I've been off-line for a day or so, so was interested to see this discussion thread. My understanding of the situation basically agrees with what others have posted thus far. I can comment - Depending on the clearance level for the position - the amount of information that you need to provide is extreme in quantity and personal detail - this varies depending on your circumstances and the position that you may have been successful in winning - the wait time for a security clearance can be very long. In my own experience, no-one from the security cell has indicated to me that I shouldn't know what my clearance level is. So this is the first time I've heard that information. I gather when I've moved between employers the clearance is re-activated/transferred to the level the organisation requires for the position I'm presently in, depending on certain time constraints... how long since the clearance was granted, what circumstances may have changed.... I gather, that having a lower clearance doesn't help in getting a higher clearance. For example - if you win a permanent position requiring Top Secret (positive vet) clearance, having a Top Secret (negative vet) doesn't make much difference - you could still find that you could not take up the position until the higher level clearance is granted. There seems to be backlogs most of the time in the various organisations that are involved in processing, depending on the particular position, so you could find that your still waiting 8-month after successfully winning a position, before you could actually walk in the door to take up the position. Diana -----Original Message----- From: Reginald Hardman [mailto:cleardoc@xxxxxxxxx] Sent: Tuesday, 2 December 2003 21:36 To: austechwriter list Subject: atw: Re: Security clearance closed shop Perhaps what the job ads really mean to say is that you must be elligible for a security clearance. There are some obvious things which could exclude you from elligibility, such as non-Australian nationality, criminal record, prior refusal or cancellation of a clearance due to misconduct, and I don't know what else. You cannot "apply for a security clearance" off the street, as it were. You must have been provisionally selected for a job which requires the clearance, and the department for which you will work applies to have you cleared, to the level required for your proposed job. The clearance you get is for that job only so, while you may be cleared to Secret level for say a submarine project, your clearance does not apply for an aircraft project. If you move to the aircraft project, the project admin must re-apply to have you cleared for this information. It is up to the project admin people to ensure you only have access to information for which you are cleared, and they have fairly stringent procedures, which are audited regularly, to ensure this. These procedures, and interestingly your level of clearance, should be invisible to you. Of course, if someone plonks a file marked Secret on your desk, you will know you are cleared to that level at least, but you may also be cleared to Top Secret, for submarine project info. It is I think, a breach of the Defence Secrets Act or some regulation derived from the Act, to reveal your clearance to anybody else. If someone wants to know your clearance level, you must direct them to your admin group, who will assess their authority to obtain that information. Anyone who broadcasts the fact that they are cleared to X level, and anyone who publicly solicits this information, will definitely attract the attention of the spooks who look after this aspect. At the very least you will find that your next clearance application is refused, if you have done this. At best, you can say something like "I have worked on projects for the Defence Department", it is then up to the potential employer to initiate the security clearance procedures. The initial clearance can take a very long time, but subsequent clearances for other projects are quicker, provided you have not exceeded your "use by" date. This date will be different for different levels, and different projects, and should never be revealed to you. Moreover, the criteria for clearance are not constant. You may be cleared in 1999 for the ambient level of risk at that time, but may fail clearance in 2003 when there is an increased perceived level of risk. You may have been cleared in 2000, then taken holiday or worked in a foreign country in 2002 with which relations have deteriorated, and so may not get the same clearance in 2003. There are many variables, which is why clearance must be obtained for each different job you do, and must also be renewed periodically. The point is, a security clearance is not something you own or can put in your resum=E9, it is "owned" by the organisation who employs you. This naturally makes it difficult for the head-hunters, who may have been mislead by their commercial defence contractor clients who have an imperfect grasp of the principles of defence security. The contractor will probably be asked to attend a briefing session by defence to update their knowledge of how the system works. An interesting point, and perhaps a seed idea for your next novel: if you were a foreign power wishing to get some classified technical information, you might: a. look for a minor second country who has bought that technology for their defence force, b. tell a head-hunter you need a tech writer who is cleared and has relevant experience, c. collect relevant resum=E9s, without the resum=E9 owners knowing, and d. you write the rest... Reg > -----Original Message----- > From: Deborah Cross [mailto:Deborah.Cross@xxxxxxxxxx] > Sent: Tuesday, 2 December 2003 1:51 PM > To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Subject: atw: Re: Security clearance closed shop >=20 >=20 > Well I know that a security clearance at Defence can take months to =3D3D > process, so if the position is short term someone without a clearance =3D > =3D3D > won't be able to start in time. >=20 > Much easier/faster for them to employ someone who already has the =3D3D > clearance. > Also much cheaper because they don't have to pay for the clearance =3D3D > process if someone already has one. > Perhaps they should advertise well in advance to give them the =3D3D > opportunity to wait for a clearance if need be? >=20 > I guess you could always put your resume in and tell them you are =3D3D > prepared to pay for the clearance if they are prepared to wait the time = =3D > =3D3D > it will take? >=20 > Deborah :) --=20 R=E9ginald Hardman Reginald Hardman R=E9dacteur Technique Technical Writer Paris, France Paris, France ************************************************** To post a message to austechwriter, send the message to austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx To subscribe to austechwriter, send a message to austechwriter-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with "subscribe" in the Subject field. 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