How to answer selection criteria
Selection criteria are the skills and experience an Australian employer asks you to prove, one by one. Answer each criterion under its own heading, with one or two real examples set out as Situation, Task, Action and Result.
What selection criteria are
They list what the employer needs, such as communication, teamwork or a qualification. You'll see them most in Australian public service, local council, health and university jobs.
The panel scores each one, so a missing criterion can drop you from the shortlist. Some agencies now ask for a short pitch instead, so check what the ad asks for (APSC).
How to answer them
One heading per criterion
Use the criterion's own wording as the heading, and answer each one separately (Yarriambiack Shire Council).
Pick your strongest example
One or two real examples beat a long list of claims (APSC).
Set it out with STAR
Situation: where and when. Task: what you had to do. Action: what you did, and how. Result: what changed, and how it relates to this job.
SAO (Situation, Action, Outcome) is the same idea in three parts.
Keep to the limit
If the ad gives a word or page limit, stay inside it (APSC). Cut background before you cut results.
A worked example
Priya Natarajan is a made-up applicant for an administration role at a university.
Criterion: Excellent organisational skills and the ability to meet deadlines
Situation: As a student services officer, I supported enrolments for a faculty during the start-of-semester peak.
Task: Late enrolment requests were arriving by email, phone and in person, and some were being missed before the census date.
Action: I set up a shared tracker for every request, sorted it by deadline each morning, and agreed a same-day reply rule with two colleagues.
Result: Each request had an owner and a due date, and the team could see what was left before the census date. I'd bring the same habits to this role.
Write yours from what really happened. If you have a real number, such as how many requests, use it. If you don't, leave it out.
How OhApply helps
It spots selection criteria
When a job ad or application form mentions selection criteria, a Selection criteria button appears in the side panel.
It drafts from your real experience
For each criterion it writes a heading and a STAR response, using only facts from your resume and the files you've added, and shows which ones it used.
OhApply: never invents skills, employers, dates or numbers. If something is missing, ask it in the side panel and add the real detail.
You edit and send
Read the draft, make it sound like you, and submit it yourself.
You: OhApply never presses Submit.
See also: autofill job applications and pricing.
Questions
What are selection criteria?
They are the skills, knowledge and experience an employer lists for a role. In Australia they are common in public service, council, health and university jobs, and you show how you meet each one with real examples.
What is the STAR method?
A way to structure each answer: the Situation, your Task, the Actions you took, and the Result. The Australian Public Service Commission describes it as one way to present your evidence.
How long should each answer be?
Follow the limit in the job ad, whether it is words or pages. The APSC suggests using one or two of your strongest examples rather than many.
Do all government jobs still ask for selection criteria?
No. The APSC notes that many agencies now ask for a resume and a short one or two page pitch instead. Read each ad for what it wants.
Can OhApply write my selection criteria for me?
It drafts a STAR response for each criterion from your own experience, and shows which facts it used. It never invents experience. You edit the draft before you use it.
More guides: Autofill job applications · Workday applications · Simplify alternative · LazyApply alternative · How OhApply works · Pricing