NV1 vs Baseline: what a clearance actually means for a government ICT contract
Baseline, NV1 and NV2 are gates, not preferences. What each clearance unlocks, why a CV has to evidence it, and how to screen candidates before you invest a submission.
The clearances you will meet most
Australian security clearances are issued by the Australian Government Security Vetting Agency (AGSVA). In ICT labour hire you will meet three:
- Baseline — the entry-level clearance. The most common requirement by volume, in both APS and contractor roles.
- NV1 (Negative Vetting 1) — a step up, and the standard requirement behind a great deal of Defence, Home Affairs and intelligence-adjacent contract work.
- NV2 — higher again. Rarer in labour hire, but it appears, and when it does the candidate pool collapses.
Positive Vetting exists above these and is genuinely uncommon in contract ICT work. If you see a contract asking for it, the buyer has a very specific shortlist in mind.
Why it is a gate, not a score
If a contract requires NV1, a candidate without NV1 is not a partial match — they are not in the running. Panel agencies generally will not sponsor a clearance for a twelve-month contract, because the vetting takes long enough that the contract may be over before the clearance lands.
That has a direct consequence for how you screen. In the erecruit matcher, clearance is a hard gate: a CV that cannot evidence the required clearance is excluded from the shortlist rather than scored down. "Strong technically, no clearance" is not a candidate you can place, and a list that keeps promoting them wastes your morning.
What "has a clearance" has to mean
A clearance has to be evidenced in the CV, not inferred from the fact that someone once worked at a government agency. Useful phrasings look like:
- "Holds current NV1 clearance"
- "NV1 clearance (AGSVA, granted 2024)"
- "Baseline clearance, current"
What does not count: "eligible for clearance", "clearable", or "worked in Defence". Those describe a person who could _start_ a vetting process, which for a contract with a closing date is usually the same as not having one.
If a candidate says their clearance has lapsed, treat it as a different conversation. Reactivating is not automatic.
The commercial angle
A current clearance is one of the few genuine differentiators in a crowded contract market. Candidates who hold one are worth more to a panel agency than a marginally better technologist who doesn't, because the agency can submit them this week.
For recruiters the practical implications are short:
- Ask before you invest. Clearance status is the first question, not the last.
- Screen for the wording. "Eligible" is not "current".
- Read the requirement, not the vibe. A contract asking for Baseline is not asking for NV1, and candidates with NV1 are priced accordingly.
Reading the field on an opportunity
Both BuyICT opportunities carry the clearance the buyer requires. It sits alongside the delivery state and the closing time, and it is the single most useful filter in the whole record — it tells you whether you have a shortlist at all, before you read another line.
Where to go next
- See the contracts asking for these clearances — the live feed carries the clearance the buyer requires, so you can filter before you read.
- How BuyICT labour hire opportunities work — invited sellers, headcount and close times.
- Which government contract is behind that job ad? — finding the agency ad behind a contract.
- CV matching — how a clearance gates a shortlist rather than scoring it down.
