Secret plants

It’s typical and absolutely justified. It has nothing to do with the job but the environment and the materials they may come across.
Many local companies such as offset printers have people who are Top Secret + Positive Vetted… yes, a level above top secret because they print reports for Defence.

Makes perfect sense. They want someone who can tend to plants sitting within an area which requires secret clearance. As it is illegal for someone to be in such an area without said clearance (without being escorted) it is of no surprise.

Me no fry said :

Sounds like a giant wank to me – but perfectly in keeping with the times. Soon you’ll need a Top Secret clearance just to clean the dunnies in a government office.

If the dunnies in a top secret area need to be cleaned, then yes, you already will need top secret clearance to be cleaning those dunnies.

Just abolish AusAid and all foreign aid altogether. Rudd has just given $250million to Africa to fight AIDS at the same time Yass hospital can’t afford to employ a doctor . . .

The cleaner at my work holds a SECRET clearance yet looks as dodgy as a football bat.

Leave a document lying around at DFAT and you get a warning. Do it again and you’re out. Pity we’re not in the old admin building where we had a walk-in safe. Ahhh the memories of locking ***** in there.

part of holding secret security rating means they have signed agreements to hold any secrets they ‘happen’ across. We’ve all heard stories about documents being left lying around…

My Mother-in-Law held Top-Secret clearance in her first Public Service job, in Defence, shredding documents – and that was 40+ years ago… nothing new…

All DFAT (which ausaid is a part of) staff have top secret clearance. Remember too that, as most cleaning staff are from a non English speaking background, that line of work would be ideal for foreign intelligence services to slip in a few agents.

It sounds like they will be accessing a secure area. All support staff such as cleaners and plant waterers who enter such areas have to hold a secret clearance.

Same as all the agencies that require clearance.

Sounds like a giant wank to me – but perfectly in keeping with the times. Soon you’ll need a Top Secret clearance just to clean the dunnies in a government office.

I knew the world had gone slightly mad when the government department in which I worked explained how the American Patriot Act would potentially affect the way we did our job.