DOCUMENT 1
FOI 22/23-0359
0279_0322_EXT – EL2 Director Evidence Synthesis & Innovation – Behavioural Interview
Guide
Candidate Name:
Level Being Assessed:
Position Location: (Please note
candidate’s preferred work locations)
Date:
Assessor Name/s:
Assessment Adjustments:
☐ Phone Interview ☐ Skype Interview ☐ MS Teams
Workplace Adjustments:
Introduction
Thank candidate for attending.
Introduce the panel members.
In this interview, we will be asking
3 questions and will be looking for you to provide us with specific examples from
your previous work and life experience. The information in your application and resume have already been
considered to get you to this point. Today we will not be asking specific questions about your resume as we are now
looking for you to bring your previous experience to life when you provide your examples.
The behavioural questions we will be asking will assess job‐related capabilities for the role. To answer these
questions, you will need to think of one specific example of a time when you demonstrated each capability as
described in the question. Even if it is something you have done many times, you will do best by giving as much
detail as possible around one specific instance.
For each example that you detail, it is helpful to consider the following STAR method:
Situation – what was the situation (i.e. background and context)?
Task – what specific task did you need to accomplish?
Action – what specifically did you say and do? What actions did you take?
Result – what was the result(s) of your actions (e.g. impact, learning, feedback)?
The panel will guide you through this method, asking prompting questions that will help you to provide detailed
examples.
Eye contact – apologise and explain that you may not engage in a lot of eye contact during the interview due to
taking notes.
We will be sure to leave some time at the end for you to ask any questions you might have, but do you have any
questions about the format of the interview before we begin?
Note to panel: Remember not to use evaluative language (i.e. great, good answer) after a candidate responds as this
may set unrealistic expectations about the outcome.
DFP Recruitment
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DFP Recruitment
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Leadership and Accountability
DFP Recruitment
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Management Diversity and Span
DFP Recruitment
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Stakeholder Management
DFP Recruitment
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Closing the Interview
Thank the candidate for their participation. Remind the candidate that the interview is confidential and you would
appreciate that they treat the process as such.
Allow them an opportunity to ask any questions. If they do not appear to have any questions, reassure them that no points
are assigned for asking questions, and that you understand they may not have any questions because they have done some
research before the interview.
If they ask how they have gone, explain that you cannot provide any feedback until you have seen all of the candidates. At
the conclusion of the recruitment process, candidates will have an opportunity to request feedback on their performance.
Overall Interview Comments (to be used for Selection Report):
DFP Recruitment
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DOCUMENT 2
FOI 22/23-0359
Approved: June 2020
Revised: Feb 2022
Owner: People & Culture Division
Contact: xxxxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx
Your Guide to Hiring New Employees
Table of Contents
Your Guide to Hiring New Employees ................................................................................ 1
How We Recruit ................................................................................................................. 1 Internal Recruitment options ........................................................................................... 2 External Recruitment Options .......................................................................................... 2 Some More Things You Need to Know ........................................................................... 3 Our Recruitment Process ................................................................................................. 4 Your Hiring Process .......................................................................................................... 5 Timeframes ........................................................................................................................ 8 Need More Information? ................................................................................................... 8
How We Recruit
Hiring a new employee into the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) is an important
step for your Branch and the following guide will take you through the steps with links and
templates to help you through the process. There are a number of ways to engage an
ongoing or non-ongoing Australian Public Service (APS) employee under the
Public Service
Act 1999 (external) (PS Act). Below we have provided more detail into each category to
ensure you comply with all relevant regulations.
Regardless of the method of recruitment, all selection exercises are based on the APS
Employment Principles which can be found in section 10A of the PS Act. These principles
outline how the APS makes decisions relating to the engagement of new employees and
promotions to ensure all candidates are treated fairly and equitably throughout the process.
This merit based recruitment process is at the heart of our NDIA culture and ensures all
candidates are assessed in the same manner to ensure no candidate can be perceived to
have received an advantage.
To ensure a new engagement or promotion is based on merit, you must ensure:
All eligible members of the community were given an opportunity to apply to perform
the relevant duties.
An assessment is made of the relative suitability of the candidates to perform the
relevant duties, using a competitive selection process.
The assessment is based on the relationship between the candidates’ work-related
qualities and the work-related qualities genuinely required to perform the relevant
duties.
The assessment focuses on the relative capacity of the candidates to achieve the
outcomes related to the relevant duties.
The assessment is the primary consideration in making the decision.
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For more information, please visit the APS Employment Principles (external).
There are two ways to recruit to the NDIA:
1. You should begin with an
Internal Recruitment option such as, a current
Order of
Merit (OoM) or an
Expression of Interest (EOI).
2. If an internal process is not suitable then move to an
External Recruitment option.
See below for details of both internal and external recruitment methods. If you require
assistance when deciding what method is the best to recruit to your role please contact the
Recruitment Team.
Internal Recruitment options
An
Expression of Interest (EOI) is useful to fill short-term vacancies of up to 12
months duration. EOI’s are available to ongoing and non-ongoing NDIA employees.
The National Recruitment Team will assist throughout the EOI selection process.
Please review the Expression of Interest Guide for more information.
An
Order of Merit enables you to select candidates who were deemed suitable in a
previous recruitment process at the same classification, same engagement type with
similar duties and similar location. Orders of Merit remain active for 18 months from
the date the position was advertised on APSjobs. The Recruitment team manages
Order of Merit lists. Please review the How the Order of Merit works Guide for more
information.
External Recruitment Options
Section 22 of the PS Act allows the NDIA to engage ongoing and non-ongoing
employees external to the APS.
The
NDIA Temporary Employment Register can be used to fill non-ongoing
vacancies of up to 18 months duration with a possible extension not exceeding 3
years. The Temporary Employment Register saves the advertising time, as this is
open on our external website all year. The APS Employment Principles apply when
recruiting using the Temporary Employment Register.
APS Transfer Section 26 engages existing APS employees from other
Commonwealth Agencies to fill vacancies by temporarily or permanently transferring
those employees into roles.
Secondments are an agreement between the NDIA and another employer for an
employee to work in the NDIA for a set period of time whilst they remain an employee
of the other employer. To initiate a secondment please complete an External Staff –
On-boarding Form.
Labour hire is managed by the Streamlined Sourcing team. The use of labour hire
can assist with covering workforce gaps and can provide a strategic short term
solution to assist teams or projects across the Agency. Please visit the Labour Hire
Workers page for further information.
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Some More Things You Need to Know
The APS
RecruitAbility Scheme encourages the employment of people with disability within
the APS and aims to improve disability awareness within our recruitment selection
processes. Here are a few practical examples as to how RecruitAbility Activities can be
added into recruitment processes:
All NDIA roles are advertised under RecruitAbility as standard.
Review all RecruitAbility candidate applications and those who meet the minimum
requirements are to be included in the next stage of recruitment assessments.
An applicant meets the minimum requirements of the vacancy if considered to meet
the minimum standards that the job requires e.g. experience and ability as well as
any eligibility requirements for the position e.g. qualifications.
Determine if any candidates including those who have opted into RecruitAbility
require reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process.
When offers are made and feedback is provided, aim to provide high quality
feedback to all candidates particularly those who applied through RecruitAbility
Please visit the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) RecruitAbility website
(external) for further information.
Under the
PS Act, the NDIA is required to publish all ongoing vacancies and those for a
specified term of 18 months or more in APSjobs (external) (
APS Employment Gazette) for
a minimum of eight days. For non-ongoing vacancies under 18 months it is recommended
they also be advertised in APSJobs to ensure a fair and equitable process.
The
NDIA Conflicts of Interest policy provides information on the effective management of
potential conflicts to ensure the NDIA is maintaining the integrity of its public officials. Please
see the NDIA Conflicts of Interest Policy & Fact Sheet for further information.
At times the NDIA may advertise a position as
Affirmative Measures to identify particular
opportunities open only to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates or people with
disability. For more information, please refer to the Identified Positions & Affirmative
Measures (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) guide and the Affirmative Measures
(Disability Employment) both found on the Recruitment Resources intranet page.
Roles advertised as an
Identified Position are used to signify strong involvement in matters
related to or directly involved with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Identified
Positions include two additional selection criteria to determine ability to work effectively and
sensitively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. For more information, please refer to
the Identified Positions & Affirmative Measures (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) guide
found on the Recruitment Resources intranet page.
The NDIA has worked with the Australian Network on Disability (AND) (external) to become
an accredited ‘disability confident recruiter’. We must make all possible reasonable
adjustments to the recruitment process for candidates with disability and ensure we provide
an excellent candidate experience for everyone. Please see the Disability Confident
Recruiter Guidelines intranet page for more information.
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Selecting your interview panel
When forming your selection panel, here are a few things to consider:
A selection panel should consist of two or three people. Where possible, the
selection panel should reflect diverse backgrounds and experience, have a gender
balance, represent equity and diversity and
must include an independent panel
member.
An Independent panel member is someone outside the roles direct reporting line (i.e.
shares a different Branch Manager in National Office or different EL2 Director in
States).
Panel members have completed the NDIA Recruitment Panel Training and that at
least one panel member has completed the AND Disability Confident Recruiter and
Equal Opportunity training.
The Panel Chair is to be at least one classification higher than the role being
recruited, all other panel members should be at level or at least one classification
higher.
Selecting the best talent
Here are some things to consider when selecting the best talent:
It is important to ensure we provide a high level of candidate care through our
recruitment process. This means establishing clear timelines at the beginning of your
recruitment process and ensure candidates are provided enough notice to attend
interviews (minimum
five business days), respond to requests and complete any
testing that may be required of them.
Please review the Candidate care – Hiring managers Guide to ensure you
understand your role in providing a brilliant candidate experience.
You should aim to finalise your recruitment process in 12 weeks; this is from the time
of request to commencement date.
Interview Requests need to be sent to our Recruitment Partner prior to midday.
Interview times must be for
five days in advance.
Interview Requests with a high volume of candidates will require additional notice.
For requests of ten or more candidates, a minimum of
six business days will be
required. Requests to schedule more than ten candidates should be discussed
directly with your Recruitment Officer.
Please also ensure that all of the necessary information is complete when you are
requesting interviews. If details are missing such as email addresses or contact
details, this can delay the process.
Have you identified any RecruitAbility candidates to progress through this selection
process?
You should aim to interview
four candidates per vacancy advertised.
Face-to-face interviews can be a nerve-wracking experience for some candidates so
it is important we ensure the person is comfortable. The optimal time for a face-to-
face panel interview is 40 minutes and should not exceed one hour.
Behaviorally based interview questions are aligned to the Australian Public Service
Work Level Standards.
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On completion of the final interview, a decision is made and agreed-to by all panel
members for the preferred candidate/s as well as Order of Merit and unsuccessful
candidates.
Referee checks are conducted for
suitable candidates only. Referee checks are
used to confirm the assessment of the candidate throughout the process. Referee
checks are conducted online via the Referoo system.
Values alignment, cognitive skills testing, emotional intelligence testing and work
sample assessments are other useful tools when assessing candidates. Please
speak to the Recruitment team if you require any additional testing to be
administered.
Once the selection of the candidate(s) has been confirmed, a selection report is
required to be documented for sign-off from the delegate. It is the responsibility of the
panel chair to organise the selection report. Signed selection reports
must be sent to
xxxxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx for compliance and record keeping.
Making the offer and on-boarding
Here is how the offer and on-boarding process flows:
The panel chair must notify all unsuccessful internal NDIA candidates to their
business area by the candidates preferred method of contact. This includes Order of
Merit candidates.
The Recruitment team make the formal offer and email the Letter of Offer and Pre-
Employment Check pack to the successful candidate.
The Recruitment team will notify all unsuccessful candidates only once the preferred
candidate has accepted their initial offer and
internal from same business area
(shares same Branch Manager) candidates have been advised of the outcome via
their preferred method of contact. Hiring Managers are no longer required to contact
all unsuccessful internal candidates, only those from
their business area.
The new starter’s Manager is responsible for making contact prior to their first day.
The new starter will also require an
assigned point of contact during their first few
weeks.
Be sure to talk through the following points with the new starter when you make
contact to ensure a smooth transition: arrival time on their first day, details of hours
required throughout training, when and where they should go on their first day, a
point of contact to call when they arrive, parking and transport details, remind them to
bring their tax file number and bank account details and discuss any reasonable
adjustments required.
For more information around your responsibilities, to ensure your new starter is set
up for success on their first day, please access the On-Boarding New Starters
information on our intranet.
Recruitment training is available; each component of the recruitment process is as
important as the next so all NDIA staff are required to ensure they have the right delegation
and training prior to commencing any recruitment. All training can be organised through the
Recruitment Team by e-mailing xxxxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx.xx.
Please visit the Jobs & Recruitment intranet page for a list of your Recruitment Team
Members
.
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Timeframes
Outlined below is the expected time processes are to be completed:
Workforce Planning receive the request to recruit and review/approve within
2
business days.
Publish job on NDIA Website and APSjobs within
3 business days of the completion
of the request to recruit approval.
Roles advertised to the general public for a minimum
14 days or internally for
7
days.
Panel finalise shortlisting in eRecruit system within
5 business days of the job
closing.
Provide candidates with a minimum of
5 business days’ notice to attend an
interview.
Panel chair enters interview scores into eRecruit system and uploads interview
guides within
2 business days of the completion of interviews.
Conduct referee checks within
2 business days of the request.
Provide feedback to manager on Selection Report within
2 business days.
Process Making Offer (including formal offer) within
2 business days of the request.
On-boarding of external candidates
4 weeks subject to security clearance.
Need More Information?
NDIA Recruitment Frequently Asked Questions intranet page.
NDIA Jobs & Recruitment intranet page.
NDIA On-Boarding New Starters intranet page.
Legislation associated with our Recruitment Process:
Age Discrimination Act 2004 (external)
Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (external)
Crimes Act 1914 (external)
Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (external)
Equal Employment Opportunity (Commonwealth Authorities) Act 1987 (external)
Fair Work Act 2009 (external)
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (external)
Privacy Act 1988 (external)
Public Service Act 1999 (external)
Public Service Regulations 1999 (external)
Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (external)
Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (external)
Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (external)
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