Background checks on public servants

The Dom Post reports that police checks on candidates seeking high profile public sector jobs have become routine since the Mary-Anne Thompson affair, along with verification of qualifications.

This seems pretty sensible to me, and kudos to the State Services Commissioner for initiating it.

One aspect seems to be a bit mistaken though:

He said people currently going for senior positions in the state sector – in ministerial offices at Parliament, for example – were now being carefully looked at.

When I worked in the Beehive I needed both a Police check and a “secret” security clearance. In the PMs Office one needed “top secret” so you got vetted far more rigourously than just a Police check. However these checks did not normally take place until some months after you had started work!