Register - Casual National Situation Room Operator (Shift Positions) - 2024/2025

Requisition Number: 134796
Position Number/s: Several
Classification: APS Level 4 
Location: ACT  
Division: Emergency Management Response  
Branch: National Crisis Operations  
Section: National Situation Room  
Security Classification: Negative Vetting Level 1 
Salary: $74,766.00 to $79,959.00  
Contact: David Long - david.long@nema.gov.au 
Period of Vacancy: Casual/Intermittent
Number of Vacancies: Several 

Applications close: 22/10/2025 at 11:59pm (midnight) - AEDT. Late applications will not be accepted.

Who can apply

Please note this opportunity is available to current Australian Public Service employees and all eligible members of the community.

This process will be used to fill multiple vacancies on a casual basis depending on business needs and requirements.

About the National Emergency Management Agency
The National Emergency Management Agency's work has a real impact on the lives of Australians, particularly those living in rural and regional areas.

The National Emergency Management Agency's guiding principle is “Locally led, locally understood and locally implemented” and we bring together local communities, government, non-government and key industry representatives to support disaster recovery and resilience across the country.

Your work will help people who are recovering from natural disasters and prepare them for the future.

Overview of the Branch and Section

National Crisis Operation Branch (NCOB) structure includes four sections and additional embedded capabilities from other Australian Government Departments and Agencies. The largest section, National Situation Room (NSR) Operations, is made up of seven teams; five of which provide 24/7 situational awareness of potential crisis incidents.

The NSR monitors and reports on emerging current and predicted hazards to support decision making across the Commonwealth, states and territories and industry. The majority of NSR work relates to monitoring and reporting on natural disaster events across Australia (flood, bushfire, cyclone, heatwave and earthquakes), and includes a strong focus on weather forecast and relationships with the Bureau of Meteorology and Geoscience Australia. Under an ‘all-hazards' remit, the NSR also conducts monitoring and reporting on security incidents including cyber, significant demonstrations, impacts to critical infrastructure, space weather and space debris re-entry.

The NSR issues SMS, verbal and written notifications on all-hazard emergency events to key Government and jurisdictional stakeholders. Increasingly this information is available to our stakeholders through the National Joint Common Operating Picture (NJCOP), a web-based platform which provides decision makers with near real-time, automated, situational awareness and decision support for nationally significant hazard events.

The NSR houses the National Security Hotline (NSH), a public facing phone and email line for reporting concerns of national security to law enforcement agencies for further investigation. The NSH operator role is a significant component of the NSR Officer position.

The Crisis Intelligence Section (CIS) assesses hazard drivers, trends and forecasts to anticipate crises and their first and second-order consequences before they occur. CIS produces intelligence to enable NEMA and its partners to effectively pre-position attention and resources, and trigger timely and appropriate assistance.

The Crisis Planning Section (CPS) contribute to executive decision support through specialist analytical and planning capabilities, including coordination of the Crisis Coordination Team (CCT).

The Capability and Readiness Section (CRS) supports the rest of the branch with culture and retention initiatives, recruitment, budget management, facilities support, project management, change management, professional development opportunities, and mental and health wellbeing initiatives.

About the role

The NSR is scalable from steady state monitoring, to coordination of reporting across current and emerging hazards and disasters. NSR positions are designated shift work roles and the occupants are required to perform duties on a 24/7 rotational roster, including days, nights, weekends and public holidays, and are remunerated in line with these shift work requirements. Staff may be required to perform higher duties to fill operational vacancies. All NSR Officers will be assigned across both ‘Operational Support’ and ‘National Security Hotline’ skill sets.

Our ideal candidate

We are seeking highly motivated, curious, critical thinkers who enjoy working in a rapidly evolving environment. You will have a high standard of oral and written communication with a developed ability to liaise with, coordinate and support multiple internal and external stakeholders.

Working in the NSR is often high-pressured and unpredictable and is best suited to team players who are flexible, resilient and able to quickly grasp new concepts. A high level of computer literacy will support your work across several online systems including utilising open-source media platforms and search terms, databases and incident management systems. An interest in emergency management and natural disasters will drive your ability to learn across a broad scope of subject content.

Specific duties/responsibilities

• Monitor incoming agency feeds, open-source media and the NSR's information systems on both emergency management and national security events, to inform development of briefing and analytical products for senior executive decision makers, Australian Government and jurisdictional agencies

• Draft written information products based on collected information

• Produce maps, diagrams, graphs and written reports to inform NSR briefing and analytical products

• Support the Crisis Coordination Team undertake other tasks related to the role, including project work, as directed by the NSR Shift Leader, Assistant Shift Leader and Senior Officers

• Participate in crisis response planning meetings as required

• Take NSH calls relating to matters of national security and accurately record and report that information

• Prepare and log information accurately into the NSH database and forward to relevant agencies.

How to apply

As part of your application you will be required to prepare and submit a one-page applicant response document in relation to the advertised role, outlining:

• How your skills, knowledge, and experience will be relevant to this role

• Why you are interested in the role and what you can offer us

• Any specific examples or achievements that demonstrate your ability to perform the role

Applicant response documents must be a minimum 11pt font in MSWord or PDF format.

Prior to preparing your response it is recommended you review the Work Level standards relevant to the classification you are applying to. It may also be useful to refer to the Integrated Leadership Systems information relevant to the classification.

As part of your application, you will need to provide:

• Your CV

• Your Applicant Response document  

• Details of two referees

• Include your full name and the Requisition Number - 134796 in the footer of any documents being uploaded.

Eligibility and Specific Conditions of Employment

To be eligible to work with the NEMA you must:

• Be an Australian Citizen

• Fulfil the Agency’s minimum requirements by satisfactorily answering all screening questions during the application process

• Obtain and maintain the required AGSVA clearance

• Satisfy a probation period

• Undergo a health assessment (if applicable).
   

Technical Assistance

If you are experiencing problems submitting your application online, please email the nature of the issues you are experiencing to Recruitment (recruitment@homeaffairs.gov.au) including screen captures if necessary. A response will be sent during business hours.

Notes

Remuneration: The Agency offers an attractive remuneration package, including salary, superannuation benefits and flexible working conditions appropriate to the level of the position.

If you have identified as having a disability, please indicate whether you require any support throughout the selection process. For further information please contact Recruitment: recruitment@homeaffairs.gov.au.