Review findings and recommendations

Review outcomes

At the completion of a review the MPC must determine whether the selection process meets the:

• elements of the merit principle as defined in Section 10A Public Service Act 1999 and
• requirements of a merit-based recruitment in the APS Commissioner’s Directions 2022

The table below explains the possible outcomes of a review. The MPC will provide the agency with a report that includes reasons for its decision and, if appropriate, suggestions for improvement.

What does ‘materially different’ mean?

In the context of a promotion review, it is when the MPC have found an issue or an error in the recruitment process but the error or issue did not influence the outcome. In that case, the issue or error was not material to the outcome.

Whether or not an error has made a material difference to an outcome will depend on the scale, impact and nature of the non-compliance (which resulted in the finding that the selection process was not merit-based). The MPC must decide whether the promotion decision could realistically have been different if the error had not occurred.

Our regulatory approach recognises that it is not necessary to take action for every error or concern identified in a review. Rather, wherever possible, we will focus on building capability and service improvement.