Job Opportunities in Australia

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Candidate Information Pack
APS6 Parliamentary Officer


Job Reference Number 248_10/24
Position Title Parliamentary Officer
Classification APS 6
Status Ongoing, Full-time
Salary Range $93,023 - $104,558 + 15.4% Superannuation
Contact Person Stephen Rees
Contact Job Title Director – Parliamentary Services
Contact Number 0436 847 687
Contact Email Stephen.rees@ndiscommission.gov.au
Number of Vacancies 1
Division N/A
Branch Planning, Performance and Delivery
Section Parliamentary Services
Location Canberra, ACT
Date Applications Open 15/10/2024
Date Applications Close 28/10/2024

About the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission (the NDIS Commission) is an independent
agency established on 1 July 2018 to improve the quality and safety of NDIS supports and
services. The NDIS Commission is the dedicated national regulator of NDIS service providers
in Australia and a non-corporate entity under the Public Governance, Performance and
Accountability Act 2013.

The NDIS Commission’s core legislative functions

• Uphold the rights of, and promote the health, safety, and wellbeing of, people with

• disability receiving supports or services, including those received under the NDIS.

• Develop a nationally consistent approach to managing quality and safeguards for

• people with disability receiving supports or services, including those received under

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• the NDIS.

• Promote the provision of advice, information, education, and training to NDIS.

• providers and people with disability.

• Secure compliance with relevant legislation through effective compliance and

• enforcement arrangements.

• Promote continuous improvement amongst NDIS providers and the delivery of

• progressively higher standards of supports and services to people with disability.

• Develop and oversee the broad policy design for a nationally consistent framework.

• relating to the screening of workers involved in the provision of supports and

• services to people with disability.

• Engage in, promote, and coordinate the sharing of information to achieve the objects.

• of the relevant legislation.

• Provide NDIS market oversight, including:

I. by monitoring changes in the NDIS market which may indicate emerging risk
II. by monitoring and mitigating the risks of unplanned service withdrawal.
The NDIS Commission is a disability friendly organisation that offers interesting and
challenging roles. People with disability are encouraged to apply for jobs in the Commission.
Parliamentary Services Team
Parliamentary Services is the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission’s (NDIS Commission)
central coordination point for ministerial and parliamentary activity, including ministerial
correspondence, ministerial submissions and briefs, coordination activities such as Question
Time Briefs (QTBs), Senate Estimates and parliamentary committee hearings.
Parliamentary Services manages the NDIS Commission’s instance of the Parliamentary
Document Management System (PDMS), which includes administering the system,
maintaining user guidelines, and the delivery of staff training and Helpdesk support.
Parliamentary Services will also work closely with the Office of the Commissioner to support
the day-to-day Commissioner engagement activities for events, meetings, and site visits.
At times, Parliamentary Services will be required to take on ad-hoc tasks outside of its
standard day-to-day responsibilities to support the broader Commission.
Parliamentary Services is a small team. Candidates will need to have a diverse range of skills
and have experience in all aspects of a Ministerial and Parliamentary Unit.
Key duties of the role
The Parliamentary Officer will have the responsibility for the following key duties:
1. Assist with the day-to-day processes of ministerial correspondence, ministerial
submissions and briefs and Question Time Briefs, while ensuring items are processed
within the agreed timeframes, and are of high quality.
2. Exercise discretion and judgement, including the ability to action tasks within
established work practices and priorities; and identifying priority and sensitive tasks for
escalation.

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3. Performing quality assurance on all types of parliamentary documents, including
formatting, spelling, punctuation, grammar and overall presentation, ensuring
documents are meeting the expectation of the Minister and the NDIS Commission
Executive.
4. Assist with managing and allocating work received via the Parliamentary mailbox,
including coordinating input requests and drafting some standard responses.
5. Support the Senate Estimate and parliamentary committee coordination processes,
including hearing preparations and post-hearing activities (i.e. Questions on Notice);
including preparing briefing executive, attending hearings, constructing folders for
witnesses and observers.
Systems and training
6. Assist with workings of the NDIS Commission’s instance of PDMS, including
a. training for staff, building user capability across the NDIS Commission;
b. helpdesk support and preparing/updating guidance material to support end users;
c. assistance with the running and preparation of regular reports and development
of ad-hoc Parliamentary reports;
d. review and implement improvements to system and processes; and
e. attend PDMS user group meetings with other Commonwealth
departments/agencies.
Capability of our ideal candidate
1. Excellent attention to detail, a sound working knowledge of ministerial
correspondence and parliamentary systems and processes, which includes;
a. Well-developed communication skills, including excellent writing skills and a strong
eye for detail.
b. A strong focus on client service delivery, with the ability to build rapport and
maintain positive working relationships with stakeholders.
c. Able to use judgement and initiative when managing conflicting priorities to meet
deadlines, while working under pressure.
2. Professional and passionate about continuously improving processes and expanding
the knowledge within the team and to enhance the support provided to NDIS
Commission Executive, staff and the Minister’s Office.
3. A good understanding of PDMS, both from a user and administrator point of view.

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Employment suitability requirements
All NDIS Commission personnel are required to meet employment suitability
requirements prior to, and throughout, their employment.

Pre-employment
To be considered in this role, candidates will need to:

• be an Australian Citizen, and
• have a favourable National Police Check, and
• have or be willing to obtain and maintain a Baseline Vetting security clearance. Should

business need arise, be willing to obtain and maintain a Negative Vetting Level 1 or
Negative Vetting Level 2 security clearance. See AGSVA website for more details
Security | Sectors | Defence, and

• complete a NDIS Commission external influences and associations declaration form.
  

Ongoing suitability
NDIS Commission employees are required to comply with the APS Code of Conduct,
including to at all times behave in a way that upholds the APS Values and Employment
Principles, and the integrity and good reputation of the NDIS Commission and the APS.

The NDIS Commission completes regular internal screening, monitoring and assessments
to ensure all employees meet employment suitability requirements.

How to apply
This role will initially be filled on a non-ongoing basis for a period of up to 12 months, with
the possibility of extension of up to 2 years depending on business requirements. The
merit assessment process is chosen to suit the circumstances of the vacancy, the business
environment in which it operates and generally includes the following stages.


Stage Description
Apply Applications are to be submitted online via the NDIS Commission
current vacancies page.
Submit a statement of claims describing how your skills, knowledge,
experience would make you the ideal person for the role. Please ensure
you address the Key Duties and Desirable Qualifications/ Experience in
your statement. This statement should be a maximum of 1000 words
Shortlist Applicants for this process will be assessed on their written application
using the APS Work level standards and Integrated Leadership System
(ILS). Shortlisting is undertaken to identify the applicants with the
strongest claims.
Interview Shortlisted applicants will be invited to attend an interview. Interviews
may be held in person, by phone or video (Microsoft Teams)
Referees Attach an up-to-date Curriculum Vitae (CV) and the contact details for
two referees, one of whom must be your current (or most recent)
supervisor.
Process
Complete
After the delegate has approved the assessment outcomes all
applicants will be notified.

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Further assessment
The selection panel (usually 2-3 people) acquires as much information as they consider
necessary. This may include contacting referees, undertaking an interview, a work sample
test and/or psychometric testing may also be included in the assessment. The contact
person for the vacancy is available to provide further information about which
assessment techniques will be used.

Recruit Ability
We participate in the Australian Public Service Recruit Ability Scheme to attract applicants
with disability by removing some of the barriers in recruitment and employment
processes. The scheme provides an opportunity for applicants with disability to progress
to the next stage in the selection process if they are assessed as meeting the minimum
requirements of the job. Disability is defined as ‘current limitation, restrictions or
impairment, which has lasted, or is likely to last, for at least six months and restricts
everyday activities. More information about Recruit Ability can be found at: More
information can be found at Recruit Ability scheme: A guide for applicants.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
We recognise the richness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, and the unique
knowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees bring to our workplace, policy
development and service delivery. We welcome and encourage applications from
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Merit Pool
A merit pool may be created and utilised within 18 months from the date this vacancy
was advertised on APSJobs.