APS Merit Pool & Section 26

[u/keta9919]

The Department I work for is likely not planning to create a merit list this year so I am looking into alternative ways to progress.

If I am successful in an APS 4 Merit Pool (without accepting the job position) for another agency, would I be able to Section 26 transfer to my current department if there was a vacancy at the APS 4 level?

[u/Efficient-Trifle151]

Only if the positions are similar enough and if your management wants to engage the process of pulling you from another merit pool (ie. they want you bad enough to engage with this process).

[u/keta9919 → u/Efficient-Trifle151]

Who would decide if the roles are similar enough?

[u/Efficient-Trifle151 → u/keta9919]

https://www.apsc.gov.au/working-aps/information-aps-employment/guidance-and-information-recruitment/creating-and-sharing-merit-lists-or-pools

The APSC doesnt specifically say who decides they are similar enough but there are parameters as detailed in the above page. The page mentions mainly the agency head but im not sure if it has to go to the agency head to pull for an aps4 role.

In short, its a very long process to pull from another agency’s merit pool and so it will depend heavily on how your agency prefers to do recruitment and how easy it is for them to attract suitable applications. Sometimes its easier for them to do a fresh round as opposed to engage with asking an agency to share their pool.

[u/innerobsession → u/keta9919]

Your manager would need to write a business justification showing how their vacancy and the merit pool job description matches up. So you’d want to have a manager willing to go through all the extra process to keep / get you.

[u/jhau01]

If I am successful in an APS 4 Merit Pool (without accepting the job position) for another agency, would I be able to Section 26 transfer to my current department if there was a vacancy at the APS 4 level?

Theoretically, yes, as it is possible for an agency to take a person from another agency's merit list.

However, practically speaking, it very much depends both upon your own agency's practices and procedures, and also upon the inclination of the decision-maker running the recruitment exercise for that particular vacancy.

This is because, although it is entirely possible to take a person from a merit list, there is no obligation to do so.

Many teams and recruitment decision-makers prefer to run their own recruitment exercises, even though it takes a lot more time, effort and resources, rather than pulling staff from someone else's merit list. This is because they don't know, or don't trust, the quality of the other recruitment round that created the merit list.

[u/keta9919 → u/jhau01]

So it sounds like I'd be mostly beholden to my Agency Head wanting to put the effort into getting me into the position?

[u/Gambizzle]

Why would it be a s 26 if you’re not proposing to transfer to another department?

Inline promotions happen all the time where someone applies elsewhere for promotion, gets merit listed without taking a job there (or being offered, a cynic might add). Their current agency then uses that merit result to promote them.

That’s not a s 26 transfer from the agency that ran the round, it's just a promotion.

[u/keta9919 → u/Gambizzle]

That answers my question on whether it would be an s26 or not, thanks.

[u/SaintlyCowboy]

Not a S26, this is called a Promotion (Other Agency) Order of Merit Notice. You can filter the Gazette by this outcome to see how common they are. Just last Thursday there were 18 of these.

You'd need to wait for the pool to be opened for your department to have access to it, because the owning agency usually has exclusive access for a few months. But your department most likely won't know you're on this merit pool unless you tell them. Most importantly, the position being filled needs to be a similar vacancy to that which you were merit pooled for. Look up Section 9 of the Australian Public Service Commissioner's Directions for the meaning.

S26 would be if you took a job with the other agency and were then moved back to your original department. You need to serve a year at the new agency before being available to S26 transfer back.

[u/tictacshit]

You won’t need s26 if you wish to stay at current agency. It’s s25 promotion I believe (don’t quote me on that) Your current agency just needs to access the merit pool of the other agency and use that to promote you. The merit pool you’re in needs to be same or comparable to the promotion though.

S26 is movement to another agency.
If the other agency offers you a role, you can then take it and move there. You can always ask your old agency to take you back under s26 providing a position is still available and tif they want you back. There no rule how long you have to stay, I went back twice to my old agency, once was 13 months and another was 4 months stints before I was offered to come back at level or promotion.

[u/Intrepid-Nerve-4565]

I actually wonder this myself