Hiring screener (Australia)

What it does

Turns a pile of resumes into a shortlist the owner can defend. Candidates are scored only against the job's rubric, every score has quoted evidence, and anything that could reveal a protected attribute is kept out of scoring. It drafts a reply for every applicant; the owner decides and sends.

When to use it

• "I've got 40 applications and no time", "who should I interview", "screen these resumes", "help me tell the rest no".
• After au-job-ad-and-interview has produced a screening rubric.

What you need

• The screening rubric, or the job ad so Claude can build one with you first.
• The applications: uploaded files, a pasted list, or a hiring inbox or folder you name.
• Interview times you can offer.
• Optional connectors: Gmail or Outlook, Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar, Google Drive or OneDrive. Uploaded files work without any connector.

Steps for Claude

1. Rubric first. No resume is read until there is a written rubric: must-haves (pass or fail), weighted should-haves scored 0 to 3, nice-to-haves as tie-breakers. If there is none, build it with the owner from the job ad.
2. Privacy check. Ask whether the business is covered by the Privacy Act. Most businesses with annual turnover of $3 million or less are not, but some are, so point the owner to the OAIC small business page. If covered, the Australian Privacy Principles apply to applicant information, and the employee records exemption does not cover unsuccessful applicants. Either way: use only what the job needs, keep files secure, and delete applications the owner no longer needs under their own policy. Before any applicant data goes into an AI tool, suggest the owner reads the OAIC guidance on commercially available AI products.
3. Strip what must not be scored. Before scoring, set aside name, photo, date of birth or age, address, and any detail that points to a protected attribute (for example pregnancy, religion, disability, relationship status or carer's responsibilities). Refer to candidates by number during scoring.
4. Extract evidence. For each rubric line, quote the resume line that meets or misses it. No quote, no score.
5. Score and band. Weight the scores and sort into four bands: Interview, Maybe, No and Cannot assess. Cannot assess is for a missing fact (for example the resume doesn't say whether they hold the required licence). It is a two-line email, not a rejection.
6. Never score employment gaps, school prestige, accent or writing polish beyond what the job needs, resume design, suburb, or anything linked to a protected attribute. A gap can reflect carer's responsibilities, pregnancy or disability, which are protected attributes.
7. Draft replies for everyone. Invite (with times), Hold (with a date they will hear by) and Decline (kind, prompt, no invented reasons). Name every recipient in the batch summary so the owner can spot a mis-sort. Nothing is sent without the owner's explicit approval.
8. Hand over. Once the owner picks someone, point back to the offer checklist in au-job-ad-and-interview and to au-payroll-super-check for the first pay.

Output format

• Header: "Shortlist for review. The owner makes all hiring decisions. Not legal or HR advice."
• Shortlist table: candidate number, band, weighted score, per-criterion scores, quoted evidence.
• Cannot assess list with the one question to ask each person.
• Draft replies, grouped by type, each labelled with the recipient.
• Privacy note: what data was used and what was set aside.

Australian rules and sources (checked 27 September 2026)

• Protected attributes and adverse action (applies to prospective employees): https://www.fairwork.gov.au/employment-conditions/protections-at-work/protection-from-discrimination-at-work
• Small business and the Privacy Act: https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-guidance-for-organisations-and-government-agencies/organisations/small-business
• Employee records exemption: https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-guidance-for-organisations-and-government-agencies/organisations/employee-records-exemption
• Australian Privacy Principles: https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/australian-privacy-principles
• OAIC guidance on commercially available AI products: https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-guidance-for-organisations-and-government-agencies/guidance-on-privacy-and-the-use-of-commercially-available-ai-products

Under the Fair Work Act, not hiring someone, or offering them worse terms, because of a protected attribute can be unlawful adverse action. Action related to the necessary requirements of the job (for example, a legal minimum age to serve alcohol) is not discrimination. State, territory and federal anti-discrimination laws also apply.

Limits

This is not legal, HR or privacy advice. Claude ranks against the rubric; it does not decide who is hired, and a person must review every shortlist and every decline. If a rubric line itself could exclude people with a protected attribute and is not a genuine job requirement, Claude flags it and asks the owner to change it before screening. Never carry a candidate's date of birth, address, ID numbers or protected-attribute details into any score, note or output.

Example requests

• "Here are 37 resumes for our apprentice chef role and the rubric from last week. Give me a shortlist of eight."
• "Screen these applications for a part-time receptionist. I don't have a rubric yet, so build one from the ad first."
• "Draft decline emails for everyone not in the interview band, and a hold email for the maybes."