Legal requirements
Recruitment in the NSW Public Service is governed by a legal framework that includes:
• Government Sector Employment Act 2013 (GSE Act)
The GSE Act establishes an ethical framework where recruitment and promotion of employees is on the basis of merit. It also enables the employment and assignment of senior executives across the NSW Public Service (Division 4 of Part 4) and non-executives (Division 5 of Part 4) in the Public Service.
• Government Sector Employment Regulation 2014 (GSE Regulation)
The GSE Regulation supports the GSE Act and sets out the legal requirements about Public Service employment including allowances for temporary assignments and secondments.
• Government Sector Employment (General) Rules 2014 (GSE Rules)
The GSE Rules set out the legal requirements for recruitment, particularly Part 3 on the merit principles that apply to employment decisions in the Public Service.
GSE Rule amendments – Assessment processes and talent pools
Amendments to the Government Sector Employment (General) Rules 2014 (the GSE Rules) came into effect on 2 September 2019.
Details of the amendments are set out in the Government Sector Employment (General) Rules (Amendment No 10—Miscellaneous) 2019. The main intention of the amendments is to:
• Simplify assessment processes by making clear that the minimum requirement is for an assessment of focus capabilities, knowledge and experience, rather than an assessment of all the capabilities in the role description along with knowledge and experience
• Improve talent pools by extending their maximum duration from 12 to 18 months and allowing referee checks to be done when considering a person for employment
• Remove obsolete transitional provisions in rules 20 and 22D.
This fact sheet provides more details on the changes to assessment processes:
• Fact sheet: Merit-based employment – Simplified assessment processes.
This fact sheet provides more details on the changes to talent pools:
Recruitment and selection guide
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Navigating Recruitment
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Filling a role
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Planning a recruitment and selection approach
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Assessment centre fact sheet
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Setting the assessment standards and rating approach
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Designing the assessment process
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Descriptive rating scales
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Examples of assessment components for different roles
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Examples of a multi stage assessment
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Designing the application form
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Choosing assessors
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Selecting fit for purpose assessments
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Predictive validity of assessment methods
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Interviews
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Work sample exercises
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Psychometric assessments
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Designing work sample exercises
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Deciding the recruitment and selection approach
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Writing behavioural interview questions
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Example 1
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Matrix for capability based assessments
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Example 2
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Capabilities commonly assessed using work samples exercises
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NSW Government talent acquisition scheme
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Matrix for capabilities commonly assessed using work sample exercises
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Attracting candidates
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Assess candidates
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Conduct pre screening
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Administering and scoring assessments
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Consolidating results and making selection decisions
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Reviewing the resume and application
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Developing a shortlist
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Example of a candidate’s consolidated results (all capabilities assessed)
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Example of a candidate’s consolidated results (focus capabilities assessed)
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Administering and scoring psychometric assessments
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Practical guide to interviewing
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Administering and scoring work sample exercises
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Deciding and appointing
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Onboarding a new employee
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Glossary
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About recruitment legal requirements