The Australian Parliamentary Fellowship

Information pack
Australian Parliamentary Fellow 2014
Parliamentary Service Level 6
Non-ongoing vacancy (6 months)

(Job Ref: JO710)

The Australian Parliamentary Fellowship

The Australian Parliamentary Fellowship (the Fellowship) is managed by the Parliamentary Library on behalf of the Parliament. The purpose of the Fellowship is to:

contribute to scholarship on the Parliament and its work;
promote knowledge and understanding of the Parliament;
raise awareness of the role of the Library’s Research service;
provide a researcher with work experience in the parliamentary environment; and
support “early career” scholars.

The Fellowship is of flexible duration (up to 6 months fulltime with provision for part time or broken periods of employment) in the Research Branch of the Parliamentary Library. A successful applicant for the 2014 Fellowship would be expected to take up the position from early 2015.

The Fellow will be required to research and write a monograph on an approved project. The Library will publish the monograph provided it meets the Library’s publication standards. Further details are provided in the Duty Statement and Selection Criteria.

Currently, the salary range for this position is $80,020 - $89,937.

For further information, please contact Jonathan Curtis – 02 6277 2470 or

Applications close at midnight, Sunday, 23 November 2014.

Department of Parliamentary Services

DPS is one of four departments based in Parliament House to support the work of the Federal Parliament.

DPS is the principal support agency for the operations of Parliament House—a building where more than 3,500 people work on sitting days and which nearly one million people visit each year.

To fulfil the DPS mission of “serving the Australian people by supporting the Parliament and caring for Parliament House”, DPS has approximately 800 staff with a huge diversity of skills. DPS deliver a wide variety of services, including building maintenance, security, ICT, Hansard, broadcasting, and library and research services to the Parliament, parliamentary committees, Members and Senators and their staff and other building occupants.

The Presiding Officers (the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives) are jointly responsible for the department. The Secretary of DPS is responsible to the Presiding Officers for the department’s efficient operation.

Information about DPS such as its annual report and strategic plan can be found on—

The website also includes a brochure about DPS and our staff—

How to apply and general advice for developing your application

Applications, quoting the relevant reference number, should be sent by email to oting ‘JO710’ in the subject line.

Your application must include:

(a)include a completed DPS job application cover sheet;

(b)include your current resume, which should be framed by reference to the selection criteria (must also include 2 current referees one being current manager);

(c)include claims against each selection criterion, however your application does not need to address all elements of the selection criteria in detail. Instead, you should briefly identify one or two examples of your experience or skills that are relevant to each of the criteria (the same experiences may be relevant to more than one of the criteria);

(d)include an outline of your research proposal; and

(e)be submitted by the closing date.

If you are selected for interview, you will then be expected to provide more information at interview about how your experience and skills would enable you to satisfy the criteria and successfully complete the research project.

If you are unfamiliar with addressing selection criteria, the Australian Public Service Commission’s fact sheet on applying for jobs will be useful: Cracking the code fact sheet 5

General advice to applicants

Employment opportunities in the Parliamentary Service are open to all Australian citizens and may be subject to a range of conditions including:

(a)a requirement for a probationary period;

(b)security and character clearances;

(c)working with children check; and

(d)a health clearance.

If you are not an Australian citizen, and have already applied for citizenship you may still be considered for engagement on the condition that you are able to gain Australian Citizenship within a specified time. Failure to obtain citizenship within the timeframe could lead to termination of engagement.

If you have accepted a redundancy benefit from a Commonwealth employer (including the Parliamentary Service and the Australian Public Service), you cannot be employed by DPS until your exclusion period (the number of weeks for which you received a redundancy benefit) has expired. If you would like to discuss your eligibility, please contact Recruitment on telephone (02) 6277 5200.

The Parliamentary Service Act 1999 provides for mobility between the Australian Public Service and the Parliamentary Service.

Conditions of employment and salary

Conditions of employment and rates of pay for non-SES DPS staff are specified in:

(a)the Department of Parliamentary Services Enterprise Agreement 2011;

(b)the Parliamentary Service Act 1999;

(c)Parliamentary Service Determinations; and

Note: Persons commencing with DPS will generally be paid at the bottom of the salary range for the relevant classification.[1]

Superannuation

Employees may be required to make superannuation contributions under the Superannuation Act 1976, the Superannuation Act 1990, or the Superannuation Act 2005, whichever is applicable. In addition DPS will pay an employer contribution rate as determined by the relevant fund.

Australian Parliamentary Fellowship—Information pack (JO710)

Australian Parliamentary Fellowship

Duty Statement

Classification: / Parliamentary Service Level 6
Position No.: / TBA
Local Title: / Australian Parliamentary Fellow
Branch: / Research
Immediate supervisor: / Assistant Secretary
Security assessment: / Police check required

Undertake duties in accordance with the agreed standards for classification PSL6. The duties will include, but are not limited to, the following:

1In consultation with the Australian Parliamentary Fellowship (APF) sub-committee of the Joint Committee on the Parliamentary Library, research and write an APF monograph on a specified topic to an agreed time-frame.

2Either:

(a)publish a Parliamentary Library Research Brief as a preliminary study on the agreed project and deliver one work-in-progress seminar; or

(b)deliver two work-in-progress seminars; or

(c)deliver one work-in-progress seminar and a paper at an appropriate professional conference.

3Respond under supervision, and as part of a team, to Parliamentarians' needs for research services, including the preparation of materials for general distribution to the Parliament.

4Contribute towards the development of section and branch resources.

5Continue to develop professional networks, competence and personal expertise.

6Provide assistance with section and branch management and training and orientation programs, as appropriate.

Duties representing highest function: / 1 / Professional Functions
Reviewed and approved by Assistant Secretary: / Jonathan Curtis
Date: / 5 September 2014

Australian Parliamentary Fellowship

Selection Criteria

Classification: / Parliamentary Service Level 6
Position No.: / TBA
Local Title: / Australian Parliamentary Fellow

1Proven research and writing record and a capacity to deliver a quality Australian Parliamentary Fellowship monograph within the time-frame of the Fellowship.

2Selection of a project against the following criteria:

(c)the project should relate to:

(i)the way that Parliament functions; or

(ii)the way that Senators and Members operate; or

(iii)the way a broad issue in national politics is dealt with in Parliament.

(d)the project should be methodologically sound; and

(e)the project should be capable of being researched and written within the time-frame of the Fellowship.

3Excellent communication and presentation skills appropriate to the parliamentary environment and comprehensive knowledge in an area of expertise likely to be of interest to Senators and Members.

4Appropriate personal qualities (e.g. service orientation, judgement, discretion, integrity, initiative, flexibility and self-motivation) and the ability to work individually without supervision or as a member of a team.

5Eligibility/other requirements: A PhD which has been awarded within the last three years.

Please note: that applicants who have submitted a PhD thesis which has not been passed by the examiners at the time of interview will not be considered.

Employees of DPS are required to be able, and to be seen to be able, to provide professional advice and services to all Senators and Members without favour or prejudice.

Reviewed and approved by Assistant Secretary: / Jonathan Curtis
Date: / 5 September 2014

Australian Parliamentary Fellowship

This cover sheet must be included with your application

Job application cover sheet – Job Reference: JO710

Personal Details: Male Female
Surname: Given names:
Business hours contact number: / After hours contact number:
Email:
Address:
Postcode:
Are you an Australian citizen?
If No, have you applied for Australian Citizenship?
Date of application: / Yes
Yes / No
No
Have you accepted a Voluntary Redundancy from a Commonwealth funded agency within the last 36 weeks?
Yes No
If “Yes”, what date did your exclusion period end:
Date of voluntary redundancy: Name of agency:
Employment Details:Current employer:
If APS are you:Ongoing Non-ongoing
If APS employed as (level): / AGS Number:
Do you hold a security clearance? Yes NoIf yes, which level do you hold?
Baseline (Protected/Restricted) Negative Vetting (Secret/Highly Protected/Confidential)
Negative Vetting 2 (Top Secret) Positive Vetting
Referees: Please provide contact details of two referees to support your claims for this position.
Note: Your nominated referees should be a current and/or recent supervisor/manager.
1. / 2.
Relationship: / Relationship:
Ph: / Ph:
Do you wish to identify as: / an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
a person from a different ethnic or racial background
a person with a disability
If selected for interview, will you require any special requirements/arrangements to be made? Yes No
If yes please advise:
Do you have any relatives or friends currently working in DPS? Yes No
If yes provide details:
(for the purpose of this question a friend is defined as someone with whom you socialise with outside of work 6 or more times a year)
Have you ever been found to have breached the APS code of conduct or similar terminated from employment for misconduct? Yes No
If Yes, Recruitment will contact you to discuss.
I confirm that the information I have provided above and the details in my attached application are, to the best of my knowledge, true and correct. I acknowledge that it may be an offence to knowingly provide false information.
Name: / Date

Please complete the application cover sheet and attach it to the front of your application.

The application coversheet is available on the DPS employment website—

Please quote “JO710” at the top of the application coversheet.

[1] Clause 224 DPS Enterprise Agreement 2011