What this is for
Almost every AI hiring policy tells the panel what it may do. Very few tell candidates what is expected of them, which means the standard candidates are judged against is unwritten. An unwritten standard cannot be applied consistently, and it is unfair to enforce.
The Australian Public Service Commission publishes principles for candidate use of AI in recruitment, and requires agencies to give candidates a link to them in the candidate pack or the advertisement. This is that document, reduced to one page any employer can adapt and publish, with the four elements the source article sets out: what is allowed, which stages need unaided work, what you will ask, and what actually crosses the line.
It is a template, not legal advice, and it is not the APSC document. Read the APSC principles yourself before adapting them.
How to use it
Fill the bracketed fields, delete what does not apply, and publish it where candidates see it before they start writing. In the advertisement or the candidate pack, not in a careers portal footer.
Two decisions need a person rather than a template. Which stages of your process require unaided work is a judgement about the role, and you should be able to say why each one is on the list. Whether AI capability belongs in your selection criteria is a second judgement, and if it does, decide how you will assess it before you advertise.
Once it is published, keep it consistent. A statement applied to one requisition and not the next is worse than none, because it creates the appearance of a standard without the substance of one.
The artefact
[ORGANISATION] statement on candidate use of AI in recruitment
Last updated [DATE]. Applies to [ROLE or ALL ADVERTISED ROLES].
1. Our position
You may use AI tools to help you prepare and refine your application for this role, unless this statement says otherwise for a particular stage. We are not testing whether you avoided AI. We are assessing what you can do.
2. What we expect from you
- The content of your application must be factually correct and a true representation of your own experience, qualifications and capabilities.
- You should be able to explain and stand behind every claim in your application in your own words.
- If we ask how you used AI, we expect a truthful answer, including which tools you used and at what stages.
- You should have reviewed and personalised anything a tool drafted, so it reflects your own voice and your own work.
3. Stages that require your own unaided work
The following stages must be completed without AI assistance, because they exist to observe how you think rather than what you can produce:
- [STAGE, for example: the 45-minute live exercise in round two]
- [STAGE]
We will tell you before each of these stages begins. If a stage is not listed here, AI assistance is permitted.
4. What we will ask
Our application form includes this question:
We support candidates using AI tools to help prepare their application. To help us understand your capability with these tools, please tell us whether any part of this application, including your CV, resume or written responses, was prepared or assisted by AI.
Has AI been used in the preparation of any part of your application? [ ] Yes [ ] No
If yes, briefly describe which tools you used and at which stages.
Your answer does not disadvantage you. We ask because most roles at [ORGANISATION] involve working with these tools, and because it lets the panel have a more useful conversation with you about how you work.
5. What crosses the line
Using AI is not a problem. Misrepresenting yourself is. Specifically:
- Claiming experience, qualifications or capabilities that are not yours.
- Submitting work you cannot explain or stand behind.
- Using AI at a stage this statement identifies as unaided.
- Giving a false answer to the transparency question.
Conduct of that kind is treated under our existing policy on false or misleading information in a recruitment process. Depending on the circumstances it may result in removal from the process, and if it is discovered after you are engaged, it may be dealt with under the terms of your employment.
6. How we use AI
[Delete or complete. Example: We use AI tools to assist with [STAGE, for example initial shortlisting]. A member of the selection panel reviews [a sample / all] of those outcomes before any decision is made. No selection decision is made by an AI tool. If you would like more detail about how AI is used in this process, contact [CONTACT].]
7. Questions
Contact [CONTACT] if anything in this statement is unclear, or if you need an adjustment to any stage.
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Panel-side checklist before you advertise
- [ ] The statement is linked in the advertisement or the candidate pack.
- [ ] Every unaided stage listed is actually designed to be observed, not assumed.
- [ ] The transparency question is on the application form, with the reason stated.
- [ ] Disclosure of AI use is not a scoring criterion in itself.
- [ ] If AI assists shortlisting, the human moderation or sampling step is booked and named.
- [ ] The panel knows that a suspected misrepresentation is tested by asking the candidate, not by a detection tool.
- [ ] The statement version and date match the one published for this requisition.
TheAICommand. Intelligence, At Your Command.