Customs Flexible Employees - Requirements and Conditions

In this section:

• Quick reference table of requirements and conditions
• Selection Process
• Medical Examination
• Security Clearance
• Hours of Work
• Probation
• Outside Employment

Selection process

The recruitment and selection process will be conducted by our recruitment provider on behalf of Customs. Selection decisions will be made by Customs.

The selection process will be merit based and may include:

• screening of applications
• psychological testing
• assessment centre - which may include ability testing, role plays, behavioural interview
• medical assessment
• security check
• reference/referee checks

Applicants will only be considered for the next step if they meet the selection criteria.

Medical examination

All applicants for Customs Flexible Employee positions must undergo a pre-employment medical examination.

Security clearance

Customs Officers hold a position of trust and must deal properly with sensitive information at times. As a result, all positions in Customs are security assessed positions and candidates must pass a security clearance before being made an offer of a position.

The security assessment is conducted by Customs in compliance with the Commonwealth Protective Security Manual.

The security assessment includes background checks and you will be required to provide detailed personal information. This may include details of your employment and residence history, financial circumstances, any criminal charges and/or convictions (including traffic offences), any drug use and any overseas travel. You may also be required to provide this kind of information about your spouse, partner or defacto where applicable.

You will also be asked to provide contact details for at least three referees who will be contacted by Customs directly. Your referees will be asked to answer probing questions about your suitability for employment as a Customs Officer.

Hours of work

Customs operates in an environment where certain operations are required 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Customs Flexible Employees are engaged to perform functions during peak processing times at International Airports and as these differ for each airport it is not possible to provide an exact idea of what hours you will be expected to work on this site.  However, you can expect to:

• generally work a minimum of 4 hours per shift (but may be less in smaller airports, e.g. Coolangatta)
• work early mornings, late nights and weekends
• be required more often during peak periods of the year - e.g. school holidays
• not be guaranteed a minimum number of hours per week
• be able to nominate what times best suit you within the peak periods defined for your airport (but not be guaranteed those 'shifts' in advance.
• use this position to supplement your income, rather than be the main source of income

Probation

Successful applicants are subject to a 6-month probationary period. Your progress is carefully monitored during probation and Customs may terminate your employment at any time in the probation period. Termination of employment is usually only considered when progress or behavior  is considered unsatisfactory, as indicated by your performance and attendance for example.

Outside employment

If you are currently employed in another capacity and you plan to continue this employment after commencement with Customs, you will be required to seek approval from Customs. If your alternative employment arrangements are not approved by Customs your continued employment within Australian Customs will be dependent on the termination of that employment relationship. For a Customs Flexible Employee the most common reason for outside employment not to be approved are those jobs that pose a conflict of interest to Customs.  As these roles are only meant to supplement an employee's income, Customs would expect many applicants to have other employment that they wish to continue after commencing with us.