Our recruitment process
1. Eligibility
To be eligible to work at Defence Housing Australia (DHA), you must:
- be an Australian citizen
- obtain a minimum of baseline security clearance through the Australian Government Security Vetting Agency (AGSVA).
RecruitAbility
Diverse skills, perspectives and abilities are appreciated, valued and relied on in our workplace. DHA is committed to supporting the employment and career development of people with disability.
DHA’s participation in the APS RecruitAbility scheme means we will progress a candidate with disability to a further stage in the recruitment process, where they have opted into the scheme and meet the minimum requirements of the position.
You can find more information on RecruitAbility on the Australian Public Service Commission’s website.
Reasonable adjustments and accessibility during the recruitment process
To ensure you can equitably and fully compete in recruitment processes, you can seek reasonable adjustments through the recruitment process. That is, assistance or adjustments that are both reasonable and reasonably practicable, to remove barriers and make the process accessible.
You can seek reasonable adjustments on your application form. Additionally, you can contact the hiring manager or Human Resources on (02) 6270 6060 (select option 4) or email humanresources@dha.gov.au. All requests will be managed sensitively and confidentially.
2. Application
How can I apply?
The first step of DHA’s recruitment process is to submit an online application. In this application you will need to provide:
- your resume, including the contact details of two referees
- a written response telling us how your skills, knowledge, experience and qualifications make you the best person for the job.
If your application is shortlisted, you may be invited to undertake an interview and/or other activities to assess your ability to perform the role.
What should I include in my resume?
Your resume should be a maximum of three pages and include:
- Personal details – your name, contact email address and phone number.
- Education – details of your education and qualifications that relate to the job you are applying for. If the role requires you to have specific formal qualifications, please include these.
- Work experience –a summary of work experience relevant to the job you are applying for organised in reverse chronological order (starting with the most recent role). Please summarise your main responsibilities, indicate actual dates of employment, and explain any gaps.
- Other experience – your relevant extra-curricular activities, interests or volunteer/community work and what you gained from those experiences.
- Referees – the names and contact details of two professional referees who can confirm the skills and experience described in your application. Please include contact details for your current supervisor and one other referee.
Please use an easy-to-read font and a simple, consistent format. Use bullet points to break up text. Please ensure that you can give examples of your listed skills and experience if asked at interview.
What should I include in my written response?
We want to know why you are right person for the job. You should explain how your skills, experience and qualifications make you the best candidate for the position description of the role you are applying for.
We suggest using the STAR model to provide examples of situations you have faced. Please describe your actual contribution and the result in detail.
3. Interviews and other assessment
The next step is an interview. You should answer interview questions using relevant work experiences, structured using the STAR model. Interviews may be done:
- by one-way, online video software
- on Microsoft Teams software
- in person at one of our offices.
In special circumstances, we may also use other methods to assess candidates, including written and psychometric testing.
Referees
Generally, we will contact referees after the interview. However, your referees may be contacted at any stage of the assessment process to confirm what you have said in your application or interview. For this reason, it is important that you tell them you have applied for a role at DHA, and that you are confident they will be able to support your application.
4. Selection
Once we have completed assessment of all candidates, we will select the most suitable person for the role. We make all selection decisions based on merit, which means that:
- the assessment process is fair and consistent
- assessment is only based on things that are genuinely required for someone to perform the role
- we only consider information within the assessment process,
If you are selected as the successful candidate, we will contact you to discuss the role, salary, security clearances and start date. We will also ask you to complete new starter paperwork.
If you are not selected as the successful candidate, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t do the job, it just means that someone else was more suitable. Remember to ask for feedback to help you improve your chances in the future.
In some cases, when you are notified that you didn’t get the job you may be told that you have been placed on a merit list. This is great news as it means that you may be considered for the same, or similar, roles at DHA if they become available over the next 18 months.