Selection Criteria & Government Applications
For experienced professionals: write capability-based APS and Queensland Government applications, then back up every claim at interview.
One-time payment • Lifetime access • AI feedback included
How to write selection criteria for government jobs
Strong selection criteria responses do more than describe your responsibilities. They connect a specific example to the role's capability framework, show the decisions you made, and provide a credible result. This workbook helps you do that using one real application, from the first reading of the role description through to your panel interview.
Before you write, compare six weak and strong responses in my selection criteria examples guide.
APS selection criteria and pitches
Choose the Australian Public Service pathway and work with the relevant APS Integrated Leadership System capabilities for APS 1–6 or EL/SES roles. You will decode the application pack, identify the level of evidence required, and shape examples that remain accurate and defensible.
Queensland Government applications
Choose the Queensland pathway and the workbook follows the Leadership competencies for Queensland: Vision, Results and Accountability. Your evidence bank, application response and interview practice stay aligned with the leadership stream you select.
What makes this different from an example answer?
A generic selection criteria example cannot know your role, level or evidence. Here, you build an application from your own experience. The AI coach checks clarity, relevance, capability alignment and evidence strength, then asks questions that help you improve the response without inventing achievements or rewriting you into someone else.
What you'll walk away with
What's inside
Welcome: Choose your jurisdiction
Everything in this workbook adapts to the government you are applying to.
Module 1: Decoding the Application Pack
Time: 35–45 minutes. You’ll leave with a one-page decode of a real job you want, showing exactly what the panel will assess, how, and within what limits.
Module 2: Capability Frameworks in Plain English
Time: 40–50 minutes. You’ll leave with a plain-English understanding of the capabilities your panel will assess, and three early examples checked against the right level or stream.
Module 3: Building Your Evidence Bank
Time: 60–90 minutes (you can do this over several sessions). You’ll leave with 8–10 honest, specific examples in your own words, each tagged to the capabilities it shows.
Module 4: Writing the Response
Time: 45–60 minutes. You’ll leave with one polished response to a capability from your target role, checked sentence by sentence against what the panel is assessing.
Module 5: The Complete Application
Time: 60–90 minutes. You’ll leave with a complete draft application (statement or pitch, plus a tailored resume), a referee briefing note, and a pre-submission checklist.
Module 6: The Government Panel Interview
Time: 60–75 minutes. You’ll leave with three practiced spoken answers, experience handling follow-up questions, and a plan for other assessments you might face.
Capstone: One Live Application
Time: a few hours, spread across an application window. You’ll leave with a submitted (or ready-to-submit) application for a real vacancy, a defensibility check linking every claim to your evidence, and interview preparation built on the same examples.
Appendices: Glossary and Your One-Page Plan
The vocabulary, and a plan you can print and keep beside you.
- Built for experienced professionals, senior specialists, team leaders, managers and people moving into government
- Choose APS (Commonwealth) or Queensland Government — content, capability tags and coaching all follow
- 6 self-paced modules plus a capstone you run on one live application
- A different AI coaching mode in every module — pack decoder, level calibration, interrogation, criterion match, coverage map, panel probe, defensibility check
- Spoken panel practice using transcripts only — no voice, accent or appearance analysis, ever
- No scores, percentages or judgements about your chances — status labels against the framework only
This workbook is independent and is not produced or endorsed by the Australian Public Service Commission or the Queensland Government.
Need the workbook and live interview practice?
Add one full AI practice interview so you can say your answers out loud before the day.
The Single Interview Session gives you one full Practice Lab interview built from your job ad, with feedback on every answer and a coached redo. Pay once, nothing renews. Need more than one? All Access is unlimited for A$19.99/month.
Get a single session, A$14.99