services area of the Department of Premier and Cabinet.
  
  

Recurring Vacancies

• 

  We have a vacancy for a role that is really the same as a role in another branch in terms of the key duties and what we’re looking for in an applicant. There are just some differences due to the different work areas, like the description of the role of the branch, reporting arrangements and one or two tasks etc. Can we fill a vacancy for our role from the applicant pool for the role in the other branch using the recurring vacancy process?

  • Not at this point, because recurring vacancies have to be identical to the vacancy originally advertised. The definition of an identical role in the directive requires that the role descriptions have to be the same. For future reference, role descriptions for similar roles can be made identical by lifting the role description to a higher organisational level. For example, at OPSC we have Principal Policy Officers at the AO7 level in a number of branches. To make the role description identical we would need to describe them at a whole-of-OPSC level (i.e. Principal Policy Officer, OPSC, reporting to a “Branch Director”) and use a generic rather than specialised way of describing role requirements.
  
  
• 

  We have had a further vacancy for an advertised role but we haven’t included a recurring vacancy note in the job advertisement. When do the recurring vacancy provisions cut in, as opposed to being able to fill from the original pool?

  • The directive does not specify this, but in practical terms the original vacancy process has closed once shortlisted applicants are notified of the outcome. Further vacancies past that point need to be filled by a recurring vacancy or fresh advertisement. The exception to this is where the role becomes vacant again within three months from the date of appointment. In this case the vacancy is not required to be advertised and can be filled from the original order of merit (as per 7.4 (x)) of the directive.
  
  
• 

  We have placed a note on a vacancy to say that applications can remain current for 12 months after the closing date of the original vacancy. The directive says that applications received during the specified period but after the closing date may be considered. Does this mean that we can consider applications that come in for the whole 12 months after the closing date if we want to?

  • The directive also says that appointments must occur within the period specified- in this case, 12 months from the closing date of the vacancy. New applications need to be considered in time for an appointment to be made within the 12 months.
  
  
• 

  We have chosen to accept new and refreshed applications for a recurring vacancy. Can we just slip these into the existing order of merit as they’re received?

  • It depends. You can if you have the same selection panel and use the same process. However, if the panel or the process changes you need to consider all applicants afresh.
  
  
• 

  I’ve heard that part-time and full-time positions are not interchangeable because they attract different applicant pools. Doesn’t this mean that we can’t use the recurring vacancy provisions to a full-time vacancy if the original role was part-time (and vice versa)?

  • The Public Service Act recognises the interchangeability of full-time and part-time status in making no distinction between full-time and part-time in transfer at level provisions under section 79. The directive requires only that, where there is a potential variation in employment status from the original vacancy, there should be a note to this effect in the role description. This is only to ensure that potential applicants are not deterred from applying if the original vacancy does not have the employment status that they are seeking.
  
  

Direct appointment to roles at a higher level

• 

  Where a role is evaluated at a higher level, does the substantive occupant of the role have to have been permanently appointed to the role for the whole of the two qualifying years?

  • The directive requires that the employee is the substantive occupant and that they have undertaken the role for no less than two of the preceding three years. The directive does not require that the employee was the substantive occupant for the whole two years, or that the two years needs to be continuous.
  
  
• 

  Where an employee has been seconded to a higher role, the directive requires that the role was advertised and the employee appointed on merit. Does the appointment on merit have to have been at the beginning of the two-year qualifying period?

  • As for direct appointments to reclassified roles (see previous question) the directive only requires that the employee won the role on merit and has undertaken the role for no less than two of the preceding three years. Secondments up to 12 months are exempt from the advertising requirements of the directive and the directive does not require that merit selection occurred at the beginning of the secondment for the purposes of direct appointment.
  
  
• 

  The directive requires that, for both reclassifications and secondments at a higher level, the employee must have undertaken the role for not less than two of the preceding three years. What if they’ve spent time relieving in a relevant higher level role?

  • The purpose of section 7.12 of the directive is to provide for direct appointment where there is a continuous connection to a particular role over time. The directive needs to be read at face value. Only time spent in the role in question counts in calculating whether the eligibility requirement has been met.
  
  
• 

  If an employee has been seconded to a higher level role for more than two years and then the role is reclassified, can they still be directly appointed to it?

  • If a role is reclassified it is not the same role that the employee was originally seconded to. The eligibility requirements need to be met afresh for the reclassified role.
  
  
• 

  The directive doesn’t actually say this, but I’ve heard that direct appointment to a reclassified role is meant for situations where the role has changed incrementally over time. Is this true?

  • It is true that the directive is silent on the circumstances of reclassification (i.e. whether the role changed slowly or suddenly). This means that whether direct appointment is appropriate in any given case is a matter for agency discretion.
  
  
• 

  Does an expression of interest count as an advertisement for the purpose of direct appointment?

  • No. For public service officer roles there has always been a requirement to advertise at least in the Gazette for secondments at a higher level greater than 12 months. Since Directive 1/03 (June 2003) this requirement has been extended to the government jobs board.
  
  

Appointment of a temporary employee to tenured status at level

• 

  Directive 01/04 provided for the direct appointment of entry-level temporary employees and trainees. Section 7.13 of the current directive doesn’t seem to. Is there still a way of converting employees from temporary to tenured status in entry-level roles?

  • Section 7.13 is essentially an exemption from advertising to allow the direct appointment of a temporary employee who meets the eligibility criteria. The directive does not require entry-level roles to be advertised and so section 7.13 is not required to convert temporary employees, trainees or apprentices to permanent (tenured) status.
  
  
• 

  The eligibility criteria for appointment on tenure require engagement in the role for a continuous period of two years. What does “continuous period” actually mean? What if the employee does some relieving during the two years?

  • The directive does not define “continuous” because the factors which can impact on continuity are so many and varied that each case has to be considered individually. For example, should short periods of relieving still count? How short is “short”? What if the relieving is in a higher level role undertaking the same type of work? What if relieving is in the supervisor’s role? Whether engagement in a particular role is continuous needs to be determined by the chief executive or their delegate within the agency.
  
  

Limited applicant pools

• 

  We are downsizing a particular work unit. Some staff have indicated that they would like to transfer elsewhere within the department, but we still have more staff interested in staying in the work unit than we can place in the new structure. We want to use a limited applicant pool to provide a fair process to decide which staff stay and which are transferred at level. Do we need to apply to the Public Service Commissioner to do this?

  • A limited applicant pool under section 7.14 of the directive is a special exemption from advertising. Since you are considering staff only for transfer at level, the advertising provisions of the directive don’t apply (see section 7.4 (vii)). You therefore don’t need to apply for a limited applicant pool under the directive in this circumstance.
  
  
• 

  We want to fill a number of entry-level vacancies from a pool of existing casual and temporary staff. Do we need to apply for a limited applicant pool?

  • As in the previous question, limited applicant pools are a special exemption from advertising. Entry-level vacancies are not required to be advertised. You can fill your entry-level vacancies from your pool of temporary and casual staff without applying for a limited applicant pool.
  
  
• 

  We are in the midst of an organisational restructure in which the numbers of roles at certain classification levels will be reduced and others increased. The restructure is based on changes in legislation which have been foreseen for some years. We have responded by putting a freeze on permanent appointments and relying on temporary staff, secondees from other agencies and our own staff relieving at higher levels. Given the length of time for the legislation to be amended and the new structure to be determined, many of these staff are now eligible for direct appointment. Is there any problem with including them in limited applicant pools along with our permanent staff?

  • Whether employees other than the tenured staff of your agency can be included in a limited applicant pool depends on the potential impact on the job security of your existing permanent workforce, which takes priority over the placement of both temporary and seconded staff and certainly over promotion. Information that OPSC requires in determining this impact is available on the Proforma for Limited applicant pool applications. You might wish to contact the OPSC to discuss your proposed process prior to submitting your request for a limited applicant pool. You also need to be aware of the requirements of the Policy – Proposals for Organisational Restructure and your agency must contact the OPSC if the proposed restructure is consistent with any of the elements listed in the policy.

Gazette notification

The Gazette requires that direct appointments made under section 7.12 are to be published in the Gazette. Are they published under appealable or non-appealable (Part II) appointments?

• Direct appointments made under section 7.12 are appealable under section 5.2 of the Appeals Directive and are notified as appointments which are subject to appeal.