FREE NSW GOVERNMENT INTERVIEW WORKBOOKS
Turn your experience into clear interview answers
You know the work you’ve done. These free NSW Government interview workbooks help you choose relevant practice questions, find the detail in your examples and build STAR talking points you can explain aloud.
Four PDFs: Foundational, Intermediate, Adept and Advanced. Choose sections using the capability levels in your role description.
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Get the free workbook set
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Use the questions to practise with your own experience.
Know what to practise. Know what to say.
01
Choose questions that matter to your role
Start with the focus capabilities in the role description. Find the matching level and practise questions that help you explore the experience you’ll need to explain.
02
Bring the detail out of your experience
Use the preparation process to work out what happened, what you were responsible for, the decisions you made and the result. Turn those details into useful talking points.
03
See how a worked answer is built
Read hypothetical examples organised into Situation, Task, Action and Result. See the specific steps behind an answer, then build your own from work you’ve actually done.
Four workbooks. Start with the capabilities in your role.
A role can ask for different levels across its focus capabilities. You can use sections from more than one workbook. Each PDF contains 20 main practice questions, 20 worked STAR examples and a step-by-step preparation demonstration.
Foundational
Foundational capability practice
Intermediate
Intermediate capability practice
Adept
Adept capability practice
Advanced
Advanced capability practice
These workbooks were published in 2025. Use your current role description for capability wording and levels; some workbook wording reflects earlier material.
ACTUAL WORKBOOK PAGES
Have a look inside before you download
These are actual pages from the workbooks. Open a larger preview to read the detail. The worked answers are hypothetical teaching examples.
Find questions by capability
Questions are grouped so you can find relevant practice for relationships and results, including communication, customer service and planning.
Follow an answer through STAR
A customer complaint becomes a clear example: understand the issue, check the transaction, involve the accounts team and follow up.
Show how you improved a service
A hypothetical finance example connects stakeholder feedback, changes to invoicing and an ongoing review process.
HYPOTHETICAL WORKED EXAMPLES
See the kind of detail you can prepare
These summaries draw on the workbook examples. Use them to understand the approach, then choose situations and results from your own experience.
FOUNDATIONAL · CUSTOMER SERVICE
Foundational: resolving a customer complaint
Practice theme: understanding a customer’s complaint and following up on the outcome.
S · Situation
A customer has been charged twice for one purchase and is upset.
T · Task
Resolve the billing issue, listen to the customer and maintain their trust.
A · Action
Confirm the details, check the transaction, contact the accounts team and call the customer the next day to check the refund.
R · Result
In the hypothetical example, the issue is resolved and the customer appreciates the follow-up.
The useful detail is in the action: what you checked, who you involved and how you kept the customer informed. Think about the equivalent steps in your own example.
ADEPT · PLAN AND PRIORITISE
Adept: adapting priorities when conditions change
The workbook’s hypothetical marketing example responds to new research showing a shift towards sustainable products. The candidate reviews the evidence with the team, changes the brief, reallocates resources and checks performance each week.
Prepare the reason for your decision as well as the decision itself. What changed, what did you prioritise and how did you check whether the new approach worked?
ADVANCED · CUSTOMER SERVICE
Advanced: involving stakeholders in service improvement
In the hypothetical finance example, customers find the billing process difficult. The candidate speaks with airline representatives, works with IT on simpler e-invoicing and establishes monthly customer reviews.
Explain how people’s feedback shaped the improvement and how you kept listening after it was introduced.
Use one relevant question to start your preparation
STEP 1
Open the role description
Note each focus capability and its level. Use the vacancy’s current wording as your guide.
STEP 2
Choose your own example
Pick a situation where you can explain your responsibility, decisions and actions in detail.
STEP 3
Write STAR talking points
Set the scene briefly. Spend time on what you did, why you did it and the result you can support.
STEP 4
Practise aloud
Answer the question directly. Check that someone outside your workplace could follow the example, then tighten your notes.
These are practice questions. Your employer may ask different questions or include other assessments. Follow the interview invitation and any assessment instructions.
For broader preparation, read our NSW Government interview preparation guide. You can also work through our capability interview questions and worked answers.
FREE WORKBOOK SET
Make a start on your next interview
Get the four free workbooks, choose a relevant question and start building talking points from your own experience.
Foundational · Intermediate · Adept · Advanced
A few things to know before you start
Which workbook should I use?
Match the level beside each focus capability in your role description. A job title or grade alone won’t tell you which sections to use.
Can I use the sample answers in my interview?
Use them to learn the structure and level of detail. Prepare honest examples from your own experience, with results you can explain.
Will these be the questions the panel asks?
The questions are for practice. The panel chooses its questions and may use other assessment tasks. Keep the role description and interview instructions beside you as you prepare.
Also preparing a written application?
The separate form below delivers our free NSW Government cover letter template. For the interview workbooks, use the workbook form at the top of this page.
Have an interview invitation already?
For preparation around a particular interview, Team 3Thirty's written Interview Preparation Pack costs $297 incl. GST. It uses the vacancy documents, invitation and your experience to develop likely-question guidance and identify evidence to prepare. The pack is delivered by email for you to work through independently.
Review the Interview Preparation Pack with your assessment date and instructions available. Timing and capacity are checked before short-notice delivery is promised.
Team 3Thirty is an independent provider of application support. We are not affiliated with NSW Government.