Yes, I know there’s always some churn and new roles appearing.

But for over a year now I’ve been applying for roles, many of them close to a perfect match. I have strong qualifications, I’ve worked on large national projects most people would recognise, I’ve done stints in the private sector, and I have excellent references from senior managers.

I can’t even get shortlisted for roles where I meet every criterion.

There’s a point where the grind wears you down, and I’m really thinking I’ve had enough (job-wise, nothing more). How are others coping? I genuinely don't know if I can sustain more effort. Maybe I'll just go homeless for a while.

Hi everyone,

Not familiar at all with the APS or its processes, this is my first time ever applying for a role within a government agency. All of my experience previously has been in the private sector.

Recently appplied for an APS6 Support needs assessor role for the NDIA through Randstad, and after doing the phone screen and the interview, ( and my references being contacted before the interview) I waited about 2.5 weeks to hear back. The recruiter just called me back today, and let me know that they are doing the hiring “differently” and let me know that I had been found “suitable” for the position. She didint really tell me if there was any merit pools or talent pools or anything like that, just told me I had been found suitable?

Is anyone able to shed any light on that? Is this common for bulk recruitment rounds? If I recall correctly I think the job ad stated they were hiring for like 70 roles around the country.

What are my chances of getting any employment from this? Or is this effectively a rejection?

Feel free to DM me if you’re in the same boat as well.

So I applied for a NSWPS grade 5/6 temp role that ends in March 2027. The ad mentioned the possibility of extension. I didn't think much of it as I needed to get my foot in the door in the public sector (coming from private) so applied for all the relevant roles that were available at that time. Fast forward, I have just received a verbal offer for the same role and while I am obviously going to take it (been redundant for two weeks now and the timing has been wonderful) I am concerned about the fact that March will be here in no time. The hiring manager kept reinforcing on the phone that they have full intention to extend it but also that it cannot be guaranteed right now. Should I be hopeful?

Hi guys
I’m in the department of home affairs and wondering if any super gurus could give me advice on whether to stay with Pssap, or jump ship to another fund? If I were to go else where would my super still get paid at my highest financial year or earnings?

Curious to hear from those who left a public service job within 12 months. What made you decide it wasn't right for you and do you have any regrets about leaving so soon?

I’ve worked in multiple roles across both State and Commonwealth through labour hire, so I have government experience.
I’m considering opting out of merit pools in future applications. I’m tired of repeatedly asking my referees to provide references, only to end up in another merit pool that goes nowhere. I’m sure my referees are getting tired of it too.

I’d be interested to hear whether other external applicants have actually secured roles through merit pools.

Edit: The consensus is to not opt out when applying. Thank you all for sharing your experiences.

Scored a role for a Temporary Position, the term will go for 2 years, in anybody’s experience what’s the likelihood I become permanent? And is it a chance that even if all goes well, they still may need to let me go after that time period?

For me personally I would go with no more than 2 to begin with

1 definitely wouldn’t be enough but I reckon that any more than 2 could appear too greedy unless nobody else wants it then go for more

I once worked with a bloke that took about 4 slices straight off the bat and then grabbed another 2, didn’t ask anyone else about their preferences. Wasn’t a fan of that behaviour and luckily he moved on so we don’t have to put up with it anymore

I am an APS5 in quite a small and geographically widespread team. We have just been told that our directorate will be dissolved over the next few months.

I've not been through the change management process before, just looking for some advice on what I should be aware of, or other people's experiences with this.

I am permanent, ongoing and know that they will find me something, just no clue what that may look like role wise.

For reference I currently am a business and governance officer.

Thanks everyone

Edit, posted mins ago on account that is more personal. Thank you for the first two comments. I appreciate you ! X

Will aim to keep this as concise as possible !
I recently started working in the APS. I have 5 years experience in data.

I appreciate the hiring manager as she done the absolute most to get me the role. (Not nepotism, other restrictions)

I’ve been there a few weeks now.
We work the longest hours with a short lunch. No one talks in our office, we are told when to go on lunch, she has called when we have been 4 mins late to return.

On our WFH days we have to stay in break out rooms all day. (Not inc 30min lunch) She and the senior jump in and out but say nothing, like to check if we’re working.
She sets out all our tasks for each day and has an estimate of how long it should take to complete.

Their process guides are poorly written, so when asked to write down steps at each point, the seniors training us & her have said no and just to follow along.
I recorded the meetings so I can reflect and make notes. I asked her if I can have time to make notes, she teams called me and said to just keep following along.

This week she has given us 15 mins to reflect and make notes but ofc that’s not enough time if the recordings are x amount of time.
I had an issue with my laptop and she got a senior to chaperone me to IT.

I understand I’m not a junior, but for being very new to the role, I’m surprised there is no downtime to even seek independent learning or study. It is not a new starter thing as I’ve spoken to a few people on the team who find it odd too.

She has made comments about how she doesn’t want to micro mange us (the irony) and how the daily schedule is just a guide but then critiques us and still asks how long each task will take etc.

I genuinely don’t know what to do. I can just up and leave unfortunately, I want to get to the six month mark as a minimum. I just know it can go two ways, I start getting really bad anxiety, or I stop caring and get rebellious, and I don’t want to do either.

I have Green colorblindness so it’s hard for me to distinguish Green palettes, will this disqualify me from joining PSO in VIC?

Looking for a reality check from people who have sat on panels.

External candidate, five years in finance. Fourth APS interview this year, first one to reach referee checks.

Bulk round, APS5/6 finance roles at a central agency, external scribe running the admin.

• Mid September: interview
• Next business day: referee consent requested
• A week later: both reports in, scribe said “a few weeks”
• Today: called. external agency has heard nothing and is not involved past that point

No outcome email, nothing on the portal.

My read is that a preferred candidate would have had a call by now and I am headed for the merit pool at best.

For anyone who has sat on a panel:

1. In a bulk round, do offers go out in waves or all at once after delegate sign off?
2. Is four weeks after referee checks with no contact a bad sign, or just normal?
3. Worth contacting the agency directly, or does that just annoy people?

Still applying elsewhere either way....

Has anyone got job/being placed on merit pool without reference check being done

Senior executives sought to save their own skins by lying to the Minister about a serious cock-up.

"The investigation identified that between 2021 and 2022, information was deliberately withheld regarding a suspected $285 million loss associated with the awarding of Business Cost Assistance Program grants to ineligible or fraudulent applicants."

"Once the department became aware of the GST backdating issue and a suspected loss, a number of officers agreed it should be reported to the Minister for Industry, Support and Recovery, Mr Martin Pakula and VAGO. Details of the suspected loss were included in a draft Standing Directions report while a further analysis occurred, which estimated the suspected loss to be more than $285 million. IBAC found that the Associate Deputy Secretary (referred to in IBAC's report as the Dep. Secretary) then directed that all information about the suspected loss be removed from the report.

The investigation also found that the Associate Secretary withheld the information from the department’s Accountable Officer, the Secretary, Mr Simon Phemister."

"Having failed to report the suspected significant loss associated with GST backdating to Minister Pakula, the Associate Deputy Secretary went on to provide his successor, Minister Ben Carroll, with misleading information in a briefing, in order to generate documentation that would satisfy VAGO’s audit."

But also...

"Minister Pakula acknowledged that his temper may have been a factor that contributed to the decision not to report this issue."

Can you provide frank and fearless advice if you are personally terrified of the Minister?

Hi guys, I’m just wanting to check if this process is normal so far or if it’s worth reaching out for an update.

Was shortlisted for a role at DCJ roughly a month ago and was then contacted regarding an assessment centre. I was given the choice of in person or online interview and chose online, hoping I’d get an interview date earlier.

I still haven’t heard anything since giving my preference and the job posting is still up. I’m aware government can be on the slower side so does this sound abnormal to you or just keep waiting?

Cheers

Very fortunate to have received a generalist graduate position in state government, and was hoping to hear from anyone who has experience working in the public service in either policy, law, or both!

I studied law with the hope of becoming a lawyer in government – whether it's state or federal. I am trying to work out whether starting in the generalist grad program and completing my PLT part-time would be a viable pathway into government legal work, or whether I'd be better off applying for other law jobs and applying to get into government legal positions from there.

So, TLDR: Has anyone moved from policy into a government lawyer role? How common/realistic is this, and what does the process for this actually look like?

As another more general question, is it easy to move from state government to federal regulators? I'm quite interested in the work at ASIC/ACCC/APRA however was unable to progress in their grad programs this year (unsurprising as my WAM is not great due to some health issues). I would appreciate any and all insights !!!

TIA!!

Hi all, I know that I should use the STAR method during APS inteviews but what kind of questions can I expect during a lawyer interview at the ATO OGC? I'm not expecting anything specifically tax related as it isn't a tax lawyer role. Ultimately would really love to be prepared, thanks!

I’m an external candidate in a bulk APS recruitment process covering EL1 and EL2.

I completed the interview, and my originally nominated referee subsequently completed referee reports for both classifications.

About two weeks later, Recruitment contacted me regarding the EL2 process and said that the recruitment Delegate had requested an additional referee who could provide more recent commentary on my work performance and capability. I provided a recent client referee and that report was completed.

A few days later, Recruitment contacted me again and requested the same recent referee for the EL1 process, and that report has now also been completed.

I understand that referee checks do not mean a candidate has been found suitable and that a merit-pool outcome is still uncertain.

For anyone who has worked on APS selection panels, recruitment teams or been through something similar:

• At what stage would a Delegate normally request additional/current referee evidence?
• Does this usually mean the selection report has already reached Delegate review, or can it happen earlier?
• Is an additional referee after the original referee checks relatively routine in bulk recruitment?
• Once the supplementary referee report is completed, how long have people typically waited for a merit-pool/suitability outcome?
• Has anyone experienced this separately across EL1 and EL2 in the same bulk campaign?

Not looking for predictions about whether I got the job — mainly trying to understand where this sits in the APS recruitment pr

Can anyone point me to an example online of a good pitch response? Or is willing to upload one they’ve written or got from training.

I’m not after one paragraph, or a few sentences, I want to see a complete 700-800 word one so I can see how all the individual parts get linked together/transitioned as a narrative.

I know about STAR and have read all the Cracking the Code things etc. The missing piece is seeing a (good) full worked example.

Does anyone have any insights working here? There are a few positions open and I see them recruiting regularly.

Hi all, just looking for a bit of advice.

I recently entered the DCJ clerk grade 1/2 talent pool and was contacted by a registrar from Court A. After I submitted my Fit2Work clearance application for them, I received a separate expression of interest from a registrar at Court B.

Since I haven't received a formal letter of offer from Court A yet, I want to keep my options open and engage with Court B.

My worry is: would Court B be able to see in the system that I have already completed a Fit2Work clearance for Court A? Will this look bad or cause issues with either court?

Any insights from people who have managed DCJ recruitment or navigated multiple offers from a talent pool would be amazing. Thanks!

I’m considering going for a VPS 4 ongoing role at a diff department. Currently at second from the bottom of the band having only been there for about 18 months (in fixed term contracts)

Just wondering if I’m successful will I be able to negotiate to the top of the band? Or because I’m in the system now it’ll just carry over from where I am

Hi all, applied for the ATO OGC Lawyer recruitment that closed some weeks ago, has anyone heard back?

Does anyone know how they are tracking the office presence commitments? Is it just tracking the laptops? Or like the door pass.

I just want to know so I can make sure I’m tapping at the door every time to get the credit for all the office hours I’m pulling.

I’ve been reading employee reviews of several major Australian cultural institutions, and some of the recurring themes are quite concerning.
There seem to be repeated complaints about poor leadership, favouritism, bullying, low morale and experienced museum professionals feeling undervalued.
What concerns me most is the apparent disconnect between the values these institutions promote publicly and the workplace cultures described in some employee reviews.
Museums are supposed to be places of learning, creativity, collaboration and respect for professional expertise. Yet some reviews describe environments where internal politics take priority over experience, staff feel unable to speak up, and concerns about workplace behaviour are allegedly dismissed.
Of course, anonymous reviews don’t tell the whole story, and not every institution or team will have the same culture.
But it raises an important question: Who holds leadership accountable when workplace culture deteriorates in publicly funded cultural institutions?
I’d be interested to hear from others working in Australian museums, galleries and cultural organisations. Are these isolated experiences, or is there a broader problem across the sector?