How the National Graduate Program works

About the program

Ready to make a real impact? Join our National Graduate Program and help us simplify government services, so people can get on with their lives. We deliver essential health, social and welfare services through Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support.

We're looking for innovative graduates who can revolutionise the way we operate. Our mission is to provide simple, helpful, respectful and transparent experiences for our customers.

In return, we'll invest in your growth and expertise through diverse experiences and opportunities to kickstart your career in the Australian Public Service (APS).

Streams

We offer 9 streams in our program. Most streams follow a 10-month program, with the legal stream running for up to 18 months.

Generalist stream

Your degree is valuable to us, even if it doesn't align with a specific specialist stream. Our generalist stream is perfect if you:

• are open to exploring different areas
• have a degree that doesn't match our specialist streams.

Specialist streams

Our specialist streams allow you to focus your career in a specific area, giving you the opportunity to deep dive into your chosen field. We offer the following streams:

• data
• digital
• finance and accounting
• human resources
• legal
• service delivery
• service design
• social work.

To apply for most of these specialist streams, you'll need a degree that matches that area. For the generalist and service delivery streams, any eligible degree will open the door.

Some streams have more than one rotation built into the program, offering the chance to broaden your skillset and knowledge.

If your stream allows for additional rotations, you can let us know which business area in your stream excites you the most, and although we can’t guarantee it, we'll do our best to make it happen.

Read more about who we’re looking for.

Development opportunities

We have a range of training and development opportunities to help you grow and shape your career.

During our program, you’ll take part in a variety of activities, including:

• Australian Public Service Commission events
• graduate and internal events
• presentations to our CEO and senior executive staff (SES)
• capability masterclasses.

You’ll also get:

• first-hand experience in our service delivery environments to see how Australians access government services
• training specific to your work area.

These activities will help you:

• get exposure to our business
• strengthen your networking skills
• develop and enhance your career opportunities
• broaden your understanding of the APS.

Service delivery experience

During your experience in service delivery, you’ll see how your work makes a positive difference to the lives of Australians.

Over 6 weeks, you’ll experience our service delivery environment first-hand and see how Australians access government services. This experience is unique to our graduate program.

Community OutReach Experience

You’ll be able to apply for the Community OutReach Experience (CORE). It’s a unique opportunity to take part in a life-changing placement, where you‘ll:

• support our most vulnerable and remote communities
• gain a greater understanding of the issues customers in these communities experience
• learn about the complexities of service delivery in these areas
• gain a greater understanding of the important work undertaken by our community engagement officers, multicultural service officers, Indigenous service officers, financial service officers, aged care service officers and more.

If successful, you’ll spend up to 3 months in a location like Alice Springs, Broome, Darwin, Melbourne or Sydney.

CEO and COO placements

You’ll be able to apply for a 3-month placement in the Chief Executive Officer’s (CEO) or Chief Operating Officer’s (COO) office.

During the placement, you’ll perform the duties of an executive support officer, such as preparing and reviewing information packs, drafting meeting documents, operational reports and cabinet submissions.

Support, buddies and a senior executive mentor

A graduate coordinator will work with you to make sure you have what you need to complete the program.

We’ll match you with a buddy before you start. This’ll be a graduate from a previous year. They’ll help you settle into our agency and the APS.

We’ll also team you up with a SES mentor. They’ll support and guide you with your career and personal objectives.

Compulsory elements

As a graduate, you'll need to meet certain employment standards, including probation and regular performance reviews. Don't worry, we'll be there to support you every step of the way.

Salary

We offer 2 pay points for graduates, depending on your qualification level.

If you’ve completed an undergraduate degree, your salary will be $68,830. Undergraduate degrees are level 7 qualifications according to the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).

If you’ve completed a double degree or have a higher qualification, your salary will be $76,714. These qualifications are level 8 or above according to the AQF.

You can read about the framework on the Australian Qualifications Framework website.

After you complete the program, you’ll advance to the base salary of an APS5 classification within your relevant job stream. Read more in our Enterprise Agreement.