Employment checks

Prior to being offered employment, human resources staff will undertake various checks to ensure that legislative obligations are met and that the information provided is accurate.

An offer of employment will be subject to some or all of the following employment checks:

Citizenship status

A person is eligible to be appointed to a permanent position or employed as a Casual Correctional Officer only if they fall into one of the categories below:

• an Australian citizen
  
• a permanent Australian resident.

People who claim to possess Australian citizenship or permanent residency should produce their birth certificate, current Australian passport, certificate of naturalisation, proof of permission to reside permanently or other proof. People who are not Australian citizens or permanent residents may be employed in temporary or casual jobs (excluding Casual Correctional Officer) if they have a current working visa.

Conduct and performance checks

A conduct and performance check is completed for all applicants who are to be offered employment in the public service. The check is completed by recruitment staff and involves:

• assessment of the sick leave taken, generally over the last 12 months and in terms of the relevant sick leave policy
  
• assessment of the applicant's current work performance and attendance by obtaining comments from the current manager
• assessment of any proven or pending misconduct matters.

If you are an applicant from outside the public service, contact will be made with you prior to contacting your current employer. Where the applicant indicates concerns in terms of contacting the current employer, unless an offer of employment is to be made, no contact will be made with your current employer.

Contact with Offender Declaration

To maintain public confidence in the integrity of CSNSW as well as the individual employee, all personal relationships and/or social or off-duty contact with offenders must be disclosed to avoid false perceptions and manage any actual or potential risks. Employees are required to complete a Contact with Offender Declaration prior to commencing duty. For more information see the NSW Guide to Conduct and Ethics.

Criminal Record Checks

It is a requirement that all CSNSW employees undergo a National Criminal History Record Check conducted by the NSW Police Force. No person will be employed or commence employment with CSNSW until a satisfactory criminal history check has been completed. It should be noted that an adverse criminal record check does not necessarily disqualify you from selection.

A risk assessment will be carried out before a determination is made in this regard. Any criminal record information is kept in the strictest confidence, is not placed on an applicant's personal file and is destroyed within very strict timeframes.

• CSNSW Declaration of Criminal Charges and Offences
  
• Security and Criminal Records Check Policy and Guidelines.

See also Working With Children Checks.

Health Assessments

Health requirements vary according to the nature and type of occupation. Depending on the job demands this could be asking the successful applicant to sign a health declaration that they are fit to carry out the duties of the job or to attend a medical examination. A health assessment assists CSNSW and applicants by ensuring no person is placed in an environment or given tasks that will result in physical or psychological harm.

Applicants for Casual Correctional Officer, and trade Overseer positions are required to attend a pre-employment medical assessment and as such must:

• be reasonably fit and healthy
  
• possess good eyesight and hearing
• have a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or less.

The medical assessment will be undertaken by a service provider nominated by CSNSW and will include a physical agility test, spirometry, hearing and vision tests and a general fitness and medical history review.

Proof of name and age

The full name and age of successful applicants is to be established by the production of a birth certificate or certified copy or a current Australian passport. When an applicant's stated names differ from those appearing on the birth certificate, or other documentation, further proof that the person to be employed is the person referred to on the document in question will be required. This proof may be in the form of a marriage certificate, statutory declaration or deed poll.

Qualification verification

Qualification requirements will be stated in the advertisement if they are necessary to carry out the duties of the job (ie required by legislation, industrial award or agreement or other relevant policies). Where a tertiary or other qualification has been specified, the qualification must be verified at interview by sighting the original document and then signing and dating a copy of the original. Applicants with overseas qualifications are responsible for obtaining certified translations and equivalency of qualifications. Under no circumstances will a person be permitted to commence work without having produced evidence of the qualifications necessary for employment.

Re-employment or Re-engagement in the NSW Public Service

A person who has accepted a voluntary redundancy offer as a public servant cannot be re-employed or re-engaged in any capacity in any NSW public sector agency without first repaying the relevant portion of their severance pay. The repayment covers the relevant proportion of the severance payment (up to 39 weeks) and the incentive payment of up to 8 weeks pay. An employee accepting the offer must sign an undertaking agreeing to this condition. This requirement applies to employment or engagement in any capacity.

Referee Checks

As part of the selection process, a structured referee check will be undertaken to verify and obtain further information about an applicant in relation to the selection criteria for the position, following interview. Generally, reference checking is limited to applicants who are considered as the main contenders for the position.

Only referees nominated by applicants will be contacted. Permission is deemed to have been given where referee contacts are provided in the application. You must include contact details for at least two work-based referees, one of which should be an immediate or recent supervisor (within 2 years), unless there are special circumstances for not nominating that person. You will also be required to provide the Information for referees document to your nominated referees.

Working With Children Check

In addition to any criminal record checks that are undertaken, where an applicant is to work in a position deemed to be child related employment, from 15 June 2013 the applicant must provide their Working With Children Check reference number which will be verified through the Office of the Children's Guardian. Read more about the new Working With Children Check.