Because as of right now, they’re hiring.
So if you feel like spending your time helping classify an ungodly amount of video games, movies, publications and enforcement referrals, you can apply here
The job pays well, really well actually. Members of the Classification Board can expect to receive a total package of $128,000 per annum, along with help with relocation costs if required.
Here is the selection criteria:
i. demonstrated involvement in the community and the ability to reflect broad community standards
ii. understanding of the classifications and their value in the community and the capacity to understand the classification process
iii. good judgement and the ability to make objective decisions independent of personal views
iv. maturity and balance and the ability to apply reason, common sense and sensitivity when assessing a wide variety of material
v. demonstrated oral and written communication skills and the ability to debate difficult issues within the decision making process
vi. the ability to work intensively and under pressure as part of a small team, and
vii. demonstrated general computer skills including competence with Microsoft Office applications and email, or the ability to rapidly develop such skills.
Note: No formal qualifications are required. Experience with children, whether as a parent or through former work experience, will be highly regarded.
So basically anyone can apply for this job. Have at it!
Thanks Noreasonspec!
Comments
54 responses to “Why Not Work For The Classification Board?”
R ratings for all!
and that would be the bit I hate – you’d be in a role where you would have to enforce the very laws that you most likely disagree with. You could make very little change. Let a game through that probably shouldn’t have been let through? Congratulations, you’re fired!
Pity it is based in Sydney; I’d have liked an excuse ot move to Canberra for a year!
As much as I hate Canberra, I hate Sydney much MUCH more.
I’m…actually considering putting my name forward
If I could be guaranteed five years I’d seriously consider it, and I’m already in a job I love. I think the only people who aren’t at least sort of considering it either don’t want to relocate to Sydney or already make $100k+
You need to really consider if you want to be subjected to that kind of material on a daily basis. This is why there is a relatively quick turnover rate in the role (as mentioned by @kermitron below, it’s usually 3-5 years) and a high salary package attached.
In this job you’re not just going to be subjected to the next Mortal Kombat or Grand Theft Auto game to decide if it should be rated R or not. You’re going to be subjected to all sorts of questionable content for games, movies, TV, possibly some publications – basically anything that goes through the classification board. There’s going to be a lot of things you can’t unsee by the time you’re finished with the job. That kind of thing can seriously affect you psychologically, so you’d better make sure you are strong minded.
I’ve seen death first hand, I can handle it, I worked through that quite easily and came out the other side a much better person for it. I’ll apply once I’ve done teaching for 15 years. 🙂
Yeah if you’re strong minded like that then you shouldn’t have any issues, all I’m saying is that for those that aren’t, the job could be very demoralising and could really affect you.
It’s not just death either, you’d be subjected to torture, hardcore sex (might be a perk for some), drug use…if there’s anything you don’t think you can unsee, you need to think twice about the role. And this isn’t every now and then, this is 5 days a week. And there’s some seriously screwed up shit out there.
Oh there definitely is. I worked as a wardsman when I was 19, I saw some *really* messed up stuff back then. Not saying I’m perfect for it, I actually regret having that job, it took something away from me I’ll never get back. Dad worked as the head of security at the Mater Hospital in Brisbane, back around 2001 they found out an employee had photos on his harddrive of an illicit nature when one of their IT guys checked his PC for regular maintenance. Of course, Dad was told the harddrive back then was unusually full, it should have maxed out at a certain size due to only having Windows 98, MS Office I believe and a few other programs but was actually full. They checked the hdd and Dad was asked to come check to determine if they had to ring the police. So he did and the dudes HDD was packed full of pedo pictures. Dad had to check, alongside a police officer, that each photo contained or did not contain this employee. He still lists it as his worst experience ever. (And he was in Vietnam doing rescue services).
That’s the kind of shit I couldn’t handle seeing.
Actually, in contrast to my earlier comment, I totally cannot handle violence against children, with actors or games, it’s horrible. I just finished ep3 of the Telltale Walking Dead game and it was very unpleasant for me.
Yes, there is plenty of screwed up shit, however how much of that do you think actually pays money to go through the classification approval process in Australia.
You’d go through plenty of borderline stuff from an actual distributor, but your level of torture/rape/snuff would be pretty limited compared to what you can use Google for. Nothing as brutal as you’re thinking would pay money for distribution rights in Australia.
I’d be more worried about sitting down and watching entire seasons of Spongebob or Total Drama Island or In The Night Garden. Then their inevitable bluray releases.
More than you realise probably.
Thankfully, the G-Rated stuff generally doesn’t even go through the classification board…at least not for games. There would be way too many submissions to go through if they did. Those are generally assessed by an independent board and only the stuff that’s deemed to be PG or over then goes to the classification board. TV and movies might be a different story though.
I dunno, I can’t handle violence in real life, I’ve seen a man bleed out and I’ve seen some brutal street fights that have affected me to the point where I can’t stand seeing someone punched anymore, even blood from one of my kids’ cuts makes me woozy. But for some reason I adore violent video games, mortal Kombat, GTA, the bloodier the better. But if I see a even a pic of a real dead body on the internet I can’t look.
So, I think I could handle all the simulated violence they could throw at me.
I sat through A Serbian Film and thought it was pretty tame… *shrug* LOL
What’s that?
Ooooooh it’s a family movie 😉
Amazing.
For a job that requires minimal skill, that pay package is outrageous. Tax dollars at work.
Wow.. clearly you have no idea what they do
Clearly ignorant. How much of that pay would go towards counselling and finding someone to help you through some of the more disturbing content. The classification board handles all media, not just games. I know I’m not cut out for it after seeing my own knee- jerk reaction to Hatred, and I know other media can do much worse
My understanding is that classification board jobs are limited period* contract roles as they like to cycle people out to keep them from having too much influence over how media is rated, so probably not one to leave your current role over unless you’re looking for a career break anyway.
Of course a $128k package is a pretty tempting chunk o’ change regardless.
* Just reviewed the application and it’s “Up to five years, usually three” with a maximum of 11 if you successfully reapply at the end of your initial term.
It’s also completely f*cking useless as a career path.
“So what have you been doing for the past 5 years Mr de Tron?”
“Oh you know….. looking at movies and stuff and deciding if they’re offensive”.
“Oh great, that totally qualifies you for doing something useful!”
Sadly the people who end up applying will all be well qualified older people who can demonstrate common sence and who are looking for a cushy public service job for a few years before they retire.
That and single issue nutjobs from an assortment of backgrounds (gamers, religious nuts ect) who have an axe to grind about thje censorship or lack thereof of a particular issue.
I’m guessing that’s the catch for the attractive salary package – it’s a dead end and you might have trouble finding other work afterwards so it gives you a buffer. An applicant, as a relatively unskilled worker, is unlikely to see that kind of money again either so you want to be careful about growing accustomed to a certain standard of living.
I wouldn’t say it’s completely useless though. It seems like you will develop an “office” skillset and have a lot of autonomy, as well as having to work within rigid deadlines etc. which is potentially useful from a project management perspective. Business always need project managers and consultants. Someone in their early 20s looking to get a foot in the door for corporate/government style work could do worse than “looking at movies” as part of a small team for a few years.
But yeah, I wouldn’t abandon my current career path even for the significant pay bump. Too much risk about what happens at the end of the term.
I’d be very surprised if they hired anyone who was ‘relatively unskilled’ into that role.
At that pay scale you’ll get a lot of public service types putting their hands up and applying.
Even if they were looking across a decent spectrum of the population and the job doesn’t require specialist skills they’d still get applicants who’d shown themselves to be capable in other fields.
You’d get a young person with a degree and 5 years of decent professional work in the private sector.
You’d get older people who were public policy types with proven records in the Government sector ect….
If they just wanted generic people to fill a demographic void they’d be paying them $60k a year. They want capable, intelligent people from a wide variety of backgrounds to fill non-specialist roles. It’s the kind of job along-term unemployed loser would see in the paper and go “I’m a person from the community and I want $120k a year!” and then complain later that for some reason he didn’t get an interview.
You may be right but I spoke with someone at the OFLC (back when it was still called the OFLC) and they stated that no, they really do just want a cross-section of the community on the board. It’s not a career role, and they don’t want any kind of demographic weighting. They want all backgrounds, all education levels. If unskilled derps aren’t getting in it’s because they probably have filled their quota of unskilled derps – and there’s far more of those to go around than there are jobs compared to the number of talented educated professionals, people with childcare backgrounds, etc.
Since everyone’s doing the same job they have to pay them the same.
That’s not to say they won’t be picky, but that doesn’t mean you’re completely out of luck just because you aren’t in your 50s with a Masters degree and 3.5 kids.
Oh, they also told me they don’t tend to recruit from inside the government when appointing people to the classification board either.
I hope this Professor was one of those people who’s actually been out in the world and wasn’t one of those primary school, high school, uni…… uni forever…… types.
There’s plenty of terrible Government jobs out there but there’s plenty of awesome ones too.
The classification board may only be responsible for the interpretation of guidelines but there would have been a team of social policy types who were also Government workers who got to research and recommend the policy positions that formed the guidelines. That’s not the sexiest stuff on the planet but it’s real work that impacts the day to day lives of most Australian’s.
Government work cops tons of sh*t (some deserved) but it can be great.
Speaking of people with an axe to grind… yeesh! The unsubstantiated judgements are strong with this one.
I was told on my first day of uni by a professor that government work of any kind is the most soul-destroying, banal, over-regulated, mind-numbing crap on Earth. That’s why the pay is generally pretty good but generally still not worth the loss of personality. Nothing since that day has suggested he was wrong in any way.
Job ad should come with a recommendation that full lobotomies be completed before applying.
I work for the Government in regional Indigenous communities primarily working in digital media preservation of culture and languages, it is probably one of the most enjoyable, rewarding and fun jobs possible in this country, and there are many more like it in the Public Service; and after having worked in a dreadful dead-end job for Fairfax Media (private sector) let me tell you that some Government jobs are not the most ‘soul-destroying, banal, over-regulated, mind-numbing crap on Earth’. I’d be careful before voicing a definitive view on something you have no experience in.
Thank you shadowwarrior404, your check is in the mail.
I work for the Government in an User Experience/Information Design/Facilitation role
Its awesome and not soul destroying at all. The work I get exposed to is fantastic
Being a Uni Professor on the other hand…
If I lived in Sydney! Yikes.
Because it’s based in Sydney.
I once worked as a censor for live television. It’s surprisingly fun to be ‘the man’… XD
Did you hover your finger over the beep button? Or were you more the “cut the camera feed” guy?
(honest question!)
I had my finger on the button and gave instruction to the control room! 😀
It sounds really good but think about it. You have to play/watch everything. Good or Bad. Juvenile or R-Rated. And you can’t refuse! That pay package is worth it for being effectively a test subject.
I knew a girl that got a job like this, she spent most of her time analysing porn for infractions….she said it total destroyed any desire to have sex when she got home………..
Or, she had to reach deep into the internet for some of the sickest, kinkiest shit you can never think of.
Uhm
Married, lights off, under the covers, missionary position?
*shudders*
Nah… on top of the covers!
I guess they broke the psyche of the last person they hired to sit and stare at porn all day.
$128k a year would go, almost immediately, on therapy.
It is kinda tempting… but, yeah… I don’t know…
Fuck it. What do I have to lose? I’m in the middle of a soul crushing, oppressive uni course at the moment. The chance to fuck off to Sydney and dress nicely for a year or three is hardly the worst thing I can think of.
Go for it! \o/
is there a position open where i can walk up behind the 60 year olds who censor content in this country and slap them in the back of the head and tell them its not 1920 anymore?
Ah, you’d be after the Supervisor’s role then.
porn thing? you get to analyse porn AT work AND get paid a ridiculous or atleast fairly decent sum/amount of money. sign me up
HAHAHAHAHA OMFG… literally on the second page of the application
sure Australia… Sure… Guess we can stop censoring everything now then?
I have to wonder how often the board meets to not be able to make this a work from anywhere job.
I’d love to do that job – I feel very strongly that the people who have been incumbent there since the late 90s have really screwed up how the PG classification should be applied and have slapped an M rating on anything remotely violent. (Case in point ‘The Dark Knight’ is not a movie I would let my kids see; Iron Man however IS a movie I HAVE let my kids see – yet they both have an M certificate)
However… Basing it in Sydney is a deal breaker – no sale 🙁
Hmm apply for a job enforcing (accepting/whatever you want to call it) laws I don’t agree with… nah, that’s ok.