Guide to applicants
Thank you for your interest in employment with Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ).
As an applicant for a position you will need to be able to demonstrate that you are able to satisfy the requirements of the position. In order to do this you need to address the Selection Criteria and have regard to the Duty Statement and the Job Description.
Your written application may be the sole basis of an assessment for short listing. Your application and referees' comments may be the basis for the final assessment.
You should talk to the Contact Officer about the position to determine whether you are the right person for the position. The Contact Officer can be contacted on the number provided in the advertisement. The Contact Officer can provide you with general information about FSANZ and the composition of the Selection Advisory Committee (SAC) and their proposed assessment method.
If you have any special requirements please state them in your application and discuss them with the Contact Officer.
You may also wish to conduct other research about the organisation and/or vacancy. Documents such as the Annual Report and Corporate Plan may be helpful and are available on our website.
Your application should:
- Specifically address each of the Selection Criteria. The SAC may not give further consideration to your application if you have not demonstrated you meet the requirements of the selection criteria.
- Generally not exceed six pages .
- Include a concise curriculum vitae, resume or other employment history record.
- Be as simple as possible on plain white paper to facilitate photocopying.
- Be concise, relevant and use plain English.
- Cite examples and key achievements wherever possible.
- Include the FSANZ Personal Particulars Form .
- Include a copy of qualifications/certificates where a mandatory qualification has been specified in the selection criteria.
Your application should be sent by email to FSANZ at hrmanager@foodstandards.gov.au or posted to Food Standards Australia New Zealand, Recruitment, PO Box 7186, Canberra Business Centre, ACT, 2610.
Your application should each the email or postal address by the closing date. Applications received after the closing date may not be accepted.
Referees
Your application should include the names and contact details of at least two referees. It is not necessary to provide referees’ comments with your application.
Your principal referee would normally be a current or previous supervisor. You may also nominate peers, subordinates, and/or clients who are familiar with your work performance.
If it is not appropriate for any reason that your current supervisor is a referee, you should raise this matter initially with the contact person and then, if short-listed, discuss with the chair of the SAC.
The SAC may contact any other person who it considers is familiar with your work to assist in their assessment eg: previous supervisors, peers, subordinates and/or clients.
If referee comments are requested, you should forward to your referees: the Referee Report Form, the Guide for Referees, and the Assessment Rating Scale which are all available on our website. The referee should complete the Referee Report Sheet having regard to the rating scales . The referee should provide you with a copy of their comments before forwarding them to the Chair of the SAC.
If your referee is unable to comment on some of the selection criteria, the reference can still be of value to the SAC. However, in these circumstances applicants should ensure that the remaining criteria are covered by other referee(s).
You will be given an opportunity to respond to any adverse comments that affect the SAC’s decision.
Offer of employment
If your application is successful and you are offered employment with FSANZ, you should be aware that the offer may be subject to you satisfactorily completing a medical examination, police records check and probationary period. Note that a person who has received a voluntary redundancy from the Commonwealth is not eligible to be employed by FSANZ until 12 months after the date of the redundancy.
All employees (including New Zealand-based staff) are employed under the provisions of the Public Service Act 1999 and in accordance with FSANZ’s
2007-10 Collective Agreement .