You must put the public interest first during your recruitment process by selecting the eligible person best suited to the position, in a fair and unbiased way.
A conflict of interest is when your private interests interfere, or appear to interfere, with the performance of official duties. Private interests include personal, professional or business interests, as well as the interests of individuals that you associate with, such as family, dependants and friends.
Use the Identify conflicts of interest in recruitment and selection tool to determine if any actual, perceived or potential conflicts of interest exist for you or your panel members.
Complete the Mandatory conflict of interest in recruitment and selection declaration form (PDF, 1.3 MB)
to declare any actual, perceived or potential conflicts of interest, or confirm that no conflict of interest exists.
If a conflict of interest exists, assess the conflict, and determine if you can appropriately manage it during the recruitment process. If you cannot, the panel member will have to remove themselves.
If you manage a conflict of interest during the recruitment process, your delegate will need to confirm with a senior delegate that the conflict is resolved in the public interest before they approve your appointment.
Prior knowledge of an applicant
If you have prior knowledge of an applicant, you must disclose the relationship and declare if it is a professional relationship, personal relationship, or both.
You must discuss all panel members’ prior knowledge of applicants during the merit assessment, ensuring you remain objective throughout the process.
If prior knowledge of a applicants will stop you from shortlisting them or appointing them to the role, you should advise them and give them an opportunity to respond.
You must provide details of prior knowledge and conflict of interest decisions in the selection report.
Recruitment agency conflict of interest
If you’re using a recruitment agency, they may have a conflict of interest if they provide services to any applicants you’re considering. For example, they may provide executive coaching services for some applicants. This is a conflict of interest.
Recruitment agencies must declare any conflicts of interest, or that there are no conflicts of interest, for each recruitment process.