Selection criteria · Cover letters · Government applications
Two-Page Cover Letter Addressing the Statement of Duties / Selection Criteria
The format that has all but wholly replaced traditional selection criteria for many Australian government roles — what it is, how to spot it on a position description, how to structure the response, and a complete worked example showing what a strong two-page cover letter looks like end to end.
In thirty seconds
- The two-page cover letter addressing the statement of duties (or selection criteria) is now the dominant format for many Australian government roles — particularly in Tasmania and Queensland, and increasingly in NSW, ACT, and parts of the Victorian Public Service. It has all but wholly replaced traditional long-form selection criteria responses.
- The format is a single document of roughly 1,500 words (two pages) that addresses each selection criterion within a cover-letter structure — short introduction, criterion-by-criterion responses, brief call to action, professional sign-off.
- You can spot when this format applies by reading the "How to apply" section of the position description carefully. Where two-page or word-count limits are specified — and selection criteria are still listed — this is the format being asked for.
- The structure preserves the requirement to address each selection criterion explicitly, but presents them within a flowing document rather than as separate Q&A-style headings. The substance is the same; the packaging is different.
- Below: how to identify when this format applies, how to interpret the position description, the five-element structure, a complete worked example, and the practical tips that make the difference between a 1,500-word document that scores and one that doesn't.
In this article
How to write a 2-page cover letter that addresses government requirements
More and more, there are content length limitations placed on selection criteria responses, and the majority of the time these are two pages, or roughly 1,500 words. This has been implemented by the Commonwealth and most state governments in response to enormous selection criteria responses being submitted for government roles, jam packed with empty content that doesn't actually demonstrate an applicant's capabilities.
When applicants write their selection criteria, there is a tendency to fill the response with padding, or material that looks substantive but isn't, on the assumption that more is better. Length isn't everything. With selection criteria, you want to get your material out quickly and efficiently — with the most impact and the lowest word count.
You want to use the panel's limited time well. And this is where directions for a two-page cover letter come into play.
Where you'll see this format in 2026
The two-page cover letter format is now the standard for the majority of Tasmanian State Service roles (where it's referred to as the short-form application), most Queensland Government roles (one-page or two-page pitch is the dominant format on SmartJobs), most ACT Government roles, an increasing share of NSW Government roles (where targeted-question responses now sit alongside cover letter formats), and selected Victorian Public Service and federal APS applications. We've covered the jurisdictional variation in detail in our state-by-state government recruitment guide.
How to spot it when it applies
Either on the applicant guide attached to the position description, or on the role's job-portal listing, there will be a section titled "How to apply." Read this section carefully and make sure you are aware of the directions before drafting.
Tells that the two-page cover letter format applies:
- The "How to apply" section names a page limit — typically two pages or 1,500 words
- The PD lists selection criteria separately but the application instructions don't ask for separate selection criteria responses
- The PD uses phrases like "address the selection criteria within your cover letter" or "a two-page statement addressing the requirements of the role"
- The job ad refers to a "short form application" (Tasmanian terminology) or "two-page pitch" or "statement of suitability" (Queensland and APS terminology)
Where the position description asks for a separate selection criteria document and a cover letter, that's a different format — see our selection criteria examples for the long-form approach. Where it asks for one document only, with selection criteria addressed within it, that's the two-page cover letter format covered here.
How to interpret the position description
Click on the position description and look over what's listed in it. On most government position descriptions, you'll find the following sections — titled exactly like this, or very similarly:
- Position Objective — what the role exists to achieve
- Role context — where the role sits in the team or organisation
- Duties — what the role does day to day
- Responsibility — the formal accountability scope
- Knowledge, Skills and Experience — the selection criteria, in relation to the major duties
Selection criteria can also be called Essential Requirements, Role Specific Requirements, Success Criteria, or Capabilities. The easiest way to spot them is to look for dot-pointed content that looks like this:
- Demonstrated ability to provide consumer-centred care
- Exceptional communication and conflict resolution skills
- Proven report writing capabilities
Once you have a good idea of the important background, context, and scope, and you've found the selection criteria you need to respond to, you can start on your content. There are over ten detailed worked responses across capability families in our selection criteria examples, which apply to both the long-form and two-page cover letter formats.
Two-page cover letter — worked example
Below is a complete worked example of a two-page cover letter addressing three selection criteria for a values-based Queensland Government role. Names and identifying details have been changed; the structure and proportions are representative of what scores well on a panel.
Worked example
Two-page cover letter — Senior Communications Officer, Queensland Government
Dear Selection Panel,
I wish to submit my application for the position of Senior Communications Officer as listed on the Queensland Government SmartJobs website. With seven years of corporate communications experience across the public and private sectors — including four years working with values-based organisations — I am confident I would deliver strong outcomes in this role and would welcome the opportunity to support the department's strategic communications priorities.
I take a customer-first approach to communications planning. As Senior Communications Officer at a state government agency, I led the rebuild of a public-facing service portal that had been receiving sustained negative feedback. I conducted user-experience interviews with twelve customers across age and accessibility profiles, identified the four most-cited friction points, and worked with the digital team to redesign the navigation, content hierarchy, and form-completion paths.
The redesign reduced average task completion time by 38% and lifted the customer satisfaction score from 6.2 to 8.4 within four months. The work was nominated for an internal customer experience award and the methodology has since been adopted as the agency's standard for content-led service redesign.
I move quickly from concept to delivery. Faced with a 48-hour deadline to deliver a stakeholder-facing position paper on a contested policy decision, I developed a draft framework, ran a 90-minute consultation with three subject matter experts to test the messaging, drafted the full document, secured executive sign-off, and distributed it to 47 external stakeholders within the deadline.
Stakeholder feedback was substantively positive, with 34 of 47 recipients responding to confirm receipt and signal alignment. The framework I developed for that paper became the template for similar position-paper turnarounds in subsequent quarters.
I empower the people I work with by treating communications as a shared discipline, not a centralised function. In my current role I established and run a monthly communications community of practice for embedded comms staff across three departments — a forum that did not previously exist. The community shares case studies, peer-reviews drafts, and surfaces cross-departmental opportunities for joint campaigns.
Twenty-two staff now participate regularly. Two cross-departmental campaigns have launched directly out of the forum. The model has been used as a reference by central agency colleagues considering similar communities for adjacent professional groups.
Thank you for taking the time to consider my application for the role of Senior Communications Officer. Please do not hesitate to contact me on the details contained herein for further information or to arrange an interview.
Yours sincerely,
[Name]
This example runs to approximately 480 words across the visible blocks; a full two-page document at this density would address five to six selection criteria with similar weight, plus opening and closing. Note the proportions: the action-and-result content (what the candidate did and what changed because of it) is by far the largest part of every response. Setup is short. Reflection is absent. Numbers anchor the claims.
The structure
- IntroductionWhy you're applying, what you're offering, and why you'd be a strong fit. Keep it to two or three sentences.
- Selection criterion restatedThis is entirely optional. It's also appropriate to skip this step and move straight to the response. Restating helps panels track which criterion you're addressing; skipping saves words.
- Your response, with the topic sentence repeating the questionOpen the response with a sentence that mirrors the criterion. Then move into your STAR-structured evidence — situation, task, action, result. Action and result should be the largest sections. Repeat for every selection criterion.
- A call-to-action statement ending the cover letterBrief, professional, two sentences maximum. Thank the panel and invite further contact.
- Professional sign-off"Yours sincerely" or equivalent, followed by your name. Don't over-decorate.
Tips, tricks, and other information to note
If it's a two-page cover letter for a government role, and the application instructions don't mention addressing the selection criteria — but the position description still lists selection criteria — you do still need to address the selection criteria. The criteria are how the panel scores; they don't go away just because the format hides them.
Traditionally, where the position description asks for responses to the selection criteria as a separate document, you would develop your responses and title each with the criterion as a heading. The two-page cover letter approach is exactly the same in substance, but incorporates the cover-letter element of an introduction statement, and simply does not contain the criteria as separate document headings.
The point of the exercise is to demonstrate your capability to perform in the role through examples of your ability to do that work before. The only part of any story that demonstrates your capability is the actions you took — not the situation, not the team, not the eventual outcome alone. Action carries the evidence weight.
Focus on the inner content
Save your space for the real content that will get you scored. Keep your introduction short and to the point, and your call-to-action statement at the end within two sentences. Every word that isn't doing evidence-work is taking space from a word that could be.
The two-page format is unforgiving. Every paragraph either earns its space with specific evidence, or it shouldn't be there.
Introduction example
Example introduction
I wish to submit my application for the position of Communications Officer as listed on the Tasmanian Government jobs website. I am confident I would be an ideal candidate for the position given my extensive experience within the corporate communications environment, my proven successes in a variety of roles, and my strong interest in supporting strategic objectives through clear external communication.
Call-to-action example
Example call to action
Thank you for taking the time to consider my application for the role of Communications Officer. Please do not hesitate to contact me on the details contained herein for further information or to arrange an interview.
Keep your content focused on the selection criteria. Keep it concise. Make every word count.
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