Nomination of referees

Applicants are asked to submit details of three referees at the time applications are submitted. The selection committee should contact at least two of the referees to confirm an applicant's claims or to clarify any issues.

Applicants are also advised that at the time of applying, that they inform their referees that they have been nominated. They should also indicate to the referee that they might be asked to provide a written report to the selection committee or orally discuss with the Chair and/or other member/s of the committee the merits of the applicant.

Applicants may also consider providing their referees with copies of the selection documentation for the position, so if contacted, referees are better prepared to respond. It is not essential that this occur, as the relevant selection documentation will be forwarded to the referee at the time either a written or oral report is requested.

Referees not nominated by an applicant

Generally, only referees nominated by applicants should be contacted. There are however, circumstances where it will assist the deliberations of the committee to canvas referees additional to those provided by the applicant.

For example, if there is an expert in the field with knowledge of the applicant not already nominated or if there is a criterion or set of criteria that none of the other referees has adequately addressed, then additional reports may be obtained.

The chair of the selection committee must seek the agreement of the applicant before contacting additional referees.

Members of the selection committee must take in to consideration the fact that some applicants may not wish to disclose to their current employer that they have applied for a different job. As a result, some applicants may not have listed a current supervisor as a referee. If the committee members wish to contact a supervisor that has not been nominated as a referee, they must first obtain permission from the applicant.

Where a committee member is also a referee

An applicant may nominate a member of a selection committee as a referee. If you are a member of the selection committee and also a referee for an applicant you should provide the referee report before you see any applications (preferably before applications close), so there can be no hint of any bias or preferential treatment. The referee report can be provided orally or in writing.

It is important that a referee,who is also a member of the selection committee, does not act as an advocate for a particular candidate during the deliberations.

If you know applicants you should declare this to the rest of the panel to deal with any perceptions of conflict of interest.