Graduate program

About the program

With the APSC you’ll be contributing to lasting cultural, structural, systems and legislative change across the APS. Over 12 months you’ll complete two work places, offering hands-on experience, training and development opportunities based on successful completion.

Skills and experience

As an APSC graduate, you’ll develop expertise in:

• strategic and operational HR
• policy awareness and development
• research and analysis
• international engagement
• report writing
• workforce planning and business strategy
• workshop and survey design
• inclusion and diversity initiatives
• delivering strategic campaigns and activities
• delivering best-practice stakeholder engagement
• Senate estimates

What to expect

During the program, you will:

• gain insight into how the public service operates
• develop a broad skill set and specialist expertise
• contribute to high-level strategic initiatives with system-wide impact
• engage with senior leaders
• build professional networks within the Commission and across the APS
• access ongoing career opportunities beyond the program

Benefits

Competitive salary

As a graduate, you will be engaged as a full-time ongoing APS employee under the Public Service Act 1999.

Commencing as an APS 4 with an annual salary of $77,109 plus 15.4% super, upon successful completion of the program you will advance to APS 5 with an annual salary of $89,463 and 15.4% super.

The APSC Enterprise agreement covers APSC graduates. On 12 March 2026, a month after commencement, your starting salary will increase by 3.4% to $79,731 per annum.

Flexible working arrangements

We work with graduates to allow them the opportunity to work flexibly while also maintaining valuable exposure to the workplace environment.

Flexible working arrangements can be negotiated with your supervisor.

Relocation assistance

All positions are located in Canberra. Relocating and starting a new job can be exciting, daunting and challenging. Reasonable relocation assistance will be provided for participants required to move for the position.

Assistance may include:

• flights or other transportation costs
• access to temporary accommodation (time limited)
• furniture removal and short term storage costs.

Who can apply?

The APSC is an equal opportunity employer providing a friendly and inclusive workplace. We are outcomes focused and promote APS Values and collaboration across the APS. We champion the experiences, skills and perspectives of all employees.

We support flexible work, and encourage applicants from diverse cultures and backgrounds to apply, including those with caring and parenting responsibilities, so we better represent the communities we serve.

To be eligible for the graduate program, you must:

• be an Australian citizen at the time of application
• be able to obtain and maintain a baseline security clearance prior to commencement
• meet the eligibility requirements for the relevant Australian Government Graduate Program streams.

Apply now

If we seem like the perfect place to build a career, you can apply to be part of our graduate program.

Hear from participants

Relocation

"I had a really positive experience relocating to Canberra with the APSC! Before moving, the People team organised temporary accommodation for me in Canberra, booked my flight down and paid for my move. On the move-in day, my supervisor was also really supportive in letting me work from home to meet the removalists. Most of my team are not from Canberra so they gave lots of tips of places to go and things to do here, making me feel very welcome.”

       - Nancy

Executive-level mentorship

“When you start a career in a new workplace, especially if relocating to Canberra, it can be hard not knowing anyone. Despite being a bit of challenge, having a mentor can be really helpful - not to mention someone in a executive level. My mentor has been really understanding and was there to support me particularly in difficult situations, providing guidance when necessary"

       - Michael

Ongoing opportunities

“Following the completion of my graduate year I was placed in the International team. Our small team delivers a range of programs to support our partners in the Pacific and Southeast Asia on best practice in public administration. Through my work I've met countless international delegations in Canberra, and since completing my graduate year I've even had the opportunity to travel to PNG and Nauru myself. Sharing the Commission's work internationally has given me a unique perspective into our cutting-edge strategic HR functions, and has been a testament to the diverse opportunities working in a central agency has to offer."

     - Genavieve

“From exposure to high level discussions with Ministers and secretaries to conducting site visits in different states, a rotation with the Capability Review team was a challenging yet unforgettable experience.”

    - Nabil

Contact us

If you have further questions about the application process or graduate opportunities with the APSC, please contact the APSC People Team.