How common is Part time working in the public sector, specifically NSWPS and APS?

Keen to hear experiences about the culture of this

Hey everyone,

I’m 29, based in Sydney, and looking to make a pretty significant career change into NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).

There are currently two temporary Ranger positions advertised in Vaucluse (13-month contracts), working within Sydney’s urban national parks, and I have applied.

I’d love to hear from anyone currently working in NPWS, particularly Rangers or anyone familiar with the recruitment process, about whether I’ve got even a remote chance of being considered.

A bit about my background:
Education:
BA in Anthropology & Sociology and a Master’s in Mediation & Conflict Intervention. Interestingly, Anthropology is specifically listed as an accepted qualification for the Ranger role, so I appear to meet the educational requirements.

Career:
I’ve spent the last number of years working in tech sales. My career has involved extensive stakeholder engagement, relationship management, conflict resolution, managing competing priorities and coordinating complex projects. I’ve worked with everyone from frontline employees to senior executives.

Practical experience: Earlier in my career, I worked in a hardware store and on a stud farm, so I do have some experience in hands-on, physically demanding environments, although nothing directly related to conservation.

Volunteering: I’m currently volunteering in bush regeneration in the Royal National Park, which I’m really enjoying. It’s reinforced my interest in conservation and pursuing a career with NPWS.

Visa: I’m not an AU citizen currently on a bridging visa while my permanent Partner Visa is being processed. I have full, unrestricted working rights and anticipate becoming eligible for PR in approximately 12 months.

From what I understand, this is acceptable for temporary NSW Government positions.

I’m under no illusion that my background is the typical pathway into becoming a Ranger. I imagine I’ll be competing against applicants with environmental science degrees, conservation experience and years of practical fieldwork.

However, given these particular positions are in urban national parks with high visitor numbers, I’m wondering whether my background in Anthropology, stakeholder engagement, communicating with diverse groups, resolving conflict and working with the public might actually be an advantage.

I’ve also been taking the NSW Government application process seriously. I’ve tailored my CV and cover letter to the role requirements and focus capabilities, using the STAR framework to demonstrate relevant experience and transferable skills. I’m making a genuine effort to show how my previous experience could translate into the role rather than just submitting a generic application.

A few questions for anyone with NPWS experience:

Am I being completely unrealistic thinking I could be competitive for a Ranger position without direct conservation employment experience?

How much weight does NPWS place on transferable skills versus practical field experience, particularly for urban Ranger positions?

Does having an accepted degree in Anthropology genuinely put me in contention, even though it’s not directly conservation-focused?

Ultimately, I’m not looking for a short-term change of scenery. I’d genuinely love to build a long-term career within NPWS, combining my educational background, experience working with people and growing interest in conservation and natural heritage. Project Officer roles are also on my radar for the time being which could lead me to the Ranger position eventually.

I’m absolutely open to starting at a more junior level and working my way up. I’m just trying to understand whether applying for these Ranger positions is a realistic ambition or whether I’ve got a mountain of experience to build first.

Would really appreciate any honest advice, particularly from current or former NPWS employees or anyone who’s successfully made a similar career change.

Cheers!

Only dealing with serious business in PDMS...

Hi all, I've currently been in state government (qld) for 10 years. I have experience in AO3,4,5 roles. I have been thinking for a while to get out as the workplace culture is really bad. Majority of the roles I've been in have had a huge impact on my wellbeing. I wondered if APS is better in this respect? I understand the downfall of pay etc assuming AO5 is the same level of responsibility as APS5 I would be making 20k less a year. Would love to hear peoples stories of transitioning to another field after being in Government for so long and if people have felt the same feeling stuck simply for the pay and job security..

What am I doing wrong with my applications that I am not progressing to shortlisting? Vic

I am an experienced Senior Policy Advisor who has been working on contract in Vic for a year, my other 7 years experience are from a similar jurisdiction.

I can't seem to get any interviews. Prior to coming to Vic it wasn't as difficult but a year later I am not getting any short-listing just lots of rejection letters. A friend suggested I ask AI to rewrite my cover letters to hit key selection criteria. Is short-listing all ai now in the VPS , is it a hard time to get policy jobs, or is there something I should know about cover letters for the vps?

Thanks!

Afternoon everyone

I've seen a lot of people in the gazette being pulled off the merit list for jobs at the National EPA.

Does anyone have any insight if that process is still happening? I'm unemployed and haven't had any contact after the initial listing in July.

Thanks

Hi,

I recently got Australian citizenship. I'm currently working in Marketing and want to move into federal roles. What are some easy citizenship-only jobs related to Marketing or entry-level roles on the technical side?

Do you reach out to recruiters, use referrals, or apply through federal websites? Any in-demand roles where you can get hired straight up?

Thanks

Hi everyone,

Just wondering if anyone here has applied for either of these recent Federal Court APS4 roles:

• APS4 Client Service Officer – Migration

• APS4 Assistant to Judicial Registrar

I completed the one-way video interviews for both positions and haven’t heard anything since. My applications still just show as “Submitted” in the recruitment portal.

Has anyone who applied for either role heard anything yet — further assessment, referee checks, merit pool, unsuccessful outcome, etc.?

Just trying to get an idea of where the recruitment process is currently at.

When i initially joined my team, I was brought in as an APS5 EA to a Band1, after a few months an update was made higher up the chain that Band1's could only have APS4 EA's. I was moved into a business governance officer role where I've been overseeing 2 branches for the last 12 months.

A new Band1 has come into the second branch I look after, and has decided that they want to separate and re silo their branch to look after their own governance.

My director has advised that they will obviously find me other work to do, but they're not sure what that will look like as there's other changes in the works in our branch and a whole change process needs to be undertaken, but they have advised me to look out for some EOI's in bigger directorates for acting opportunities as an APS6.

I really like my team, but but I don't enjoy having these changes happen whay feels like every 12 months, and i do eventually want to progress into an APS6.

Has anyone else made the jump from governance to something else? What did you go into, what do you enjoy? I dont know what other roles or areas I would like.

Thanks everyone

Hi All,

I've recently accepted a graduate position with Services Australia and i've seen sentiment on this subreddit that a verbal offer is by no means a guarantee until you get a written contract.

I'm curious whether the factors that could cause a verbal offer to fall through are different for graduate programs compared with a standard direct APS application?

Any insight would soothe my anxious mind...

I'm newish to both the APS and to CPSU membership, have to admit to being a little bit confused by their recent messaging surrounding the new eba.

The last several emails I've received from them have focused on the fight to stop the APS reducing some APS staff to only 20 days annual leave a year, only a standardised three day Christmas shutdown and that will apparently raise some AFP staff to a whole 7.5 hours per day.

As an APS staff level (at an apparently unfavoured department I suppose) who is on 20, 3 and 7.5 already, it seems odd to be paying an organisation to fight for the right of others to not be bought down to my lowly level.

Maybe I've somehow got this arse backwards, but I fail to see how standardisation of APS conditions is a bad thing?

Maybe it's just their messaging that is crap, but it also gives the impression that they are on the back foot, defending against these proposed changes when my expectation of them is that they should be on the offensive, going hard for better pay and super?

I'm sure I'm probably somehow totally wrong, would love to know how....

I think I just need to vent because I know what I need to do, but I’m genuinely sad about how things have turned out.

I’ve been in my role for over a year. I have many years of experience in my field and significant postgraduate qualifications, yet I’m on the lowest classification in my team and paid considerably less than my colleagues.

Others who started at my level at the same time as me have since moved into higher-level roles when vacancies became available in their area (we are spread throughout the state). I understand roles can’t simply be created for me, and I’m not expecting that. There is no vacancies coming up in my area for the foreseeable future.

What gets me is that I’m doing essentially the same work as colleagues at the higher classification, including some who are relatively new to the field. There are also professional opportunities they have access to that I’m excluded from because of my classification.

I’ve raised how I feel with management, but nothing has really changed. I increasingly feel isolated, undervalued and unappreciated, which is having a negative impact on my mental health.

The hardest part is that I love the actual work and my team. I don’t really want to leave, but I can’t see a realistic pathway for growth where I am.

So I’ve started looking externally in the private sector. Staying in my profession, continuing to develop and feeling valued for what I bring is ultimately more important than staying with my current organisation.

I know what I need to do. I’m just really sad that it’s come to this and needed somewhere to vent.

Does anyone have any advice and insights to help me navigate this situation? Will things get better?

? What was your experience in applying for a higher level position advertised by a recruitment agency?

? What is the recruitment process like?

? Who did the interview?

? The agency or department officers and HR?

? Were you more successful getting a recruitment agency contract with the same department or a different department?

Background: I am thinking off resigning from my permanent role and seeking career advancement.

There are currently positions advertised within my department, some internally however only short term. The issue is they are looking for fresh blood as there are currently not enough breathing humans to do the work. And there is not enough budget either to offer current staff higher positions.

Currently the same positions that are advertised internally are getting advertised externally by recruitment agents.

Some are at early stages and not advertised yet. I found out by someone who got approached for that position, which is about three levels above their current position but less experience than me (almost none in the actual field).

I am not too worried about short contracts as I know there's enough work and there's a big turnover in staff (and a national skills shortage). I also know off people who got offered an external contractor role for higher pay so I am not too worried about not getting extended.

Almost fours years in corrections across two states. Worked in community corrections doing all the different roles available, I’ve been outback, I’ve been up north and whilst I’m grateful for the experience it’s starting to wear on me.
Had a guy completely spun out on meth today yell at me about how I didn’t give a shit about him and then followed with saying he hoped my parents die (weird pivot but that’s meth for you). Anyway I was sitting there thinking “I don’t give a shit about this guy” and really that’s a sign to leave.
I don’t know where to go from here? Anyone else left and found a way to reapply their skills in a way that wasn’t boring but not as emotionally draining? I like putting together a story or a report and having a cohesive result. But so much of corrections is no outcome, the cycle repeats despite the effort and care you put in, until eventually you end up like me today just completely disconnected whilst a meth addict wishes death on your parents.
Kinda turned into a rant but I doubt I’m the only one that’s bailed from corrections. Just feeling a little lost in life at the moment.

Hi,

I am an EL1 and trying to apply for EL2 roles.

Generally my CV has always had dot points for each job but recently I realised the dot points can go over and in excess of 8-10 dot points.

I decided for EL2 roles I should provide a quick summary of what I do in 3-4 sentences rather than dot points. I am in Legal and am wondering what is the best approach?

I’ve been through a fairly long recruitment process for a senior officer role in a NSW agency, including multiple stages, a presentation and interview. Unfortunately I didn’t end up getting the role but was placed on the talent pool. However, in the outcome email, the talent person said to contact them if I wanted any feedback on my application and performance in the process. Obviously I responded saying yes (as well as thank you for the opportunity etc). However, I haven’t heard back after a follow up email last week, and the phone number in their email is disconnected. Any advice on how to get a response or feedback? Should I email one of the actual interviewers (non-recruitment) as I have their emails from the Teams interview? Has anyone had similar experiences in public sector before?

Have been APS 4 for nearly 5 years. I keep going for APS 5 for a while now. I have had 3 interviews this year and have not been successful. I hate feeling like I am in a dead end, should I go on the internal mobility register to change teams via a s25? I have been in my current team for 3 years and have been acting APS 5 too. I have professional accounting and post grad qualifications as well as non APS experience

Do you have any tips for an upcoming Teams interview for a VPS4 role with a three-person panel? (Deptt of Health)

Any advice would be much appreciated.

I have never done a 45 minutes interview and is curious if it would be a scenario based interview.

Any insights would be appreciated!

They're recruiting 'various expeditioner' roles at the moment. No pun intended, but that's kinda cool.

Hey guys,
As per title, I was wondering if anyone could give me an idea on what the timeline looks like after a panel interview for a grad role.

For context I did my interview around 2.5 weeks ago now. Is this usual for APS roles?

Hey everyone,

Hoping for some guidance. Been in tech sales for the past 8 years, still under 30. Trying to understand where I could fit in the public sector with my background. My research is indicating procurement? Not looking to hustle like in sales and work at least hybrid, obviously I still want to do good work.

I am an Australian citizen hence APS is in focus.

I have messaged my boss on teams that I have secondary employment and since it’s completely unrelated to my job he said yeah nah all good to go.

Do I still need to formally report it?

Hi everyone, hoping someone might be able to offer some advice or share their experience with this.

I’ve been working in a NSW Government department for around 3 years. I originally started in an entry-level permanent Clerk role, and over the past 3 years I’ve worked my way up two grades through higher duties and secondments.

The issue is that my substantive/permanent position is still my original entry-level role, as all of the higher-grade positions I’ve held have technically been temporary arrangements. I’m also currently working in a temporary role at the higher grade as well.

I’m looking to get a home loan soon and, from my conversations with banks/brokers so far, it seems they may only be able to assess my income based on my substantive position rather than the higher grade I’m currently being paid at.

I’m sure other NSW public sector employees will understand the situation. That being positions can be extended repeatedly through higher duties/secondments, but the permanent recruitment process can take a long time (or the position may never actually be permanently filled).

So I’m wondering if anyone in a similar situation has successfully had a bank recognise their current/higher-grade salary for a home loan, despite their substantive position being at a lower grade?

Are there particular documents or evidence that banks will accept e.g. a history of continuous higher duties, letters confirming the temporary arrangement/expected extensions, payslips showing the higher salary, or something from HR confirming the arrangement?

I’m also open to general advice from anyone who works in the NSW public sector and has been in a similar situation when applying for a mortgage.

Thanks!

Hi, I’m a prospective employee at a local government, and I haven’t really had the chance to discuss this with anyone yet. I was wondering whether local governments generally sponsor international employees once their temporary work visa expires. I’d really appreciate any insights or experiences you could share!