Recruiting Staff

Recruiting the right people is key to establishing a well-functioning office. It is important to have a sound understanding of the skills, capabilities, qualifications, and experience required for each position. A position description should be available for potential employees to review when advertising a role.

A Recruitment and Selection Guide (the Guide) is now available to provide parliamentarians and their authorised officers with a recommended approach on how to undertake a MOP(S) Act recruitment process using best practice principles. 

The Guide provides valuable insights into each stage of the process to enable effective planning and preparation. It thoroughly explores the recommended recruitment framework and breaks it down into clear, actionable stages. Plan, Advertise, Assess, Engage, Onboard.

1. Plan

Planning involves scoping the recruitment needs by understanding and reviewing the position the office is seeking to fill. This important first step allows for a proactive approach to create a structured, efficient, and strategic hiring process that benefits the office and the candidates. By clearly defining the role and requirements, the employing parliamentarian or authorised officer ensure the recruitment efforts align with the office goals, leading to improved hiring outcomes and highly effective teams.

Further information regarding the planning process can be found in the Guide.

2. Advertise 

Job description details 

To advertise a position, the employing parliamentarian or authorised officer should develop a job description which sets out the duties and responsibilities required for the role. 
It is recommended that the job description includes:  

• duties and responsibilities
• mandatory and/or desirable qualifications, skills and experience
• probation, Security Clearance requirements and Police History Checks
• salary, employment type and whether the position is full-time or part-time
• any additional allowances which may apply to the role
• work location and travel requirements
• performance and behaviour expectations
• contact officer name and contact details

A job description library including duties and responsibilities is available to assist in designing a job description is available in the Guide..

How to advertise

Ongoing roles

The PWSS HR Advice team can arrange placement of online ads for ongoing vacant positions and can make payment directly to the supplier on behalf of parliamentarians without debit to your office budget. The office can nominate a maximum of three ads for each vacant electorate officer position and up to four ads for each vacant personal employee position.

Forward the job description including any nominated media platforms for review and placement to hr@pwss.gov.au.

The ongoing job description template is available in the here.

Casual or non-ongoing positions

Advertising on online media platforms for casual or non-ongoing positions should be organised and managed by the office.

Offices may place up to three ads for each vacant electorate officer position and up to four ads for each vacant personal employee position and claimed as an office expense. It must meet the requirements specified in the Parliamentary Business Resources Regulations. 

The non-ongoing/casual job description template should be reviewed by the PWSS HR Advice team prior to advertising to ensure advertisements contain correct and consistent information.

To claim an office expense the request must be submitted by the office through PEMS against the Printing & Communications work expense. The work expense is within the Office Services Expense Category and Communications Expense Type.

Vacant positions can be advertised through online recruitment advertisements, print media advertisements, internal networks or, at personal cost, through private employment agencies.

The non-ongoing/casual job description template is available here.

Digital media platforms

Frequently used digital media platforms include: SEEK, Indeed, CareerOne, CareerHub and LinkedIn.

3. Assess 

For ongoing vacancies published by the PWSS HR Advice: once the advertisement closes, the PWSS HR Advice will send the submitted applications to the nominated contact officer.

For ongoing vacancies managed by the office: the contact officer can obtain the packaged applications directly from the provider upon request. 

For non-ongoing and casual positions, the contact officer can obtain the packaged applications directly from the provider upon request. 

Applications for a position should be assessed on their merit against the skills and qualifications outlined in the position description. For best practice, it is recommended that further assessment is considered as part of the recruitment process to determine each candidate’s suitability against the position and fit within the team.

An assessment template is available here.

This can be achieved through interviews and work sample testing which provide an opportunity to engage with candidates, evaluate whether they possess the necessary skills and capabilities to perform the role, and determine their suitability for the office’s culture and values.

An interview question library is available in the guide.

Incorporating reference checks as a critical step in the recruitment process is strongly recommended, even if the candidate is currently a MOP(S) Act employee. References may offer independent insights into a candidate's suitability for the role by verifying their capabilities, skills and behaviours. References also allow for clarification of points discussed during assessments and may validate claims made by the candidate in their curriculum vitae, application, or interview.

A reference checking template is available here.

Additional resources on how to shortlist, further assessment methods and selecting a preferred candidate is available in the Guide.

The following information may also be useful in informing recruitment decisions:

• Whether they possess the necessary working rights in Australia
• Whether there may be potential conflicts of interest
• Follow up on any concerns or allegations raised in referee reports
• Whether the candidate demonstrates attributes that suggest they’re a good fit for the team   

The following information should not be requested:

• Information about protected attributes (e.g. age, gender, racial background, political opinion, etc.)
• Factors that may not be relevant for the role (e.g. physical capabilities, financial situation, etc.)

4. Engage

Make a verbal offer to the preferred candidate, if the verbal offer is declined, select the next most suitable candidate. Once a verbal offer is accepted, advise the candidate that a formal letter of offer will be issued. It is the responsibility of the parliamentarian or authorised officer to develop the formal letter of offer and issue to the candidate. 

Letter of Offer

Before issuing a letter of offer, the employing parliamentarian or authorised officer should determine any required pre-employment checks, appropriate salary and applicable allowances, and review the duties of the role. 

A letter of offer is a document sent to a successful candidate to formally confirm an offer of employment. This document outlines the terms and conditions of employment and requests additional information. This includes: 

• an employment contract
• required pre-employment documentation, such as:  
  • Tax File Number Declaration  
  • Proof of Identity  
  • National Policy History Check   
  • Employee Personal Particulars   
  • Superannuation Options   
  • declaration of any Conflict of Interests
• employment forms guide  
• the job description (included as an attachment or include as part of the letter of offer). 

The successful candidate is advised to review the offer of employment and associated terms and conditions before considering acceptance.  

A letter of offer can be issued to the employee using the templates provided:
Ministerial staff letter of offer
Non-Ministerial staff – letter of offer 

For further information on offers of employment, please refer to the Guide.

5. Onboard 

Once the candidate has accepted their position and submitted the digital employment contract, a copy is sent to the employee for their records, and another is emailed to the parliamentarian for review and approval.

The employing parliamentarian or authorised officer should review the contract and forward this to the MaPS at MOPSpayconditions@finance.gov.au clearly specifying their approval for the contract to be processed.  

Salary payments for employees cannot be processed until Ministerial and Parliamentary Services (MaPS) receives the completed and signed employment agreement, accompanying documentation and approval.

Employing family members

Parliamentarians cannot employ immediate family under the MOP(S) Act, as per Part 2, section 6 of the Members of Parliament (Staff) (Employment Arrangements) Determination 2025. 
This includes:

• spouses
• de facto partners
• children
• parents
• siblings
• children of their spouse or de facto partner
• their child’s spouse or de facto partner
• their sibling’s spouse or de facto partner.

For the purposes of this section a de facto partner includes a partner in a civil union, civil partnership or registered relationship made in accordance with a state or territory law.
Parliamentarians are permitted to employ the family members of other parliamentarians.

Private employment agencies

Parliamentarians who wish to use the services of an employment agency to fill a vacant position must meet the cost of these services personally, as they are not covered by the Commonwealth.

National police checks

It is expected that all new employees undertake a National Police History Check (NPC), unless otherwise determined by their employing parliamentarian. For employees who are required to undertake a NPC, their employment is subject to passing this Police Check. For further information, refer to the National Police Checks.

Travel for interviews

Responsibilities

Parliamentarians and Authorised Officers 

Employing Parliamentarians and authorised officers should consider alternatives to conducting in‑person interviews such as phone or video technology such as Skype or TEAMS. Where an in-person interview is required, employing Parliamentarians and authorised officers are required to confirm interview details (date, time, location) with the prospective candidate for the purposes of making travel arrangements.

Candidates

Prospective candidates required to attend in-person interviews for a personal employee position must:

• Make all travel arrangements in accordance with interview details provided
• Provide receipts when seeking reimbursement of travel costs

Positions eligible for reimbursement

The Commonwealth will meet the cost of economy class travel for any candidate to attend an interview for a vacant position as a personal employee of:

• a Minister
• an Assistant Minister
• the Leader or Deputy Leader of the Opposition
• the Leader or Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
• the Leader of a Minority Party.

The reimbursement of travel costs is not available to candidates who are already employed under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 (MOP(S) Act).

Costs covered

The Commonwealth will reimburse the following costs of travel between an applicant’s home (or another location as agreed in writing with Ministerial and Parliamentary Services (MaPS) prior to the travel) and the interview location:

• Economy-class flights for the most direct route. The applicant must select the lowest practical fare that suits the business needs of the applicant.
• Transfer costs between terminals
• Ground transport including taxi/rideshare, ferry, bus and rail services; and
• Rental car and rental car fuel costs where there are no reasonable alternative options.

Where an applicant travels using frequent flyer points, MaPS will not reimburse the applicant.

Accommodation and meal allowances will not be paid for or be reimbursed.

Administration

Queries about travel should be directed to the MaPS Helpdesk. Complete the Reimbursement of travel costs to attend interview for personal staff position and submit it to MaPS to apply for reimbursement.