Governance Clerical Officer application checklist: prepare your three written answers

Team 3Thirty; Blacktown; On-site; AUD 65,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Blacktown City Council seeks a Governance Clerical Officer to support information requests, governance registers and correspondence in a permanent full-time role based in Blacktown, NSW.

You will research across departments, maintain reports in Council systems, handle customer enquiries with accuracy, assist senior staff, and ensure timely processing under privacy and information legislation; a 12-month office administration background and MS Office skills are required.

Qualifications

• At least 12 months of office administration or related experience.
• Experience applying information-access and privacy legislation.
• Competent with MS Office including Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Competent minute taking and accurate record keeping.
• Ability to build relationships with stakeholders and customers.

Responsibilities

• Support information requests and governance registers across councils departments.
• Search Council systems and gather information for reports and records.
• Maintain reports and registers and ensure timely processing.
• Handle enquiries from residents and internal staff courteously.
• Assist senior staff in administrative tasks and minute taking.

Skills

Office administration

Information privacy legislation

Microsoft Office experience

Minute taking

Stakeholder relationships

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft PowerPoint

Job description

Governance Clerical Officer application checklist: prepare your three written answers

The Governance Clerical Officer at Blacktown City Council helps residents access Council information while keeping requests, records and correspondence moving within legislative timeframes. This permanent, full-time position in Blacktown combines research, customer enquiries and administrative support. You would search Council systems, gather information across departments and help the Governance section maintain its reports and registers.

If you are preparing to apply for Governance Clerical Officer, start with the three written questions in Council’s official application form . They cover information-access and privacy legislation, Microsoft Office and stakeholder relationships. Your answers need to explain your own experience in these areas, with examples that make your contribution clear.

The position description specifies at least 12 months of office administration or related experience, experience applying the relevant legislation, computer skills and minute taking. It also lists a current class C licence. Read those conditions carefully when deciding whether to apply, particularly if your experience has mainly been general administration. This guide explains the written task and the evidence to prepare before the closing time of 11:59 pm AEDT on Sunday 1 November 2026.

Governance Clerical Officer role snapshot

Organisation: Blacktown City Council
Location: Blacktown, NSW
Job reference: BC3733; internal reference BCC746
Employment: Permanent, full-time; one vacancy
Hours: 35 hours per week, with Council’s flextime arrangement
Salary: Starting at $1,371.62 per week, plus 12% superannuation
Closing: Sunday 1 November 2026, 11:59 pm AEDT
Official role: View the vacancy and application form

Application requirements for Governance Clerical Officer

Council uses its own recruitment form for this local government vacancy. Set aside time to read the questions before entering your answers. The three required written responses are the clearest opportunity to show how your experience connects with the work.

• A written response about your experience applying the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 and the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998.
• A written response about your Microsoft Office experience, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• A written response explaining how you build and maintain close working relationships with key stakeholders.

The question topics above are summarised for preparation. Answer each question using its exact wording in Council’s form. No word or character limit is displayed alongside these three questions on the initial form, so check the fields and any later instructions before submitting. Prepare a current, tailored CV for any upload stage and check which documents Council requests as you progress through the application.

A cover letter is not specified on the initial form. Put your effort into the required answers first. If a later step requests a letter, follow that instruction and use our government cover letter template to organise it around the role’s evidence requirements.

Eligibility and employment conditions

The position description lists a current class C licence as essential. The form separately asks about your licence and eligibility to work in Australia. Council also advises that alcohol and other drug testing applies at the pre-employment stage and through random and cause testing. Answer the eligibility fields accurately and check the position description for the conditions that apply to you.

The form offers several qualification options, including having no qualification. A related qualification is not listed as an essential condition in the position description. Its general Working with Children Check clause applies if the position is identified as child-related work; confirm that with Council if it affects your application.

Candidate evidence for Governance Clerical Officer at Blacktown City Council

The position description’s experience requirements should guide your choice of examples. Office administration, practical legislation experience, computer skills and minute taking all deserve attention. The evidence areas below bring those requirements together with the form’s stakeholder question and the daily work of handling information requests.

Requirement or evidence area

How to demonstrate it

At least 12 months of office administration or related experience Make your dates and responsibilities easy to follow. Choose work involving records, correspondence, enquiries, reporting or support to senior staff, and explain the volume or deadlines you managed.

Experience applying information-access and privacy legislation Explain a request or records task where the legislation shaped your actions. Describe how you searched for information, protected personal details, sought advice and kept the matter moving. Distinguish your own decisions from decisions made by an authorised officer.

Computer skills, including Microsoft Office Describe documents, spreadsheets and presentations you have produced. Explain the features you used and how you checked accuracy, managed versions or made information useful to colleagues.

Competent minute taking Use a meeting example showing how you captured decisions, actions and responsible officers, checked the draft and distributed or stored the approved record.

Stakeholder relationships and customer enquiries Explain how you gathered information across teams, clarified a request, followed up respectfully and kept a customer or colleague informed. Include the result and how you maintained trust.

Accurate records and timely administration Show how you tracked due dates, checked records, maintained a register or escalated a delay. Connect the example to reliable information handling and courteous service.

These are practical evidence areas for this Council role. Use the position description and form when preparing your application rather than assuming that a NSW state government capability framework applies.

Example application structure for Governance Clerical Officer

The initial application form requires three written answers, supported by factual information about your experience and eligibility. No response limit is displayed beside those questions, so check for any limit when completing each field. The table below shows how to organise your evidence for each question topic.

What to include in your response

Applying information-access and privacy legislation Start with the context in which you used the two Acts and the responsibilities you held. Develop one relevant example: the request, the information involved, your search and checking process, advice or escalation, and the outcome. Explain how you balanced access, privacy and timeframes within your authority.

Microsoft Office experience Identify the applications you use and the work you produce with them. Add a concrete example involving correspondence, a spreadsheet tracker or a presentation. Describe relevant features and the checking process, then explain how the output supported accurate or efficient work.

Building and maintaining stakeholder relationships Introduce the people or teams involved and what you needed to achieve together. Explain how you clarified expectations, communicated, followed up and handled a difficulty. Finish with the outcome and how you maintained the relationship.

What the panel will want to see in your examples

• A clear account of your personal contribution, including who held approval or release authority.
• Practical care with confidential information, document accuracy and record keeping.
• A method for tracking requests and following up before deadlines become a problem.
• Useful Microsoft Office examples that explain what you produced and how it was used.
• Courteous communication with customers and colleagues, including when information was incomplete or delayed.
• Evidence of minute taking and administration that supports the requirements in the position description.

If your legislative experience is limited

Be precise about what you have actually done. Privacy training, handling confidential records and general customer service can help explain your background, but Council explicitly lists experience applying the two Acts. Ask Council whether your experience meets its expectations before spending substantial time on an application if this is a gap. The contact officer is listed in the official vacancy.

Before you submit

• Read the linked position description, including its experience and licence requirements.
• Answer all three written questions directly and check any field limits.
• Make your administration experience and minute-taking skills easy to find.
• Check that the qualification, experience, licence and work-eligibility fields are accurate.
• Review later application steps for document uploads and additional instructions.
• Keep a copy of your answers and submit before 11:59 pm AEDT on Sunday 1 November 2026.

Help with your Governance Clerical Officer application

If you would like writing support, Team 3Thirty’s Complete Government Application costs $497 including GST . We analyse the role and prepare the written application documents it requires using your real experience. You review the completed work and submit the application yourself.

COMPLETE GOVERNMENT APPLICATION

Get your government application written for you

We prepare your CV and every written document the job ad requires, including a cover letter or targeted responses where requested. Your application is built around your real experience, ready for you to review and submit.