What’s your job?

I work in Disability, Ageing, Carers and Mental Health statistics. I am supporting the development of the National Disability Data Asset (NDDA) and the Survey of Disability, Ageing, and Carer (SDAC). The survey was last released in 2018, and work is being undertaken to publish the data captured in 2022. The SDAC is a very comprehensive household survey that aims to provide more detail on the lives of people living with a disability. The data then goes on to inform policy and service delivery.

My day-to-day tasks vary quite a lot, and at times I wear a few different hats. Sometimes I’m tasked with producing tables on historical data to inform the data cubes on the next release; I’m tasked with facilitating meetings between the ABS and other departments or non-governmental organizations (NGOs); and sometimes I undertake research tasks that go on to inform methodology or decision-making processes.

What’s your background? (What did you study, what’s your employment history, etc)

I grew up in Perth and moved to Canberra for the graduate program this year. I graduated from university with a degree in mass communication in late 2019 and worked in the insurance industry through 2020 before landing a non-ongoing role at the ABS working on Labor Employer Surveys in 2021. I then moved to Jobs and Skills Australia where I worked on the Australian Skills Classification throughout 2022 before being accepted into the data graduate program at the ABS in 2023.

I’d say I’ve had a bit of an unconventional entry into the public service, but each role I’ve worked in has allowed me to gain exposure to different teams, departments, and processes. It’s led me to become quite well-rounded and take these skills into my current role as a graduate. Being in Perth in the past few years has taught me to be adaptive to remote working and teams through an ever-changing landscape of the workplace.

What are the coolest things about your job?

One of the best things about my job is that the data I help collate and analyse goes on to inform policy and instigate real change for the betterment of communities. It has an incredible sense of purpose that you may not get in other roles because I know that every task, big or small, goes on to contribute to a greater purpose. I also get to collaborate with other government departments and sit in on high-level discussions surrounding the direction of projects.

What are the limitations of your job?

I think the very nature of working on a project with cross-agency collaboration leads to a lot of pauses while decisions are being approved by all parties. Another consideration is budget and where the funding is being sourced from, as it is not always in-house.

Three pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student…

• Every job you work in is building you up for the next one. You might not realize it at first, but skills are transferable.
• Question everything; don’t just take things at face value. It’s incredibly useful to understand why things are done the way they are, as it can lead to suggestions that completely shift the workflow for the better.
• Talk to everyone you can; building connections across not only departments but across industries is incredibly useful. You don’t need to be a subject matter expert on everything if you have people, you can reach out to.