NATIONAL SECURITY CLEARANCE LEVELS:
GUIDELINES FOR AGENCIES
Determining when a national security clearance is required and at what level
Introduction
Whilst the NZSIS is responsible for the security vetting process and for making
recommendations, agency heads are responsible for:
•
identifying the appropriate security clearance levels required by their permanent
employees, contractors and temporary staff
•
determining whether a national security clearance is to be granted or not following a
recommendation from the NZSIS
•
appropriately managing personnel risk after the granting of a security clearance,
through the development and execution of a security clearance management plan.
Determining whether an individual requires a clearance
Managers, in collaboration with CSOs and agency heads, must determine whether an
employee (including contractors and temporary staff) will have regular or routine access to
material protectively marked CONFIDENTIAL or above.
A national security clearance is not required for material protectively marked as SENSITIVE,
IN CONFIDENCE, or RESTRICTED. Refer to the Information Security Management
Requirements - New Zealand Government Security Classification System for the definition of
protectively marked / classified materials and levels.
•
If the employee will have no access to classified material, systems or areas then they
do not require a national security clearance.
•
If the employee will have regular, routine or ongoing access to classified material,
systems, or areas, then they must be first granted a national security clearance at the
appropriate level by the agency head, after a security vetting recommendation has
been received from the NZSIS.
In an urgent and critical operational emergency an agency head may authorise that staff
have temporary and supervised access to classified material one level above their current
clearance level.
For further information see the New Zealand Government Personnel Security Management
Requirements - Agency Personnel Security Requirements: Emergency Access to Classified
Information.
Therefore if:
•
access to protectively marked material will be regular and routine, or
•
there is no regular access but emergency access provisions are inappropriate, then
•
the employee must have the correct level of national security clearance.
Foreign nationals must not access New Zealand government security classified information
without a New Zealand agency sponsored national security clearance unless they hold a
clearance granted by their own national government which is recognised by the New Zealand
government in accordance with the terms of a bi-lateral Security Agreement or Security
Arrangement.
For further information on clearances for foreign nationals see the New Zealand Government
Personnel Security Management Requirements: Agency Personnel Security. For information
on relevant bi-lateral agreements seek advice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Determining the level of a clearance
Agencies should decide on the level of protectively marked resources a position is required
to access when that position is established.
Any decision regarding an employee’s national security clearance level must be based on
the ‘need-to-know’ principle which refers to the operational need to access protectively
marked material. The operational duties of the position and the highest level of protectively
marked information that will be accessed by an employee in that position should be
identified.
The relevant factors in determining a position’s required national security clearance level are:
•
access to protectively marked material
•
access to classified systems (in particular ICT networks) and areas
•
any need to attend meetings or conferences where a minimum clearance level is
required.
Agencies should be able to justify a clearance level based on operational need, and be wary
of determining clearance levels based on convenience, authority or prestige.
If, following a recommendation from the NZSIS and the granting of a national security
clearance by an agency head, the tasks or duties of a job change to the extent that it
requires an individual to have ongoing access to resources classified higher than his or her
current clearance, and the provisions for emergency access are inappropriate, then the
individual must undergo a security vetting at a higher level. This will require a new vetting
request to the NZSIS.
Position Descriptions
It is good practice to advise potential applicants at the time of advertising that a position
requires a security clearance, and to outline the criteria for eligibility. This may deter
applicants who are ineligible or who are unwilling to undergo the security vetting process
from applying for the position.
Position descriptions should include the following information:
•
that the position requires a national security clearance
•
advice that the vetting process to obtain a clearance can be invasive
•
if the employee is granted a clearance they will be required to maintain their
clearance as a condition of their employment in the specified position.
When re-advertising positions, or revising position descriptions, agencies should take the
opportunity to reassess whether the original clearance level is still appropriate, especially if
duties have been reorganised or reallocated.