• Section 1 - Summary
• Section 2 - TEQSA/ASQA/ESOS Alignment
• Section 3 - Scope
• Section 4 - Definitions
• Section 5 - Policy/Regulation
• Section 6 - Procedures
• Part A - Summary of Roles and Responsibilities
• Part B - Diversity and Equal Opportunity
• Part C - Preparing to recruit
• Workforce Planning and Assessing Needs
• Determine the recruitment strategy
• Part D - Recruitment Requisition 
• Part E - Selection procedures
• Selection Panel Composition
• Selection Activities
• Interviews
• Part F - Pre-employment Checks
• Part G - Informing candidates of outcomes 
• Part H - Making an offer
• Part I - Record keeping
• Part J - Complaints 

Section 1 - Summary

(1) This Procedure provides direction regarding Victoria University's (VU) practices in recruiting, selecting and appointing staff.

Section 2 - TEQSA/ASQA/ESOS Alignment

(2) HESF: Standard 2.2 Diversity and Equity; 3.2 Staffing

(3) Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015 (Cth): Standard 1, Standard 7.7.1 (b) 

(4) ESOS Act: Standard 5 Younger Overseas Students

Section 3 - Scope

(5) This Procedure applies to all continuing, fixed-term, casual and sessional employee appointments at the University.

(6) This Procedure does not apply to: 

1. honorary, adjunct or visiting teaching appointments (unless otherwise engaged as employees); and/or
2. the engagement of independent contractors.

Section 4 - Definitions

(7) Aboriginal

(8) Applicant - A person who has applied for a position.

(9) Appointment - Means the process by which a person is offered and accepts a position.

(10) Casual/Sessional Employee - A person engaged by the hour and paid on an hourly basis.

(11) Conflict of Interest - Occurs when a person in a recruitment and selection decision making role has an interest in the outcome (separate from their professional role), and which may appear to an independent observer to be sufficient to influence the objective exercise of their professional obligations or official duties.

(12) Continuing Appointment – Refers to an appointment with no fixed end date. 

(13) Continuing Contingent Funding – Is limited term funding provided by external sources (but not funding that is part of an operating grant from the government or funding comprised of payments of fees made by or on behalf of students).

(14) Delegated Officer - An incumbent officer who holds a delegated authority within the VU People Approval Levels.

(15) Direct Appointment - A position filled without a competitive, merit based process.

(16) Equitable – Process that is open to all without systemic, hidden or apparent bias on the grounds of any attribute prohibited by State and Commonwealth Anti-Discrimination Legislation. 

(17) Fixed-Term Employment - Employment with a specified start and end date. At the end of the fixed-term period, employment with the University ceases.

(18) Formal Recruitment and Selection Process – Merit-based process which includes internal and/or external advertising, and selection activities.

(19) Hiring Manager - The Manager/ Supervisor leading the recruitment and selection process.

(20) Recruiting Area – The area within the University's organisational structure undertaking recruitment to a position.

(21) Recruitment - The process of sourcing and obtaining applicants, in sufficient volume and quality, so that the University can select the most appropriate talent to fulfil its workforce requirements.

(22) Redeployment – The process of transferring/relocating a staff member whose role has been declared redundant to alternative employment within the University.

(23) Screening – The process of initially sorting resumes to filter or screen out applications not containing evidence of skills and experience critical for employment and competent performance.                       

(24) Selection - The process of gathering information and making a decision about an applicants' suitability for appointment to a position. 

(25) Selection Activity – An activity designed to assess applicants against a set of essential selection criteria.

(26) Selection Panel - A panel established by the University for the purpose of assessing applicants' suitability for a vacant position.

(27) Student

(28) Talent - Refers to the capabilities, qualifications and attributes possessed by new or current staff members which are required to ensure the organisation has the capacity to achieve its objectives.

(29) Targeted search – A method that may be used to identify talent (applicants) from equity target groups who belong to a 'category' or 'group' that is under-represented in the work area.

Section 5 - Policy/Regulation

(30) Recruitment and Selection Policy

Section 6 - Procedures

Part A - Summary of Roles and Responsibilities

Part B - Diversity and Equal Opportunity

(31) When preparing to recruit, or as part of broader workforce planning initiatives, Hiring Managers should follow inclusive recruitment practices and consider the University’s aspirations to:

1. increase the number of women in senior positions (Academic D & E and senior professional staff)
2. represent the LGBTIQA+ and gender diverse community
3. increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce representation 
4. build and maintain a culturally diverse workforce representative of the community we serve
5. increase representation of people with accessibility needs, to reflect all abilities within society

(32) Where applicable, a targeted search may be instituted to identify applicants in an under-represented group in the work area but who may be able to meet the selection criteria.

(33) VU is committed to making reasonable adjustments to provide a positive, barrier-free recruitment process for candidates with particular support or access requirements.  Candidates are encouraged to advise VU at the time of application of any adjustments required to enable them to fully participate. The Hiring Manager, with the assistance of People and Culture, will make arrangements to assist the candidate through the recruitment process.

Part C - Preparing to recruit

Workforce Planning and Assessing Needs

(34) Before commencing recruitment, hiring managers are encouraged to assess the proposed position against current business/strategic plans and arrange a workforce planning discussion with their People and Culture Business Partner.

(35) The Employment type needs to be considered and determined. Employment types are outlined in the Victoria University Enterprise Agreement 2019 and the Victoria University (VU Vocational Teacher) Enterprise Agreement 2019 (or any applicable replacement Enterprise Agreements), and include:

1. Continuing appointments
2. Fixed-term appointments 
   1. Fixed-term appointments fall into two categories: appointments of 12 months or longer in duration, which are treated as standard appointments for the purposes of recruitment, and appointments of less than 12 months duration, which sometimes use a direct appointment strategy.
   2. If a direct appointment strategy is used:
      1. It must be deemed that the appointed employee meets the selection criteria to be able to competently perform the position. As a minimum, a Duty Statement should be completed in circumstances where a PD is yet to be developed.
      2. Supporting evidence and a rationale must be provided as to why a formal recruitment and selection (merit based) process has not been undertaken.
3. Casual and sessional appointments: used for filling staff positions where the work is either limited to one study period (for teaching sessional staff) or unpredictable on a week to week basis (for casual staff).
   1. Hiring Managers are strongly encouraged to seek advice from their People and Culture Business Partner to clarify the applicability of these requirements.

(36) The Position Description must be reviewed (if an existing position) or created (if a new position). A Duty Statement may be developed for Casual, Sessional or short-term fixed appointments of less than 12 months duration. People and Culture can provide a duty statement template.

(37) People and Culture Business Partners can advise on the development or updating of Position Descriptions or Duty Statements. 

Determine the recruitment strategy

(38) A recruitment strategy should be developed in conjunction with the People and Culture Business Partner, which may include either:

1. Merit based recruitment i.e. advertising of the vacancy; 
2. Use of external providers/recruitment agencies; 
3. Direct appointment; or, 
4. Expression of Interest (EOI) process. 

(39) Regardless of which recruitment strategy is followed, the principles of merit and equity are applicable, and any additional employment checks required by the new position must be performed.

Merit Based Recruitment

(40) It is expected that all positions will be internally advertised, as a minimum, through the People and Culture Job Vacancies page for application by eligible employees. This should occur either prior to, or in parallel to any External advertising Positions that are aimed at attracting both local and international candidates who may require the University to sponsor them to obtain a work visa must be advertised for a minimum period in accordance with Department of Home Affairs guidelines. People & Culture Advisors can provide further information in relation to these requirements. 

(41) Additional requirements apply where opportunity for direct transfer or redeployment is identified (where the vacancy exists as a result of organisational change), as follows: 

1. Positions identified as part of Organisational Change:
   1. Such positions will be limited in the first instance as a direct transfer or redeployment opportunity to specified staff members whose previous positions have been impacted due to organisational change.

(42) Advertisements should state any requirement for essential qualifications, or pre-employment checks (e.g. Working with Children Check, Police Check or other essential licence/registration or background check).

Use of external providers / recruitment agencies

(43) The use of External Providers/Recruitment Agencies should be minimal across the University, and only considered for the recruitment of highly specialised roles and/or senior roles; and only after other avenues of recruitment have been eliminated. 

(44) Hiring Managers must not directly engage with any External provider/Recruitment Agency (or request candidate applications) prior to speaking to their P&C Advisor and then seeking the necessary approvals.

(45) Any quotes from External Recruitment Agencies and contract reviews must be managed through the Director, Capability, Culture and Talent.

(46) Approval to use an External Recruitment Agency must be sought in writing from the Chief Human Resources Officer. A ‘justification’ must be included and all anticipated agency costs should be included as a reference on total recruitment costs.

Direct appointments 

(47) Direct appointments may only be made in the following circumstances:

1. For casual and sessional staff positions, to facilitate timely appointments;
2. For internal and external fixed-term appointments of less than 12 months' duration which meet the following conditions:
   1. The position requires highly specialised skills, background or experience that are considered not to be available by any other staff member internally within the University,
   2. Advertising externally would not likely identify another qualified/suitable candidate(s),
   3. The Hiring Manager must advise the appropriate People & Culture Advisor that a direct appointment is going to be made and to whom; and advise of any actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest the Hiring Manager may have with the candidate prior to any offers being made. Where there is a conflict of interest, a merit based selection must be considered, 
   4. Requisitions for Direct appointments must be entered into Taleo and approval sought in accordance with the list of approvers in Taleo.
3. For positions directly recruited by the Vice Chancellor or delegated officer:
   1. The Vice-Chancellor or their delegated officer may offer employment to any person on the basis of their expertise, credentials and/or experience where the Vice-Chancellor or their delegated officer is satisfied that the appointment will assist the University in achieving its overall strategic objectives.
   2. Normally the invited person would exceed the selection criteria for the position and other more suitable applicants would be unlikely to be identified if a competitive recruitment process were undertaken.
4. For positions that are funded via Continuing Contingent Funding (i.e. where the position is funded by, and tied to, a specific external funding grant).

(48) People and Culture Advisors can advise whether a particular position meets the criteria for a direct appointment.

(49) Prior to making a direct appointment, the candidate should still be interviewed and all checks completed by the Hiring Manager to ensure they do meet the requirements of the role and any development opportunities identified.  

EOI process 

(50) Some positions may be filled by a limited Expression of Interest (EOI) process. This process is normally used where a vacancy is one that will be filled from a restricted pool (e.g. fixed term academic leadership roles, which are sourced from the existing pool of academics in the relevant College). The EOI process can also be used to backfill short-term vacancies where the incumbent is on secondment or extended leave, for example.

(51) People and Culture Advisors can provide advice on the requirements of running an EOI process, which is less formal than the process for advertising across the University or externally.

Part D - Recruitment Requisition 

(52)  Prior to proceeding with any recruitment or selection activity, approval must be sought in accordance with the list of approvers in Taleo. 

(53) To establish a new position or to recruit to a vacant position (including direct appointments), a new requisition request must be completed in Taleo. 

Part E - Selection procedures

Selection Panel Composition

(54) A Selection Panel must include a minimum of three members and a maximum of five.

(55) At least one Panel Member must be external to the immediate organisational unit. External Panel Members would usually be sourced from an alternate College/ Department/ Branch/ Unit. At a minimum, the external Panel Member must not fall within the same direct management reporting line and must be considered by the Chair of the Selection Panel as being sufficiently removed to provide independent evaluation and perspective to the deliberations of the Panel.

(56) Consideration should also be given to diversity when constituting a selection panel, including gender and cultural diversity. A gender balanced panel is achieved where persons of one gender do not constitute more than two thirds of the membership of the panel.

(57) Chairs of Selection Panels are usually the Hiring Manager for the position being recruited, or their nominee (at an equivalent level).

(58) A majority of Panel Members should be at or above the same classification level as the position being recruited.

Role and Responsibilities of the Selection Panel

(59) The Selection Panel must ensure that:

1. any conflicts of interest are declared in accordance with the Appropriate Workplace Behaviour Policy and the Recruitment and Selection Policy;
2. all deliberations and any documentation (e.g. resumes, interview notes, psychometric test results) are to be kept confidential (this also applies to support staff who may have access to such information in any assistance they provide to the panel);
3. a range of selection activities take place in order to make an accurate assessment of applicant/s against the selection criteria defined in the Position Description (e.g. application, short listing, interviews, reference checks, work activities);
4. Interview data for each candidate should be evaluated e.g. scored by each panel member
5. discussion and evaluation of each candidates interview data and scores should be discussed by all panel members and where possible a consensus score for each candidate overall
6. selection is based on merit;
7. qualifications are confirmed during interview or prior to commencement of employment;
8. applicants are advised of a timeframe for decision making, 
9. reference checking is conducted for all positions and any pre-employment checks (prior to making an offer of employment) must be carried out (see table below);
10. sufficient information to support the decision/s taken by the Selection Panel is included on the Selection Report in Taleo. 

(60) The Chair of the Selection Panel has the authority to alter the composition of the selection panel before the selection process begins:

1. where a conflict of interest is declared at or prior to the first meeting of the panel, or
2. where specialist knowledge or expertise is required, or
3. where involving a particular person on the panel will add value to the selection process.

(61) Ideally, the Selection Panel should consist of the same members for the entire process, however, members may be substituted and/or co-opted at the discretion of the Chair where this becomes necessary provided that any new members review the process to date and there is agreement about the applicants to proceed to the next stage. The Chair should not be substituted unless there are exceptional circumstances.

(62) Where a panel decision is not made by consensus, a majority vote will determine the outcome. Where a panel is tied, the Chair will cast the deciding vote based on all the evaluation data. 

(63) Interviewed candidates who are not successful in moving forward will receive an email advising them of the outcome and listing the contact details of the Chair should they choose to seek feedback on their performance. It is strongly recommended that feedback is provided when it is sought for a number of reasons including the positive impact on the University’s reputation as an employer. 

Panels for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants and shortlists

(64) Where an application is received from an Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander candidate, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment & Community Coordinator must be advised. The ATECC Coordinator will recommend whether they or a representative should be included on the Panel. 

(65) Where a position has been identified as an Aboriginal position and advertised as such, at least one member of the panel must be Aboriginal but ideally 50% of the Selection Panel should be Aboriginal.

Conflicts of Interest and the selection process

(66) Selection Panel members must declare any perceived, potential or actual conflicts of interest to the Chair of the Panel immediately as they are known. The Chair of the Selection Panel may seek a replacement Panel member at their discretion following consideration of the conflict of interest and all relevant risks and issues.

(67) In the case of the Chair of the Selection Panel declaring a perceived, potential or actual conflict of interest, this should be declared to their Delegated Officer (as appropriate). The Chair should step down from the Selection Panel. The Director, Capability, Culture and Talent in People and Culture will be responsible for appointing a new Chair for the Selection Panel.

(68) A Delegated Officer must not exercise delegated authority in relation to a proposed appointment of a family member or any other person with whom they have a close personal relationship to any position in the University, including a casual or sessional position, but must refer the appointment to another authorised officer.

Selection Activities

(69) It is recommended that the Selection Panel use a variety of candidate assessment tools to gain a full picture of applicants' suitability for the role. People and Culture Business Partners, together with the People & Culture Advisors can advise on appropriate selection activities.

(70) Activities may include, but not limited to:

1. Responses to technical, behavioural or qualifying questions at the screening stage prior to any the interview
2. Pre-Screening interviews – via Phone or Video (P&C can provide advice on how to initiate this)
3. Formal Interview
4. Second interview (with new panel or senior leader)
5. Provision of work samples
6. Case studies either in advance or shortly before the interview
7. Presentation
8. Work activity / simulation
9. Psychometric testing to assess competency
10. Reference checks
11. Responses to pertinent questions provided before the interview

Candidate applications

(71) While the panel’s role is to assess candidates against the key selection criteria, it is not necessary to ask candidates to specifically respond to them in their applications.

(72) In some cases, a cover letter summarising the candidate's background and interest in the advertised role, together with a current curriculum vitae, is sufficient for written applications.

(73) All applications should be submitted via VU's online Employment Vacancies page.

Shortlisting

(74) Applications for positions will be assessed by the Selection Panel to determine a shortlist of candidates to consider for a position.

(75) For positions at or above Academic Level C and HEP 9, shortlists for interview are expected to include at least 50% female candidates in accordance with the University’s Gender Equity Strategy. 

(76) A simple scoring method may be used, against an agreed rubric for the position, where applicants are assessed as A, B or C:

1. A = Meets all of the position requirements
2. B = Might meet the position requirements
3. C = No evidence of meeting position requirements

(77) Candidates assessed as As may be interviewed; Bs maybe followed up with a phone call to explore background and experience further, and/or they may be held as back-ups after initial A candidates have been interviewed; and Cs are not considered further.

(78) Once the shortlist is finalised, an HR102 Interview Details Form is completed and emailed to the People & Culture Advisor who will contact the shortlisted candidates to arrange the interviews. Once all candidates have confirmed their attendance, the panel will be sent the confirmed interview schedule. Hiring managers can opt to organise the interviews themselves but they need to advise the People & Culture Advisor of the list of shortlisted candidates, in order to ensure timely communication with applicants as required.

(79) The HR102 Interview Details Form should include:

1. Any pre-interview exercises, requirements or advice to be provided to interviewees
2. Any activities to be conducted during the selection process 

Interviews

Behavioural interviews

(80) VU recommends the use of behavioural interview questions in recruitment. There are sample questions on the Recruitment SharePoint site, an explanation of the purpose and function of behavioural questions, and key questions that must be included if the position is one that requires a Working with Children Check (WWCC).

Psychometric testing

(81) Psychometric testing may be used at the discretion of the Hiring Manager. It can be used for the top one to two candidates to assist with final decision-making, as it helps to assess behaviours, capabilities and skills and can assist with motivational fit.

(82) Psychometric testing can be organised by contacting your People and Culture Advisor. Costs incurred for psychometric testing are borne by the recruiting area.

(83) The outcomes of psychometric testing must be kept strictly confidential at all times, and may only be used for the particular recruitment process for which they are conducted (i.e. may not be referred to in subsequent applications for different positions by the candidate).

Part F - Pre-employment Checks

(84) No offer of employment may be made without satisfactory completion of all required pre-employment screening checks.

(85) The table below details the pre-employment screening checks routinely performed by VU. Other pre-employment checks may also be performed if mandatory for the role.

(86) VU's intention to perform pre-employment screening checks should be made clear to applicants at advertisement and interview stages, particularly where specific licensing or registration requirements exist for the position. The specific pre-employment checks to be performed by VU in respect of the position must be notified to the successful candidate in the letter of offer.

Reference checking

(87) Reference check discussions must be documented in Taleo.

(88) Prior to conducting any reference checks, the Selection Panel Chair must ensure they have explicit approval from the candidate to contact referees, even where referees have been listed in a candidate's application documentation. 

(89) The Selection Panel Chair, at their discretion, can request further or alternate referees from a candidate in order to ensure the Selection Panel are able to make a fair and reasonable assessment of the candidate against the position requirements.

(90) Referees should normally be briefed and/or supplied with a copy of the Position Description by the candidate to assist them to understand the position and respond in relation to the criteria in the areas in which they are competent to comment.

(91) A member of a Selection Panel cannot fulfil the role of referee for a candidate.

Part G - Informing candidates of outcomes 

(92) Applicants not short-listed are notified via email by People and Culture following short-listing unless other arrangements are made with the Chair of the Selection Panel.

(93) The Chair of the Selection Panel (and/or delegated nominee on the Panel) is authorised to provide feedback to unsuccessful applicants.

(94) People and Culture, when authorised by the Chair of the Panel, will send a written notification via email as to the candidate's status as unsuccessful. It is recommended that the Chair of the Selection Panel (and/or nominee on the Panel) give brief verbal feedback to unsuccessful external candidates who attend interviews in cases where it is sought. 

(95) Internal applicants should receive an offer of feedback, which, if accepted, may help inform the employee's VU Development Plan.

(96) Further guidance on how to approach the provision of feedback to candidates is available from People and Culture Advisors.

Part H - Making an offer

(97) At the conclusion of selection activities and once any relevant testing and checks are completed, the Selection Panel agrees on the preferred candidate. In order to make an offer of employment the offer details must be completed in Taleo by the Chair of the Panel. 

(98) Where there is more than one appointable applicant this should be noted in the Selection Report. This then allows for subsequent approvals and potential offers of employment to be made should a recommended applicant decline the offer or vacate the position. This option may be instituted for a period of up to 6 months from the date of approval of the original requisition in Taleo.

(99) Where no suitable applicants are found, discussions with People and Culture should occur to decide an appropriate course of action which may include re-advertisement.

(100) Once a preferred candidate has been identified, a verbal offer may be made by the Chair of the Selection Panel.

(101) The Hiring Manager is usually delegated to negotiate salary with the preferred candidate for roles within the appropriate classification (or in the case of senior roles – the employment band) and may seek advice and/or assistance from the Manager, Remuneration and Benefits.

1. There is no capacity to make or approve an offer in excess of the top of the classified level / band. 
2. Occasionally it may be necessary to offer a salary loading to secure a particularly high calibre candidate or in instances where the university's offer is substantially under the market rate for the role. Any proposal to offer a candidate a loading must be discussed with the People & Culture Advisor and approval must be re-sought via Taleo (original approvers) with a justification provided on why the additional loading must be offered.
3. For senior roles, the Manager, Remuneration and Benefits will provide a remuneration range at the start of the recruitment process, and must be consulted prior to any changes to the remuneration package being offered prior to the verbal offer being made.

(102) Under no circumstances can a new staff member perform paid work in any capacity for VU without a valid employment contract or an Independent Contractor Agreement (if applicable) in place and processed. If this occurs there could be serious consequences for the University; and the staff member may not be paid (if the contract has not been received and processed by payroll. 

(103) When the contract of employment is provided to the new staff member, information must also be provided regarding:

1. Reporting arrangements and first day instructions
2. Hours and location of work
3. Documents required to be provided (e.g. proof of citizenship or visa status, required licenses, registrations or checks, qualifications) and the date by which they must be provided

Part I - Record keeping

(104) Documentation in relation to selection activities must be managed in accordance with the University's Records Management Policy, Privacy Policy and relevant legislation.

(105) Certain Recruitment and Selection records may be subject to Freedom of Information legislation and the University may be required to support its decisions in the event of litigation or an Adverse Action claim made by a prospective, current or past employee under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

Part J - Complaints 

(106) Complaints about any Recruitment and Selection process may be made in writing to the Director, Capability, Culture and Talent in People and Culture.

(107) The Director, Capability, Culture and Talent will review any process about which a complaint is made to determine:

1. if the Recruitment and Selection Policy and Procedure were appropriately followed;
2. if the process was applied in a fair, equitable, accessible and non-discriminatory fashion; and
3. if there was any conflict of interest on behalf of Panel members which was undeclared or not managed.