Verification of Claims

(February 2004)

In determining the veracity of claims and statements made by applicants, selection panels in the Department of Education, Tasmania may consider a range of verification processes including:

• Requesting additional information, documentation and/or other evidence from the applicant.
• Seeking referee reports.
• Contacting people other than cited referees. These may include the applicant's line managers or direct supervisors. In this case information gained should also be made available to the applicant.
• Visiting an applicant's work site to seek verification of aspects of their application. Such visits may include discussions with the applicant's supervisors, peers, students and representatives of the parent community or observation of the applicant's work. The panel may also wish to gain firsthand knowledge of a particular program or project cited in the application.

It is not intended that the panel seek verification of all tasks and activities noted in an application. The panel should consider the number and range of tasks and activities for verification.

Referee reports can be particularly useful and can be used to inform the panel's decisions at any stage of the selection process including:

• prior to or post shortlisting to clarify uncertainties that arise during the reading of the written application or to verify the claims of some or all applicants; and/or
• prior to interview to help distinguish between the claims of the shortlisted applicants or seek further verification of an aspect of any claims made by an applicant; and/or
• after interview to help distinguish between the claims of some or all of the interviewed applicants.

The selection panel may seek information from a referee on more than one occasion during the selection process. The panel may also seek further information from appropriate people, including other than the cited referees, on specific aspects of a candidate's application or merit where uncertainty remains or to help inform final decisions about the relative merit of applicants.

It should be established with referees that they have sufficient knowledge of the applicant to provide comments. Reports should be sought from referees at a time that is convenient to ensure confidentiality and to avoid rushed and superficial comment.

It is recommended that the selection panel use oral communication as the preferred method of gathering information from referees. Referee comments obtained in this way must be documented by the panel and verified by the referee as confirmation of the comments made. This should be done where possible by e-mail.

Members of selection panels may sometimes be requested to act as referees by an applicant. There is no inherent conflict in this as the two roles are separate and distinct. However, panel members acting as referees must be mindful that their role as a referee ceases with the submission of the referee report. It is advisable to obtain referee reports/comments from panel members prior to interview.

top

Contact Details

(January 2005)

For further information or assistance in relation to the above please contact Staffing and Establishment Services on (03) 6233 7251 or via e-mail: Recruitment@education.tas.gov.au

top