1. Application

2. Purpose

3. Who Can Apply ?

4. Determining Position Types

4.1. Identified Positions

4.2. Tagged Positions

5. Recruitment Process for Aboriginal Identified Positions

5.1. Creation of Position Description

5.2. Temporary Employment

5.2.1. The Temporary Employment Register

5.2.2. Filling a Position Using the Register

5.3. Advertising the Vacancy

5.3.1. Identified Position Advertising Proforma

5.3.2. Tagged Position Advertising Proforma

5.4. Selection Panel

5.5. Checking eligibility

5.6. Request to Applicants for Information

5.7. Methods of Establishing A Claim of Aboriginality

5.7.1. Aboriginal Ancestry

5.7.2. Communal Recognition

5.7.3. Evidence of Eligibility

5.8. Result of the Selection Process

5.9. Grievance Procedure

6. Information

6.1. Office of Aboriginal Affairs

6.2. Commissioner for Public Employment

1. Application

These guidelines are issued by the Commissioner for Public Employment (CPE) under Section 10(1)(b) of the Tasmanian State Service Act 1984. Under Employment Instruction 98/2 the CPE has identified that Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders are a designated Equal Employment Opportunity target group.

These guidelines relate specifically to positions created or identified for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander employment. For the remainder of this document, all references to Aborigines should be taken to include Torres Strait Islanders.

2. Purpose

These guidelines have been developed to provide consistency across all State Government Agencies in the verification of a persons identification as an Aborigine, if required. The guidelines are consistent with the Commonwealth's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Act 1989, the State's Aboriginal Lands Act 1995 and the application of the term 'Aboriginal person'. They also incorporate the decisions and criteria identified by the Federal Court of Australia in the case Gibbs v Capewell and Others.

3. Who Can Apply ?

The Office of Aboriginal Affairs implements the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment and Career Development Strategy. Only Aboriginal people may apply for positions created or targeted under this Strategy, which aims to provide Aboriginal people with a skills base in order to achieve employment in the Tasmanian State Service. There are also Aboriginal identified positions that are outside this strategy. Contact the Office of Aboriginal Affairs for more information.

There are two types of positions defined under these guidelines ("Identified positions and Tagged positions") however, these guidelines only apply to Identified positions. These position types both have essential requirements that are subject to the Commissioner for Public Employment's approval for each individual position or for a class of position. Refer 4.1.

4. Determining Position Types

4.1. Identified Positions

An identified position is a position in which the Aboriginal client group is the major group affected by the work of the occupant.

These positions mainly involve:

• working with Aboriginal clients; and/or
• providing a service to Aboriginal clients; and/or
• development of policy and programs which have an impact on the Aboriginal community.

Identified positions have as an essential requirement:

Aboriginality. - and therefore can only be filled by persons who meet the requirements set out in 5.7.3 below.

4.2. Tagged Positions

Part of the work of these positions involves:

• working with Aboriginal clients; and/or
• providing a service to Aboriginal clients; and/or
• development of policy and programs which have an impact on the Aboriginal community.

Tagged positions have as an essential requirement:

An ability to communicate effectively and sensitively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and a knowledge and understanding of contemporary Aboriginal culture and society.

This type of position does not have restricted access other than meeting the above requirement and therefore may be filled with persons other than Aboriginals however, encouragement should be given for Aboriginals to apply.

5. Recrutiment Process for Aboriginal Identified Positions

5.1. Creation of Position Description

The Agency creates a position description (PD) that reflects the job requirements with the knowledge and skills required for the position. In an Aboriginal Identified position the PD will have an essential requirement of Aboriginality. Therefore, the completed position description should be sent to the Commissioner for Public Employment's Office for approval.

5.2. Temporary Employment

If the position is temporary then Employment Instruction 99/1 Clauses 4-6 needs to be followed. Should the position be temporary for up to twelve months, the Agency may utilise the Aboriginal Temporary Employment Register, which is administered through the Office of Aboriginal Affairs (OAA).

5.2.1. The Temporary Employment Register

The Office of Aboriginal Affairs will advertise the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Temporary Employment Register, which is used to fill permanent traineeships and base grade positions under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment and Career Development Strategy. The Register, which will have a twelve month lifespan, may also be used to fill temporary Aboriginal Identified Positions, casual vacancies and traineeships. Applicants will be required to complete an application form and submit a copy of their Curriculum Vitae to the OAA. Information supplied by applicants will be kept confidential, and will form the basis of the Register.

5.2.2. Filling a Position Using the Register

Following the targeting of a suitable position within the Agency, the OAA will use the information on the data base to establish the referral list for the number of people from the Register as requested by the Agency. This will then be forwarded to the Agency, along with copies of their CV's. The Agency is responsible for the interview process and a nominee from the OAA may be requested to participate on the selection panel.

Should scrutiny of the Register result in the finding that there are no applicants suitable for referral for a particular placement under the Strategy, the position should be advertised through the State Service Notices section of the Tasmanian Government Gazette and in Tasmanian newspapers as well as through Aboriginal organisations.

5.3. Advertising the Vacancy

Agencies will get access to the best range of candidates with the required skills if they advertise widely in the community. This will be enhanced by targeted advertising in Aboriginal Community Organisations rather than just advertising through publications such as the Tasmanian Government Gazette which is primarily distributed within the State Service.

5.3.1. Identified Position Advertising Proforma

Essential Requirement - Aboriginality. The Commissioner for Public Employment has determined that this is an Aboriginal Identified Position and that it will be filled in accordance with the Guidelines for Aboriginal Employment

5.3.2. Tagged Position Advertising Proforma

Essential Requirement - An ability to communicate effectively and sensitively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and a knowledge and understanding of contemporary Aboriginal culture and society.

5.4. Selection Panel

The Agency will be responsible for establishing a selection panel. It is recommended that an Aboriginal community member be on the selection panel. A nominee from the OAA may be requested to participate on the selection panel. The normal interview process will occur up to the stage of nomination of a candidate for the position.

5.5. Checking eligibility

Prior to formal selection, the chairperson of the selection committee will consult with the OAA on the eligibility of applicant who is to be nominated for the position. If staff within the OAA have justifiable grounds to doubt an applicant's eligibility to be recruited under the Strategy, the chairperson will be so advised and the OAA will request the applicant to provide evidence of their eligibility for Aboriginal employment. Refer to 5.7.3.

5.6. Request to Applicants for Information

The applicant requested to provide such information will be issued with a full copy of the Guidelines for Aboriginal Employment and will be given no less than three weeks to provide the information to the OAA.

5.7. Methods of Establishing A Claim of Aboriginality

5.7.1. Aboriginal Ancestry

A person must be able to provide authentic documentary evidence that shows a direct line of ancestry linked back through an identifiable family name to traditional Aboriginal society.

This will usually be in the form of a verifiable family tree, or archival or historical documentation which links a person to a traditional family or person.

Photographic evidence or family folklore alone will not normally be sufficient to prove Aboriginal ancestry.

Where a person is claiming their Aboriginal ancestry from outside Tasmania, proof of descent must be available from the other area of Australia concerned.

The OAA may consult with the Archives Office of Tasmania in relation to historical information provided and will advise the chairperson of the selection panel of the outcome of the process within a specified timeframe, but not less than one week.

5.7.2. Communal Recognition

Normally, in addition to showing Aboriginal ancestry, a person must be able to demonstrate communal recognition or acceptance by members of the broader local Aboriginal community.

This means that a person must be known by other Aboriginal people in the local community and show a link to Aboriginal ancestry through either their own or their family's acknowledgment of their Aboriginal ancestry and their involvement with that local community.

The 'local community' in this context can be taken as a geographic area in with there are family groups and extended family groups who have associated with each other and recognised each other's Aboriginality. In some situations the 'local community' may have statewide coverage.

In practical terms a person will generally be required to:

• Obtain three signatures from recognised members of the broader Aboriginal community or families who live in their local community;
• That these three community members be able to acknowledge that person's or family's identification as Aboriginal within that community; and
• That the signatories not be from the immediate family group of the person seeking confirmation and be from family groups who are accepted members of the broader local Aboriginal community.

It would not usually be sufficient for confirmation of communal recognition to come from an Aboriginal organisation alone, without separate support from local families and community members. However, evidence of communal recognition may be considered from one or more Aboriginal organisations alone, if the basis of the evidence can be properly demonstrated.

5.7.3. Evidence of Eligibility

The evidence of eligibility is based on the three-tiered criteria for Aboriginality used by Commonwealth and State Government Agencies and as defined by Federal Court decisions. The definition is that an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person:

• is of Australian Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent; and
• identifies as an Australian Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander; and
• is accepted as such by the community in which he or she lives or has lived.

To satisfy the requirements for application for employment as an Aboriginal person, the applicant must be able to show Aboriginal ancestry (see the specific guidelines above). Where the Office of Aboriginal Affairs is satisfied that Aboriginal ancestry has been clearly demonstrated, further evidence of communal recognition may not be required.

5.8. Result of the Selection Process

The finding will result in a recommendation to the chairperson of the selection panel that the Agency:

• accept the person's application on the grounds that evidence has been provided to establish eligibility for Aboriginal employment; or
• reject the person's application on the grounds that evidence has not been provided to establish eligibility for Aboriginal employment.

The OAA will inform the applicant directly of the recommendation being made and the reasons for such.

Should a person's application be rejected, the selection panel will review the selection process and nominate the next candidate, to whom the above procedure will apply. This would occur at the conclusion of the review process referred to in 4.1. In the case of there being no other candidate available for nomination, the position will be re-advertised. In this case, it is strongly recommended that the position be more widely advertised, including circulation to Aboriginal organisations.

5.9. Grievance Procedure

Further Any person who is aggrieved by the finding may seek a review of the finding by notification to the Commissioner for Public Employment within seven days of advice of the decision.

All disputes on the issue of eligibility will be decided by a committee made up of one representative from the Office of Aboriginal Affairs; a nominee of the Commissioner for Public Employment; a representative of the Aboriginal community; and in the case of employment under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment and Career Development Strategy, a representative of the Department of Employment Education and Training and Youth Affairs.

Following the committee's deliberations, the committee will report back to the Commissioner for Public Employment with its' recommendation(s).

6. Information

6.1. Office of Aboriginal Affairs

Level 6
144-148 Macquarie St, Hobart, 7000
Telephone: (03) 6233 3671
Facsimile: (03) 6233 4506
Email: oaa@dpac.tas.gov.au

6.2. Commissioner for Public Employment

Level 9
144-148 Macquarie St, Hobart, 7000
Telephone: (03) 6233 6563
Facsimile: (03) 6233 2693
Email: OSSC@dpac.tas.gov.au

[ contact ] [ copyright & disclaimer ] [ comment ] [ top ]

You are directed to information on how your personal information is protected.

This site has been produced by Department of Premier and Cabinet.