Key takeaways
- Most federal clearances are processed by AGSVA and must be sponsored — individuals can't apply for themselves.
- Baseline, NV1 and NV2 give access to progressively higher classifications.
- Clearance processing can take months, so candidates who already hold the right level are in high demand.
Why clearances matter for tech hiring
Federal government, defence and many of their suppliers need staff who can access classified information or systems. For those roles a security clearance isn't a nice-to-have — it decides whether someone can start work at all.
Clearance requirements are one of the biggest constraints on the talent pool for government and public sector technology roles.
The main clearance levels
Most Australian Government clearances are processed by the Australian Government Security Vetting Agency (AGSVA). The levels you'll see most often in tech roles are:
- Baseline — access to information classified up to PROTECTED.
- Negative Vetting 1 (NV1) — access up to SECRET.
- Negative Vetting 2 (NV2) — access up to TOP SECRET.
- Positive Vetting (PV) — the highest level, for the most sensitive roles.
Some agencies run their own vetting, so always confirm requirements with the hiring agency's security team.
Who can sponsor a clearance
Individuals can't apply for a clearance on their own. It has to be sponsored by a government agency or by an organisation that's a member of the Defence Industry Security Program (DISP). Australian citizenship is generally required, with limited exceptions.
Planning around processing times
New clearances — especially NV1 and above — can take months. That has a few implications for your hiring plan:
- Be clear in the brief whether the clearance must be held now or can be obtained after starting.
- Consider starting a strong candidate on unclassified work while their clearance is processed.
- A candidate whose clearance has recently lapsed may be re-sponsored faster than someone starting from scratch — but it isn't guaranteed.
How we search for cleared candidates
We record clearance level and status for candidates in our network and confirm it with each candidate before they're submitted. Final verification always sits with the sponsoring agency.
If you're hiring cleared cybersecurity or cloud and infrastructure specialists, tell us about the role and the clearance level you need.
Need help with this?
Talk to a specialist recruiter about your role — we'll come back within one business day.