Updated 2026-11-16
A public service interview is not a standard script that every department must use. The strongest preparation is to match every answer to the post's advertised duties, qualifications, knowledge, skills and competencies. The Public Service Regulations define competency as the knowledge, skills, behaviour and aptitude a person can apply at work to meet a specific post's requirements.
Never pay anyone for a public service job, an interview invitation or a place on a shortlist.
Treat these as question areas, not promised wording. The panel should assess you against the inherent requirements of the specific job. Read the advert, job description if available, and your Z83 and CV before preparing examples.
| Question area | What to prepare from the advert |
|---|---|
| Why do you want this post and what do you know about its purpose? | A short explanation of the department or unit's work and how the post's key responsibilities connect to your experience. |
| Tell us about experience relevant to this role. | One real example for each important duty, with your actions and result. Keep dates, employer and responsibilities consistent with your CV. |
| How would you deal with a work scenario in this post? | A practical, step-by-step response using the procedures, systems, legislation or service standards named in the advert. |
| How do you organise competing work and meet deadlines? | A real example showing planning, prioritising, communication and accurate record-keeping. |
| Describe how you work with colleagues, managers or members of the public. | An example that demonstrates the communication, teamwork or stakeholder skill required in the advert. |
| What would you do if you faced an ethical problem or conflict of interest? | A lawful, honest response: do not conceal it, follow the applicable reporting route and protect official information. Your advert may also require an integrity assessment. |
Use a simple answer structure: state the situation, explain your own task and action, then give the result. For technical questions, name the relevant duty or knowledge requirement in the advert before explaining how you would apply it. Do not claim experience or qualifications you cannot support.
For Senior Management Service posts, prepare for competency-based selection as well as the job-specific interview. The DPSA's 2024 SMS Handbook lists separate recruitment and selection and competency-based selection materials for SMS.
There is no single published national score sheet that tells every panel to award the same marks for every question. The applicable department's recruitment policy, the advert and the job's inherent requirements matter. Ask the contact person in the advert about the process if the notice does not explain it.
The Public Service Regulations provide for selection, while the North West Office of the Premier's current recruitment policy illustrates how one public employer applies the process: its selection criteria are linked to inherent job requirements, and it says the panel assesses competency while Security Management Services assesses integrity. That policy is an example for that Office, not a scorecard for every department.
| Stage | What it means for a candidate |
|---|---|
| Screening and shortlisting | Your application can be checked against the advert and application instructions. Submit the correct documents and reference number exactly as requested. |
| Panel interview | Prepare evidence for each advertised requirement. Panels can compare answers against job-related criteria rather than choosing the best general interview performance. |
| Practical and integrity assessments | A 2026 Public Service Vacancy Circular states that shortlisted candidates, including SMS candidates, undertake a practical exercise and an integrity or ethical-conduct assessment in the departments whose adverts contain that instruction. The notice says panels score technical exercises as an additional interview criterion. |
| Further checks | The same circular gives examples of personnel suitability checks, including qualification and employment verification, criminal-record, citizenship and financial or asset-record checks, and security processes where required. The PSC also states in its vacancy guidance that it verifies qualifications and conducts reference checks on shortlisted candidates. |
A polished answer cannot replace the advertised minimum qualification, experience, technical knowledge or a required assessment.
Do not assume every vacancy has the same exercise, weighting, documents or checks. Follow the exact vacancy notice. In the November 2026 DPSA circular, the general directions say candidates must be assessed and selected under the employment measures that apply to the Public Service, while individual department adverts set their own instructions.
If shortlisted, check the invitation carefully. In Circular 40 of 2026, examples of department notices required shortlisted candidates to provide certified copies of qualifications and related documents by or before the interview day. That is not a substitute for the instructions in your own advert.
No. The questions should relate to the particular post's inherent requirements. Prepare from that vacancy's advertised duties, knowledge, skills, qualifications and competencies rather than relying on a generic list.
Possibly. Circular 40 of 2026 includes department notices saying shortlisted candidates must complete a practical exercise and an integrity assessment, with technical exercises scored as an additional interview criterion. Your own vacancy notice or invitation is the instruction to follow.
The Public Service Regulations govern selection, but practical arrangements can be set out in departmental policy. For example, the North West Office of the Premier policy provides for a panel of three to five members, excluding the HR representative. Do not assume that composition for another department.
Check the advert. Circular 40 of 2026 gives examples of qualification and employment verification and criminal-record, citizenship and financial or asset-record checks, with security processes in some posts. The PSC's vacancy guidance also refers to qualification verification and reference checking for shortlisted candidates.
No. Genuine public recruitment is free. Never pay a person who claims they can secure a public service job, shortlist, assessment or appointment.