Factsheet: Advertising a location for a vacancy
Overview
Undertaking a merit-based process requires providing accurate detailed information to candidates about the role in the advertisement, which assists in attracting the right candidate. Information required when advertising the role includes the location(s) of the available vacancy and the location(s) where candidates in the merit list or pool may be offered roles in the future. Providing accurate, transparent information about the location(s) of the vacancy benefits both the advertising agency and candidates as it helps candidates determine whether they should apply for the role, while also ensuring agencies are attracting the right candidates.
Merit
Section 10A(2) of the Public Service Act 1999 (PS Act) provides that for a recruitment process to be merit-based all eligible members of the community must be given a reasonable opportunity to apply to perform the relevant duties.
When advertising a role, being transparent about the location of the available vacancy(ies), and the location(s) where future vacancies may be filled from the merit list or pool, ensures that candidates looking for opportunities in those location(s), have a reasonable opportunity to apply.
For example, if a role is advertised in Melbourne and can only be filled in Melbourne (i.e. remote work is not possible), candidates interested in a role in Brisbane are unlikely to consider applying.
When filling roles using a merit list or pool, agencies must ensure that the vacancies are similar vacancies within the meaning of section 9 of the Australian Public Service Commissioner’s Directions 2022 (the Directions), and that their use of merit pools is in accordance with the broader APS principle of merit as set out in section 10A of the Public Service Act 1999.
Therefore, when using a merit list or pool, agencies (including the advertising agency and any agency the merit list or pool is shared with) must ensure they only offer roles in locations consistent with those listed when the role was advertised in the Public Service Gazette. Agencies must not fill a role in a location not listed in the advertisement as this would be inconsistent with merit as all eligible members of the community would not have had a reasonable opportunity to apply.
When considering whether a location is consistent with an advertised location for using a merit list or pool, agencies should consider whether the community has been given a reasonable opportunity to apply. For example, if a role is advertised in a suburb of Sydney, it would be reasonable to consider that applicants across Sydney have been given a reasonable opportunity to apply. Potential applicants would likely assume that the merit list or pool could be used for another role in a different suburb of Sydney and would therefore apply. However, where a role is advertised as being available only in Geelong, it would not be reasonable to assume people seeking a role in Wodonga would apply and therefore a merit list for Geelong could not be used to fill a vacancy in Wodonga.
What to consider before advertising a vacancy
Before advertising a vacancy, agencies should consider:
in what location(s) will the current vacancy(ies) be filled?
can remote or hybrid working arrangements (consistent with Good Practice Terminology in the APS Location Framework) be considered for current or future vacancies?
in what location(s) might future roles be filled using the merit list or pool?
In addition to providing transparency for applicants, specifying the locations of potential future roles provides agencies with the flexibility to limit or expand their applicant pools.
Selecting multiple locations
Advertising a role with multiple locations (or all locations) has the potential to increase the size of the candidate pool. This may be beneficial where:
the agency has office locations Australia wide
the role is generic in nature or is a bulk round (e.g. executive assistant or graduate intakes)
the role is hard to fill, and/or
the agency is able to support employees working from any location.
Limiting the locations
While advertising a role in multiple locations may be efficient in a number of circumstances, agencies may at times need to limit the locations where a role is advertised. Advertising a role in only one location in the merit pool field may limit the candidate pool. An agency may decide to take this approach where:
the role must be performed in a particular location and can’t be undertaken remotely, for example a customer facing role
the agency receives a large number of applications when advertising and expanding the candidate pool would potentially result in the agency being unable to manage the number of applications and create unrealistic expectations for locations where the agency won’t fill roles
the agency struggles to find candidates in the location, and is unlikely to receive applications in the specific location needed unless it is clear the role can only be in that location and/or
the requirements of the role differ between locations.
How to include location information in your Gazette notice
Current vacancy location
This must be specified in the location field.
Merit list or pool locations
This must be specified in the possible merit list or pool location field.
Remote/hybrid arrangements
When an agency notifies a vacancy in APSJobs, information about remote/hybrid arrangements must be included.
This must be specified in the office arrangement field.
The information contained in the remote/hybrid field does not remove an agency’s obligation to consider flexible work requests on a case by case basis in accordance with APS common condition.
Examples
Example 1
An agency advertises a role as being available in Sydney and have not included in the advertisement that remote work arrangements may be considered due to the role being in person customer facing. They have included in the advertisement that the merit list will only be available for vacancies located in Sydney. In this case the immediate vacancy and use of the merit list or pool for future vacancies is limited to Sydney.
Example 2
An agency advertises a role with the immediate vacancy being available in Sydney, the vacancy advertisement includes that remote work may be considered and the merit list or pool will be made available for future vacancies anywhere in Australia. In this scenario, the agency is able to fill the immediate vacancy with a candidate located in Sydney or a candidate working remotely and for future vacancies the merit list or pool can be used for roles anywhere in Australia.