Australian consultant and staff specialist interview: 2026 dates, format and scoring

When to apply

• Staff specialist and VMO posts are advertised through the year on the state health jobs sites, usually with a two to four week window.
• Applications address the selection criteria in writing; in NSW this is through eCredential.

When interviews run

• Interviews are usually within four to eight weeks of the closing date, on a date set by the district.
• Offers follow within weeks, subject to credentialing and referee checks.

The format

• A single structured panel interview of about thirty minutes, with the same five to eight questions to every candidate, each mapped to a selection criterion.
• Presentations are uncommon unless the post is a head of department or academic appointment.

Who is on the panel

• Three to five people: the head of department, the director of medical services or an executive, a staff specialist colleague, and often a nurse manager, people and culture or a consumer representative.

How it is scored

• Each answer scored against a rubric for its criterion; the panel's scores are combined with the written application and structured referee checks under the state's merit selection rules.

What to prepare

• One STAR example per selection criterion with your own actions and an outcome.
• The criterion you meet least, with what you are doing about it.
• Cultural safety defined through your own actions with an example.
• The district's strategy, values, community and waiting list position, read and quotable.
• A plain answer on the on call roster and its sustainability.

Practise the australian consultant and staff specialist interview