To answer selection criteria, address the individual requirement and support it with a specific example of what you did. Explain the context, your responsibility, the action you took and the outcome. A list of personal qualities is not a substitute for evidence.
Queensland application formats vary. The Department of Housing and Public Works directs applicants to the vacancy’s own instructions. Check whether you need separate criterion responses, a statement or another format before writing.
Identify what the criterion asks you to demonstrate
Underline the task and the standard. “Communicate effectively with customers and colleagues” asks for more than friendliness. It could require explaining a process, checking understanding, recording information and escalating a problem appropriately.
Create a private evidence note for each criterion: where the example happened; what you were responsible for; what you personally did; what changed; and why this matters to the new role. Choose examples with enough detail to withstand follow-up questions.
An example can come from employment, study or community work if it demonstrates the requirement. Identify the setting accurately. Do not assume an unrelated senior job title is stronger evidence than a relevant, clearly explained task.
Example one: communicating clearly
This criterion and response are fictional teaching examples, not wording from a current government vacancy.
Illustrative criterion: Communicates clearly with customers and maintains accurate records.
Illustrative response: While volunteering on a community booking desk, I helped visitors understand changes to session times. My responsibility was to explain the approved options and record the visitor’s decision without making promises outside my authority. When one visitor could not attend the revised session, I checked the available alternatives with the coordinator, explained each option in plain language and asked the visitor to confirm their preferred arrangement. I then updated the booking record and left a handover note for the next volunteer. The visitor received a confirmed alternative and the team avoided contacting them again with conflicting information. This experience demonstrates how I combine clear communication with accurate follow-through.
The response names the setting, distinguishes the writer’s responsibility and describes observable actions. Its result is modest and relevant. It does not invent a customer-satisfaction score or imply that a volunteer controlled the entire service.
Example two: organising competing tasks
Illustrative criterion: Organises work to meet competing deadlines.
Illustrative response: In an office-support role, I needed to prepare meeting materials while completing a records update. I checked the actual deadlines and asked the supervisor which items were essential for the meeting. I divided the records work into urgent corrections and routine updates, blocked time for the meeting pack and told the supervisor which routine items would follow afterwards. Before distributing the pack, I checked its version and attachments against the meeting list. The meeting materials were ready for review on time, and the remaining records work had a clear completion plan. I would apply the same approach to this role by confirming priorities early, communicating constraints and checking work before handover.
This example is about prioritisation, not about claiming to work faster than everyone else. The response explains how competing demands were handled instead of merely stating “I have excellent time management”.
Edit for evidence, relevance and length
Give most space to actions and the result. Long background paragraphs can hide the part the assessor needs to understand. Where a criterion has several elements, check that your example addresses them or add a second short example if the format allows it.
Use “I” for your contribution and “we” for a genuine team outcome. Remove confidential names and operational details. Where you cannot substantiate a number, describe the observable result without one.
The JobAccess selection-criteria resource links to further application guidance. Treat the examples here as practice material rather than text to submit unchanged.
Before uploading, confirm page or word limits, labels, file type and the exact questions. A complete suitability statement is a different document from separate criterion answers, and spoken interview answers need a different delivery style. For the broader search, use our government jobs guide and review the instructions attached to current jobs.
