EL1 Selection Criteria Example: What Panels Expect
EL1 panels allocate marks based on evidence of leadership, risk management, and organisational influence — not just the complexity of the work delivered. An EL1 response that describes strong individual performance without demonstrating how the applicant led others, managed competing priorities at program level, or influenced senior stakeholders will not score competitively. The evidence standard at EL1 is materially higher than APS6, and most unsuccessful EL1 applications fail because they present APS6-level examples for EL1-level criteria.
For a reference point on the APS6 evidence standard, see APS 6 selection criteria example. For the foundational STAR structure used at all levels, see APS STAR method explained.
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What EL1 Panels Are Assessing
Executive Level 1 is the first classification at which APS officers hold formal people leadership responsibilities as a standard expectation. Panels at this level are assessing:
- People leadership: Evidence that the applicant has directed the work of others, not just coordinated it. Managing performance, developing capability, and allocating resources.
- Cross-branch coordination: The ability to work across organisational boundaries — across branches, agencies, or sectors — to achieve shared outcomes that no single team owns.
- Risk ownership: At EL1, officers are expected not just to identify and escalate risks but to own a risk position — to assess, recommend, and take accountability for risk decisions within their remit.
- Senior stakeholder influence: Briefing, advising, and influencing SES and ministerial staff. This is a capability the panel will look for in every competitive EL1 application.
An EL1 application that lacks evidence of at least three of these four dimensions is unlikely to be placed on the merit list in a competitive round.
Typical EL1 Selection Criteria
Common criteria at EL1 level include:
- Leads and develops teams
- Achieves results in a complex, ambiguous environment
- Manages risk and uncertainty
- Communicates with influence to senior audiences
- Shapes and implements strategy
- Builds productive relationships across organisational boundaries
Weak vs Strong EL1 Example
Criterion: Leads and motivates others
Weak Response
I have strong experience leading teams and have managed staff at various levels throughout my career. I am skilled at motivating people and managing performance. I understand the importance of clear communication and have always maintained positive working relationships with my direct reports. I am committed to building capability within my team.
This response presents no specific situation, no named staff, no performance challenge managed, and no measurable outcome. Every phrase is a claim without evidence. A panel cannot score this response against any EL1 capability dimension.
Strong Response (condensed)
As APS6 Senior Policy Analyst acting in an EL1 vacancy at the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, I led a team of four officers through the final six weeks of a policy review that had lost its substantive lead mid-process. Two team members had not previously contributed to ministerial-level work. I restructured the work program, assigned each officer a defined deliverable, and held brief daily check-ins to identify blockers early. I provided direct feedback on two drafts that had not met the required standard and worked through the revisions with the relevant officers in person. The review was delivered within the original timeframe. Both officers completed the review with a clear understanding of the standard required at that level — one subsequently applied for an APS6 position and used the work as their primary selection criteria example.
What changed: Named role, specific circumstances (mid-process loss of lead), individual leadership decisions, development of less experienced staff, measurable outcome tied to delivery and capability uplift.
Full EL1 Selection Criteria Example (~400 Words)
Criterion: Manages risk and uncertainty
As EL1 Director of Grants Administration in the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, I had oversight of a $22 million community infrastructure grants program at a point where a mid-year Budget measure had modified the program's eligibility criteria with a three-week implementation window. The modification created immediate uncertainty about 14 applications already in assessment — six of which had been assessed as likely to proceed under the previous criteria, but whose eligibility was now ambiguous under the revised terms.
My task was to develop a risk position and implementation approach that could be presented to my branch head and legal adviser within five working days, enabling assessment to resume without exposing the department to administrative law risk.
I mapped the 14 applications against the new criteria, identified three distinct risk categories, and prepared a one-page matrix outlining each category's eligibility risk, the probability of legal challenge, and the options available to the department. For the two applications in the highest-risk category, I recommended pausing assessment and seeking legal advice before proceeding. For the six mid-range applications, I proposed a modified assessment framework that explicitly addressed the revised criteria and asked that the branch head confirm the approach before assessment resumed. The remaining six were assessed as low-risk and could proceed immediately.
I presented the matrix and recommendations to the branch head and the department's legal adviser in a thirty-minute briefing. Both approved the recommended approach. Legal advice was obtained within four days for the high-risk applications. Both were ultimately deemed ineligible under the revised criteria. Assessment resumed for all remaining applications within two weeks of the Budget measure taking effect.
None of the assessments completed under the revised framework were subsequently challenged. The matrix I developed was adapted by the branch as a standard risk assessment tool for future eligibility changes, reducing the time required to respond to similar policy modifications in subsequent rounds.
Why this example meets the EL1 standard:
- Risk ownership: did not simply escalate — prepared a structured risk position and recommended a course of action
- Cross-functional coordination: engaged legal and senior management, not just internal team
- Measurable result: no legal challenges, assessment resumed within two weeks, tool adopted as standard
- Organisational impact: framework reused in subsequent rounds
EL1 vs APS6 Expectations
The table below identifies the key capability differences between APS6 and EL1. Applicants moving from APS6 to EL1 should check their examples against this table before submitting.
| Capability |
APS6 |
EL1 |
| Leadership |
Influences peers and junior staff informally |
Formally leads and develops a team; manages performance |
| Risk |
Identifies and manages risk within their area |
Owns a risk position; recommends management strategy to senior management |
| Stakeholder scope |
Influences senior stakeholders in specific engagements |
Maintains ongoing advisory relationships with SES and ministerial staff |
| Coordination scope |
Leads defined cross-team or cross-agency work |
Drives outcomes across programs, branches, or agencies with competing priorities |
| Accountability |
Accountable for quality of outputs |
Accountable for program-level outcomes and resource allocation |
| Ambiguity tolerance |
Works effectively with limited guidance |
Defines the framework when guidance is absent |
If your EL1 example contains no reference to leading staff, managing risk at program level, or influencing at SES level, revise before submitting. See APS selection criteria example for comparison examples at other levels.
Common EL1 Application Mistakes
Using APS6 examples for EL1 criteria. The most common failure in EL1 applications. The action section describes solid individual performance — identifying a gap, coordinating a response — but contains no evidence of directing others, owning a risk position, or influencing a senior stakeholder. The evidence reads as APS6. The panel scores it at APS6.
Describing leadership in general terms. "I am committed to developing my team" is a claim. "I identified that one officer lacked confidence in ministerial writing and arranged for her to observe two SES briefings before attempting her own draft" is evidence. Panels require the second type.
Absent risk framing. EL1 responses frequently describe complex work without acknowledging the risk dimension. If there was no risk in the situation you are describing, it is unlikely to be appropriate for an EL1 criterion. Choose a situation where the risk dimension was real and where your response to it was deliberate.
Vague senior stakeholder references. "I liaised with executive staff" is not evidence. Name the stakeholder category (SES Band 1, Deputy Secretary, First Assistant Secretary), describe the nature of the engagement, and state the outcome of the interaction.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What word limit should I use for EL1 selection criteria?
Most EL1 roles specify 400–600 words per criterion, or a combined statement of claims of 1,500–2,000 words. At EL1, panels have more criteria to assess and your responses should be fully evidence-based within the limit. Allocate 50–55% of your words to the action section. The most common EL1 response failure is a result section that is one sentence long — give the result adequate space.
Can I use acting EL1 experience as evidence?
Yes. Acting experience is directly relevant and often the strongest evidence available for applicants who have not held an ongoing EL1 position. Be clear in your response that you were acting: "As APS6 acting in an EL1 vacancy…" — do not obscure the classification. Panels expect applicants for EL1 roles to draw on acting experience, and it does not reduce the scoring value of the example.
How do I demonstrate senior stakeholder influence without sounding like I am overclaiming?
Describe the engagement specifically and let the evidence speak. "I briefed the First Assistant Secretary and received approval for the amended framework" is factual. "I influenced the executive direction of the department through my visionary leadership" is an overclaim. Name the stakeholder, describe what you presented, and state what was decided as a result.
What if my examples all come from APS5 or APS6 level work?
If you are applying for EL1 without having held a formal EL1 or acting EL1 role, focus on the highest-complexity, highest-accountability work you have done. Look for situations where you led others informally, managed risk that was not defined in advance, or briefed senior stakeholders. The classification of the role at the time matters less than the nature of the work you can demonstrate.