The role of agencies

Notification of an application 

Once an application for promotion review is received, a notice is sent to the agency responsible for the recruitment exercise. Under section 21(3) of the Public Service Regulations 2023, the application for review operates to place a 'stay' on the promotion decision and on the use of any merit pool, ranked merit pool or merit list. 

It is important to note that any promotion decision notified in the APS Gazette, or any offer of employment (of an engagement) which has occured prior to receipt of the notification will not be affected. The APSC will soon publish guidance on when promotion and engagement decision take effect for the purpose of reviews.

The MPC will assess the application to determine eligibility and entitlement to seek a review.  

• If an application does not proceed to review, the agency and the applicant will be advised. The promotion can progress and the merit pool, ranked merit pool or merit list can continue to be used. 

• If an application does proceed to review, the agency must provide the MPC with all the documentation relating to the selection exercise under review. A notice is sent to the Agency listing the information required for the review.

Notice to provide information  

When an application has been determined as eligible for a promotion review, the MPC must send a formal notice to the agency requesting for information relating to the recruitment exercise, that was before the delegate, including any information known to the agency but was not made available to the delegate (for whatever reason)  

The review will only consider information that is relevant to whether the selection process was merit based and met the requirements of the Commissioner's Directions. The Regulations prevent the review from considering fresh information from candidates or the applicant - as that is not relevant to the review of the selection process.    

Agencies must respond within the timeframe outlined in the notice.  

Respond to findings and recommendations

An Agency Head is responsible for making sure the review findings, recommendations and decisions are followed and any process improvements are made. If an Agency Head does not accept a recommendation they must provide the MPC with their reasons why. 

If an Agency Head does not accept a recommendation the MPC must notify the APS Commissioner that it was not accepted and provide the reasons given by the Agency Head for not accepting the recommendation. 

If an Agency Head continues to use a merit pool, ranked merit pool or merit list that the MPC has determined was created from a process that was not merit based, the MPC can review any future engagement or promotion decision arising from that process.