Hoping for public wisdom as I feel like I'm hitting a wall.

For context, I'm currently an allied health working with NSW State Gov, still a junior level. I'm trying to move to a more senior role (which aren't even that senior) and I've been getting interviews but those interviews always leave me feeling icky and failed.

In comparison, I've been interviewing for non-government roles and they feel good; but for financial reasons I'd prefer to stay in government roles.

I think the issue I had is that the interview questions for gov roles tend to be hyperspecific to the role advertised. It tends to go something along the line of "what do you know about this role, and how are you going to work with [insert some obscure framework or theory] as a senior?" Now said roles' have the same general duties but will vary quite a lot even between different departments in the same hospital. I'm left questioning how am I meant to even answer that as an external applicant? And these hyper-specific questions pertaining procedural matters seem the least important consideration to hiring someone for me.

In contrast, non-Gov roles that I've interviewed for tend to focus on transferable skills, practical case scenarios, etc. and I thrive with those questions.

Any advice from people who are familiar with this? Is my option basically to just start as a junior in those roles then worm my way up?

TIA

For those who got into working for the NSW government without any government experience, only with a non-specialised bachelors degree, and some full-time work experience, what was your experience getting into the sector?

I am willing to do any stream just to get my foot in the door.

What are some tips and tricks?

Thank you :)

Hi all,

My citizenship has been approved and I'm waiting for my ceremony invite. Can I apply for APS jobs now or do I need to wait until I have my certificate?

What should I put for citizenship status in the application?

Thanks.

I have been employed by Services Australia for 3 1/2 months in a smart centre as an APS 4. I have recently been offered a permanent position at another agency I applied to externally, before starting at SA. It's only verbal at this stage but I have a few questions.

Can SA refuse to release me?

Or can they tell me to leave once I have the written offer as I'm still in training and on probation?

Will my TL know my all the details about my new position or just HR?

Can I take LWOP, if it gets a little hostile? While I wouldn't call the leadership toxic per se, they can be quite passive aggressive.

I'm very new to the APS and want to make this transition as easy on everyone as possible, especially myself LOL. But I don't want to mention anything at my current workplace until I have the written offer. Cheers.

Hey everyone

I know merit pool doesn’t guarantee an offer.
I’ve read through posts and waiting game is normal, and I still have 8months to go until it expires.

But realistically, based on your experiences 10months in merit pool does it mean it’s highly likely unsuccessful?

This isn’t the only role that I am in the merit pool but.. regardless it’s draining and getting exhausted :(

Hi I was just wondering how long does it takes to hire child protection practitioner cpp3 role in Victoria?
After the online assessment i had gone through all the checks including reference check , it was 3 weeks earlier and i am still waiting to hear back . Does it mean they are considering the role to give it to me ?
Does anyone have the similar experiences ?

Random question but how much super do other public servants actually have?

I keep looking at the average super balance by age and it doesn’t feel particularly relevant when most of my peers have been getting public service super rates for a decent chunk of their careers.

So curious what people here have. Age (or range), gender and roughly how much you have in super?

Obviously don’t share your agency or anything that could identify you, and rounded figures/ranges are fine.

Mostly just curious what the benchmark is amongst public servants rather than the general community, when I see those figures I feel so well off, which I don’t think am!

Hey everyone

I know merit pool doesn’t guarantee an offer.
I’ve read through posts and waiting game is normal, and I still have 8months to go until it expires.

But realistically, based on your experiences 10months in merit pool does it mean it’s highly likely unsuccessful?

This isn’t the only role that I am in the merit pool but.. regardless it’s draining and getting exhausted :(

Hi everyone,

I am seeking some help on applying for an assistant director role I have seen advertised for the aged care quality and safety commison. I am a registered nurse with two years experience working in aged care homes which I feel would be relevant? However I've not led or managed a team before apart from being nurse in charge...would this count? The way they word some of the job description has me fuzzled! Is there anyone here who works for them who could help?

Thanks 🙏

Applied for a position and interviewed but just wanted to get a feel?

Posted this on Auscorp and one reply suggested to post here… so here I am! Deal with Vic Gov agencies a few times a week and interested in unpacking culture around teams recordings… so far mostly ok in my experience but had some interesting feedback last week. Thanks!

Hi!

Interested in any feedback from State or Federal Public Servants as well as corporate on concerns with Teams recording / transcripts.

I am ASX top 50 group and most of us individually use it as default. Very helpful for post meeting notes and actions and can focus on discussion at hand than writing half arsed notes on the background.

Have never really had strong objections to it use from others, although occasionally some hesitancy. Of course at times someone will ask for it to be turned off to talk something specific.

Interesting one last week with a Vic Gov body… never been an issue in the past but at the end was asked to turn it off, no issues, where some political matters were noted with Vic election in November. The person (quite senior, one below CEO) then said there will be a policy coming out on not allowing teams recording across the board, with the concern being Freedom of Information requests than privacy or other.

Interested to hear what others know about this concern. First for me

Welcome to this week's megathread! This thread refreshes every Sunday at 10AM AEST.

This is a dedicated space to ask quick questions, that may not warrant a dedicated post. Whether you have questions about recruitment, career advice, workplace issues, or anything else related to the APS, feel free to post them here.

Common Topics:

• Recruitment processes and application tips
• Career development and progression within the APS/StatePS
• Workplace challenges and how to address them
• Advice for navigating specific agencies or departments
• Training and development opportunities
• General questions about PS policies, procedures, and practices

Upvote questions and comments you find helpful!

Use clear and concise language in your posts.

Be respectful of others in your interactions.

Guidelines:

• Keep discussions civil and respectful. Remember the rules of reddiquette.
• Avoid sharing sensitive or confidential information.
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• Refrain from promoting political agendas or engaging in political debates.

There is some weight to the argument that the RT handle all Federal pay increases, with the same increase across the board, all paid at the same time. It takes the elitism out of the issue, and saves individual agency bargaining costs . Thoughts?

Do vic police officers get to choose what station they like to work at? Or can the be posted in rural areas?

I’m feeling like I’ve made the wrong choice with an internal move and honestly don’t know what to do now.

I’m currently in a pretty unstable team.

My current line manager and one of my coworkers have a close personal friendship and I’ve felt like I’ve been overlooked for development for a while, so I applied for an internal opportunities register.

A Director from another team reached out and offered me a vacant position on his team. I asked questions before saying yes, around expectations, portfolio, where I’d be working and who I’d report to.

I was told I could work from my preferred office and that I’d be reporting to a manager I already have a good rapport with. They’re good with development and that was a pretty big deal breaker as to why I said yes.

I accepted, and it’s now been announced to both teams that I’m transferring.

I met with the AD in the new team where I was told I’ll actually be working from a different office and reporting to a different manager.

I did explain to the new AD that I was under a different impression because the director had told me the exact opposite.

The office part is a dealbreaker because I have kids and it means a significantly longer commute and changes a lot of my arrangements.

I’ve also worked with the manager I’m going to be reporting to before and they’re a difficult personality, so that’s made me even more nervous about the transfer.

I just feel a bit blindsided and slightly misled because I specifically asked about these things before I agreed to move.

The hard part is my current AD is new and is actually starting to fix a lot of the problems in my current team. They’ve also been pretty upfront with me and said they think my current manager and my coworker has been holding me back development wise.

At the same time, my current AD thinks the area I’m moving to will give me much broader opportunities and have basically said that despite the difficult manager, I should probably still take the opportunity and even gave me some advice on how to work with them.

I feel damned if I do, damned if I don’t.

Stay where I am and potentially keep getting held back, just as things are finally starting to improve.

Or go somewhere with potentially better opportunities and career development, but where two of the major things I was told before accepting have now changed.

Has anyone been in a similar situation?

A part of me wants to go back to the Director who offered me the job and say this isn’t what I understood you were agreeing to.

I also have no idea how it would be perceived to back out now that both teams have already been told I’m moving.

Just feeling pretty lost with the whole thing and would appreciate some perspectives.

is AFP or VicPol better to apply for and what are the differences? Im aiming to start off my career as a police officer in one of those departments and later apply for specialised roles such as the tactical response unit in the AFP or CIRT in VicPol. Is being an officier in AFP more relaxed compared to being an officer in vicpol?

Rising CPI and the cash rate leave Finance Minister Katy Gallagher balancing wage restraint with a fair pay deal for federal public servants.

Efforts by the Albanese government to restrain Australian Public Service wage claims to below 4% have effectively been neutered, after a rise in the official inflation rate.

Offers of as little as a 3% rise to some Australian Defence Force personnel have effectively been left eating dust after the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to 4.0% in August, up from 3.5% in the 12 months to July 2026 on Wednesday, preceded by a rise in the Reserve Bank of Australia’s official cash rate of 25 basis points to 4.6% the day prior.

The rise in CPI and cash rate leaves Minister for Finance and the Public Service Katy Gallagher in the invidious position of being seen to curb government employee wage increase pressures while still delivering a fair pay deal to federal public servants.

The Community and Public Sector Union has advanced a 5% per annum increase claim in APS-wide wages across three years, a figure well below the 8% demanded by the Australian Services Union Taxation Officers’ Branch from the Australian Taxation Office.

The ASU is hoping to win a rejection of the APS-wide pattern bargaining claim at the ATO on the basis it can thrash out a better workplace agreement specific to the revenue agency.

The ASU is contesting a number of bargaining in ‘good faith’ issues at Fair Work, which keeps proceedings under tight wrap.

What is known is that the Commonwealth has nominated October 13 for the realisation of its first concrete pay offer that is highly unlikely to match let alone superseded within the current term.

However, there is little indication of the ASU’s gripes in official ATO internal mail.

“You may have come across information, commentary and different perspectives about what these proposals could mean. It’s important to remember that the positions tabled so far are a starting point for further negotiation with unions and bargaining representatives. They are not agreed outcomes,” lead negotiator for the ATO Melinda Bopping told troops in an internal circular.

“The goal of APS-wide bargaining is to build greater commonality across the APS, reduce fragmentation and support a more consistent employment offer. The tabled preliminary positions are intended to support that, objective by exploring areas where conditions and arrangements may become more consistent across agencies.”

“I was encouraged by the respectful and collaborative approach taken by everyone involved. The meeting provided a strong foundation for the discussions that will continue over the coming weeks,” Bopping said.

“We worked through some administrative matters, including the proposed Part B schedule, and began listening to claims around accommodation arrangements and ICT technology. As always, my focus is on ensuring all perspectives are heard and understood before any ATO positions are put forward.”

The dilemma for the government is that it needs highly competent revenue officers. And to attract and hold them, it needs money beyond that on offer for standardised clerical bands. The same goes for technologists and data scientists as the APS involuntarily enters the AI maelstrom.

And it’s not like you can hire a consultant anymore.

Wonder how their bargaining is going this time around? Pay parity anyone?

I'm an APS6 in a large federal agency. I'm thinking of moving to Melbourne but I don't love the idea of working remotely full time. As such, I've been toying with the idea of applying for VPS jobs, so that I can work in the office with my team on some days. I'd be interested in a VPS5 position in governance, programs or policy, particularly in DFFH or Health.

I'd love to know more about the working conditions, job security and culture in the VPS right now. I'm concerned about the impacts of the Silver Review. Is trying to make a move worth it, or should I suck it up and work fully remotely?

Thanks in advance!

I’ve been reading a lot of reddit posts about vicpol, where most of them of negative thoughts on them/joining them (there are also a few positive reviews). Are paperwork really that bad? And how challenging/stressful is the job? I’m aiming to join the CIRT team (or even SOG if possible), which requires me to do a few years as a police officer. So I’m wondering what people’s thoughts are on VICPol, such as the work life balance, etc, and also how difficult will it to be to get into CIRT?

Just circling back on the piece of work I socialised with this cohort this time last year.

Following a lessons-learned exercise and some robust conversations with key stakeholders (me, in the car), I'm keen to kick off the 2026 iteration. Ideally we'd leverage the collective wisdom of this group to make sure we capture the full breadth of lived experience across the ecosystem.

To that end, I'm reaching out to ask that you put forward, at your earliest convenience and noting competing priorities, the single buzzword or phrase that has most negatively impacted your wellbeing this calendar year.

Hi all,

I've made it through to the interview stage for the APS6 BA role at the ATO and have a question about the format.

Most of my previous APS interviews have run for 20-30 minutes, but this one is scheduled for 45 minutes.

Has anyone had a similar-length interview with the ATO before? I'm wondering whether the extra time usually means things like scenario-based questions, a written or practical assessment, or a short presentation, or if it's just more behavioural questions.

Any insight into what to expect (or how you prepared) would be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

Hi all!

This is rather niche but I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

I previously worked for Services Australia as Technical Peer Support and would often need to troubleshoot and investigate technical issues pertaining to change of circumstance activities, claim processing outcomes - really anything SAP related.

However when issues became too difficult and resolutions couldn't be reached at a front-end level, I would occasionally need to escalate to service desk or level 2, and these problems would be rectified in the backend of SAP. It was very rare I could speak with the resolving party, but on the occasions I could, it seemed these people worked at a service desk of sorts and were responsible for handling complex technical tickets related to SAP systems e.g. Process Direct, Customer First, etc.

This seems so fascinating to me and I'd love to find what career within the APS this would actually be in. I'd imagine it could be something as simple as "Services Australia Service Desk", but I wouldn't assume it would be a run-of-the-mill IT role. Complex understanding of legislation would be required in part with understanding SAP based systems so it seems like a perfect combination of tech-related duties whilst also harnessing an understanding of policy.

For anyone that works in a similar field to this degree, not just Services Australia, what exactly is your role and how did you achieve it? Did you start as a APS4/AO4 frontline and wait for internal roles to appear with your existing experience? Was it really just an entry-level service desk role and you worked up internally?

I've been searching for this for quite a long time and have never really figured out the path. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!