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Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C)

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4.2
  • 1,000 - 50,000 employees

Vacation Employment Program (VEP) - Affirmative Measure Indigenous (Nov 2023)

Location details

On-site

  • Australia

    Australia

    • Australian Capital Territory

      Canberra

Location

Canberra

Opportunity expired

Opportunity details

  • Opportunity typeInternship, Clerkship or Placement
  • SalaryAUD 59,601 - 63,512 / Year
  • Additional benefitsAnnual Salary displayed.
  • Number of vacancies1-15 vacancies
  • Application open dateApply by 20 Aug 2023
  • Start dateStart date 30 Nov 2023 - 14 Dec 2023

The opportunity 

The PM&C Vacation Employment Program is a paid, full-time internship for up to 12 weeks during the 2023-24 university summer holidays, beginning in December 2023. If you are a high performing and enthusiastic university student looking to gain practical policy experience in the Australian Public Service, then we want to hear from you!

Successful applicants will be placed in a policy adviser role within Domestic Policy Group. Using your skills, knowledge and experience, you will have the opportunity to work on a broad range of tasks, including developing policy advice and analysis for the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 

Successful applicants may be placed in one of the following areas in Domestic Policy Group: 

  • Economic Division
  • Social Policy Division 
  • Industry, Infrastructure and Environment Division
  • Policy Innovation and Projects Division
  • Office for Women
  • Office of Impact Analysis

What We Offer

  • A diverse and inclusive workplace and attractive remuneration package.
  • Exciting and fulfilling work at the heart of government with career development and networking opportunities difficult to find elsewhere.
  • The opportunity to work with strong, smart, visionary and experienced leaders in a supportive work environment who encourage you to develop your interests and expertise. 
  • We encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people; those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, mature age people and those with disability. 
  • Relocation assistance for those with serious barriers to participation.

Our Ideal Candidates

We are looking for enthusiastic, highly motivated, and self-starting university students who: 

  • Are in their penultimate or final year of university studies, including postgraduate students and recent graduates.
  • Have obtained at least a credit average across all completed subjects.
  • Are studying any discipline, including (but not limited to) Economics/Commerce, STEM, Law, Public Policy, Social Sciences. 

Successful candidates will have strong communication and interpersonal skills, and demonstrated analytical ability, agility and resilience. You will be a critical thinker, able to work well in a team environment, and be able to write clearly and concisely. 

Eligibility

The filling of this vacancy is intended to constitute an affirmative measure under section 8(1) of the 'Racial Discrimination Act 1975'. This vacancy is only available to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait people.

  • To be eligible for this position you must be an Australian Citizen at the closing date of application.
  • All successful candidates must be able to obtain a Baseline level security clearance waiver, or hold a current security clearance of an appropriate level and be willing to undergo character and other pre-employment screening checks.
  • The successful candidate will be required to be assessed through our pre-employment screening checks, such as an Australian Criminal History Check

How to Apply

Submit an online application through the PM&C Work for Us page.

As part of your application you will need to provide: a CV, academic transcripts, referee details, and a one page pitch telling us why you are the right person for the job.

Work rights

The opportunity is available to applicants in any of the following categories.

Work light flag
Australia
Australian Citizen

Qualifications & other requirements

You should have or be completing the following to apply for this opportunity.

Option A

Credit Average
General requirement
University student should have obtained at least a credit average across all completed subjects.

OR

Option B

Degree or Certificate
Study field
Study field (any)

Hiring criteria

  • Experience requirementNo experience required
  • Working rights
    Australian Citizen
  • Study fields
    Business & Management
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Reviews

user
Graduate
Canberra
5 months ago

Mostly engaging with stakeholders and other teams in the department

user
Graduate
Canberra
5 months ago

A day in the life of an Adviser at PM&C will involve working on several different work items, often to short timeframes. The work could include writing briefs for senior decision-makers to meeting, meeting with other agencies to discuss work progress, contributing to Cabinet processes, providing policy advice on your subject area to other internal teams, making corporate contributions through the PM&C Social Club or employee Networks, and working with highly intelligent and experienced colleagues from all walks of life.

user
Graduate
Canberra
a year ago

Varied roles, but often similar basic tasks such as answering correspondence, responding to tight turnaround consults by other work areas, writing briefs for various classifications above you (director, (First) Assistant Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Secretary, Prime Minister, Assistant PM, Prime Minister's Office (PMO)), preparing meetings, research and analysis tasks, working toward long-term projects

Show all reviews

About the employer

logo-dep-of-prime-minister-480x480-2024.jpg

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C)

Rating

4.2

Number of employees

1,000 - 50,000 employees

Industries

Government & Public Service

We are the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, or PM&C for short. Our role is to provide fresh thinking and sound advice to government.

Pros and cons of working at Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C)

Pros

  • The best thing about PM&C is by far the visibility provided over the entire remit of Government work.

  • Being exposed to the Cabinet process, great people.

  • PM&C has an excellent culture which filters from senior leadership all the way to lower APS classifications.

  • Flexible working is supported, and many colleagues work their preferred hours, work from home at least one day per week, or have other arrangements.

  • The promotion opportunities at PM&C are various, and there are often internal EOIs going which allows everyone to move internally at will.

Cons

    • The turnaround time for pieces of work is often very short generally ranging from a fortnight to less than an hour.

    • PM&C owns very little policy and you will not develop experience in carrying a policy, project, or initiative from inception to implementation.

    • Having to relocate for it.

    • The speed interview stage was definitely the most challenging.

    • The pay might be considered a bit below market value for certain roles or work areas.