The Victorian Public Sector Commission (VPSC) has released new guidance to support PS staff hiring managers in the Public Service to achieve greater fairness in recruitment.
The Commission said the online resource, A guide to hiring with special measures in the public sector, was supporting managers to use special measures with ease.
“A special measure is a way to ensure under-represented groups receive the same opportunities as everyone else,” the VPSC said.
“When used in recruitment, hiring managers can ensure a level playing field for all candidates.”
It said the special measures were enshrined in the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act 2010.
The VPSC said public sector employers had an obligation to ensure fair and inclusive recruitment so that State’s public sector workforce reflected the community it served.
“The Victorian Government has committed to ensuring two per cent of the Victorian Public Service is Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, and that people with disability make up six per cent of the Victorian Public Service by 2020 and 12 per cent by 2025,” it said.
“The Commission’s guide is the first tailored to Victorian public sector recruitment and comes following requests from the sector to provide practical steps on how to use special measures in line with the law and internal recruitment policies.”
The VPSC guide covers types of equality and special measures; when to use a special measure; how to use special measures in role design and advertising; and a checklist to create a special measure.
The Commission’s online guide can be accessed at this PS News link.
