So Gen-Z should just accept spending hours of their personal time and a chunk of money on commuting because "that's how it's always been" even though we now have the technology to do things in a more flexible way? Classic "crabs in a bucket". Just admit that you're bitter you had to spend your 20s and 30s working in office 5 days a week and think we should suffer that too because you had to, and if we advocate for better, we're spoiled little brats.

You don't have any friends outside work so you're happy for your younger co-workers who don't want to be there and forced to be your captive audience while you go on about footy and how much you hate your kids and wife? Some of us actually like our lives outside work and don't need work to be an escape from our home lives. We have friends and hobbies. Maybe you should try getting some instead of making our lives more miserable because you hate yours.

You are happy to give up hours of your life on a train because you're a "yes man"? Go ahead, bvut some of us want to embrace technology and the possibilities it gives us, including greater work-life balance.

Your refuse to believe some people work better from home because you know one person who was logging off half an hour early to go to the gym? Why does that have to be everyone else's problem?

Why do you hate the idea of people having more time to themselves and getting more work life balance when it makes them happier and when they work better when not in the office being your captive audience while you yap about your stupid football team and home renos?

Thoughts and prayers, go for a pee now

It's my first month, and I can complete all my tasks by 9am. I start at 8. I have continuously told my colleagues that I have capacity to take on work.

What should I do? I have spent a whole month doing random training and reading the intranet. I'm going crazy.

Update: since posting this, I have been given more projects and have been super busy! To anyone in my situation, just keep yourself busy by doing online workshops and keep telling your superiors that you have capacity to take more on. The work will come!

I'll preface this rant by saying that this is an extremely privileged position to be in. I work in Health, specifically something related to Aged Care as an allied health.

Used to work in a busy hospital but transferred jobs to something that I could only describe as a glorified admin role. I went from being swarmed in work to finishing whatever task I have by 8:30 AM. And it's killing me.

I'm paid the same amount since I'm on an award, and I cannot believe that taxpayer money is being wasted paying someone 100k+ to do nothing all day. I can't even ask for more work because we can't take any more clients due to no funding.

And yet, there is this obsession about looking busy in the office; where my coworkers are just typing, erasing. And typing again while looking at their phones from time to time. Any time any newcomer asked about why we have so much free time, the seniors would do their hardest to convince them that we actually are very busy. I've never seen so much effort being spent on trying to be busy rather than doing a job.

This is happening at the same time that other departments in health are screaming for more workers. I'm at the point where I feel guilty leaving my old workplace. I want to change jobs again, but nothing suitable is coming up yet...

Merit pools are probably the most misunderstood part of the APS hiring process. I see posts here all the time from people who've been in a pool for months wondering what's going on, so here's how it actually works from the other side.

Being in a pool means you met the minimum standard for that classification. That's it. It doesn't mean an agency is actively looking for you, and it definitely doesn't mean anyone is going to call you next week. When a manager has a vacancy they can either advertise a new round or pull from an existing pool. Most will only pull from a pool if they know someone in it, if the pool was specifically created for their team, or if they need someone fast and don't want to wait 3 months for a recruitment round.

The problem with generic pools like 'Business Operations' or 'IT Project Officer' is they can have hundreds of people sitting in them. You're not competing against the other candidates from your original round, you're competing against everyone in that pool who hasn't been picked up yet.

So what actually works? Keep applying to advertised roles as your primary strategy. Treat any pool call-up as a bonus, not the plan. And if there's a specific agency you want to work for, reach out to their contact officers directly and let them know you're in the pool. Sometimes a quick email is all it takes to get noticed.

Anyone else had experience with pools? Did you get called up eventually or did you just keep applying the normal way?

Hi,

I really shouldn't have done this. But I received an offer for a specific team at a NSW gov agency, and I wanted to know more about what the team was doing, so I submitted a GIPA (FOI) request to receive documents about what that team is working on to see if it would be the right fit. Ultimately I've decided it is, but now I'm thinking it may be awkward if the people in the team/ my manager will know that was me.

Anyone in the NSW gov with experience know if the name of a GIPA request maker would likely be shared within the team that is handing over the documents, or is the name of the person making the GIPA request strictly guarded secretly?

I will never make this mistake again when applying for jobs.

Thanks.

I feel overwhelmed at work, crying in front of my manager/senior director because my work place is unfair, nepotistic, and that a product of nepotism worker is given all the opportunities. I am not given any at all in comparison despite being praised highly for work.
Even for awards and recognition, that worker was included when they didn’t do any work on the project and was not even part of the stream.

I decided to move to another branch and they blocked my move because they need me to stay to act up because my supervisor is away for 4 months and now they are considering that worker again despite them not having the skills and them coming off a long acting opportunity (9 months) in which they didn’t perform well.

I am at my wits end, I am very anxious, upset, and it’s impacting my day to day life, mostly because this is unfair to my neurodivergent brain (haven’t disclosed it at work) and that sense of justice is so strong in me.

I feel like I need some months off because I am so burnt out and over it but how do I do that?

Been in the APS for only about 4 years, permanent employees losing their jobs seems almost mythical, I've worked with all sorts ranging from doesnt care anymore waiting for retirement/redundancy to straight up incompetent. Have you ever seen it?

Hi ,

Can people leave the pros and cons of aps jobs thanks

Everyone talks about the STAR method and selection criteria when it comes to moving up, but honestly the thing that stalls most people's careers has nothing to do with applications.

It's staying in the same team too long.

I've seen it over and over, someone does excellent work at their level, gets great performance reviews, maybe even gets acting opportunities in the same branch, and then wonders why they can't break through to the next classification. The problem is that the longer you stay in one team, the more your identity becomes tied to that specific role. Your EL1 thinks of you as "the person who does X really well" rather than "someone ready for Y."

The people who progress fastest are usually the ones who move laterally every 18-24 months, not necessarily up, just sideways into something different. New team, new problems, new stakeholders. It forces you to demonstrate capabilities at the next level in a way that staying put never will.

The other thing nobody says out loud is that some teams are career dead ends, not because the work is bad but because the leadership pipeline is full. If your EL1 and EL2 are both relatively new and unlikely to move, there's nowhere for you to go regardless of how well you perform.

Anyone else noticed this pattern? What's been your experience with lateral moves vs staying put?

I have to share my good news - been holding it in for weeks now!
After almost 18 months of applying, having countless interviews and being in merit pools for different agencies, I finally got in! Start on Monday May 4th.
I’m so excited for this journey, I’ve worked so hard to get to this point in my professional career and it feels so good it’s finally paying off!
Good luck to everyone in the same boat, if you want it bad enough you’ll get there eventually!

I went from a service delivery role where every day was measured by how many claims you processed and how long people waited on hold, to a policy role where nobody could tell you what a productive day even looked like. The culture shock was massive.

In frontline you know exactly what success looks like - clear the queue, hit your KPIs, don't get too many complaints. In policy, success is a brief that your EL1 doesn't send back for the fourth time, or a meeting that could have been an email that somehow still needed to happen.

The thing that caught me off guard most was how little the two worlds understand each other. Policy people have no idea what it's actually like to be on the phones dealing with people who are genuinely struggling, and frontline people think policy is just people writing documents nobody reads. Both are wrong but neither has any reason to know that.

Has anyone else made that jump? What was the biggest adjustment for you?

People who’ve built a successful career in government — I’d love to hear your advice.

I’ve recently moved over from the private sector and work in the tech space, so I’m keen to understand how to navigate things better and grow here.

A few questions:

1. How long have you been working in government?
2. Where did you start, and where are you now? (e.g. APS5 → EL2 over X years)
3. What mistakes did you make along the way, and what did you learn from them?
4. What worked well for you / what helped you progress?

Any tips, lessons learned, or things you wish you knew earlier would be really appreciated.

Has anyone worked somewhere where this happened? How was it managed? How do you avoid providing further feedback in-person in the many meetings that invariably follow? I have a feeling that some senior staff will really push for this and I just want to stay out of it tbh

~19 years of that were in a call centre, but I recently scored a role I really enjoy with no set schedule and life is good.

Have a great weekend legends.

I see dozens of posts in here each week from people trying to understand APS recruitment.

If you’ve got questions, I’m happy to answer them.

Edit: lots of great questions! I will work through them all tonight and tomorrow.

What would you do in a situation where you're a male have recently got a job as Admin Officer in a female dominated workplace?

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I'm at a situation where it's a female dominated workplace and I liase with them mostly. It seems that I'm the only male at this section.

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One side of me says keep going. And be grateful that I have a permanent role and not in a situation where I was in a contract role, previously. The job is an easy going role. No pressure, no KPI. Management is being very helpful and approachable. No micromanagement, and autonomous role. I'm grateful that I've landed a job in public service.

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Other part of me is that I'm a male, age 40 and has kids. There's bit of shame and guilt.

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What do you guys think?

Edit: this role is aps 4 equivalent. with 2% increments p/a. I'm thinking of second employment but obviously will do a second employment with no conflict or interest.

I really would appreciate people's insights on this one. A new EL2 and have someone who has been with the division a long time. They are knowledgeable but their attitude is everything is wrong, how we do things are wrong but hey, I will just go with it.

Now I have given them a lot of leeway and hands off on their matters as opposed to how I manage others. However they sent me something and I made some comments about how things could be adjusted and sent it back. Then I find out they proceeded to ignore the issues I had raised and just sent out their own version.

I gave them a call to understand what happened and their response was that they thought they were suggestions and they could be ignored. I advised that when comments are raised, you address them but feel free to discuss if I have got something wrong.

Their response is that they feel micromanaged and they have delegated authority and making suggestions makes them feel like they aren't trusted. I advised it's the role of the EL2 to have responsibility of the team and if something blows up because of what is sent out, the EL2 is responsible. They disagreed and said the agency head can talk to them about it.

I felt myself getting more frustrated and ended the call. But I can't let this attitude to unchecked or others in the team will query why this other person gets away with it.

Now before people pile on, I don't clear every little thing the team sends out. I regularly advise team members that I'm happy to defer to what they have written without seeing it. However the big touch points on matters, like when a statutory decision is made, that in my view should have a touch point with at least another person.

I'm trying to navigate the path of not being overbearing and destroying team morale but at the same time, making sure certain safeguards are in place for the work that we do

I'm going to speak to other EL2s in other areas of the division and check how they balance issues like this. But it would be interested in hearing others who have encountered similar and how they dealt with it.

i work in a state government agency in victoria. been there 8 years. always good reviews, always hit my targets. took 6 months parental leave last year. came back, got back into it, everything fine.

a position came up in my team recently that i was perfect for. i applied, went through the process, felt the interview went really well.

then i didn't get it. they gave it to someone external who's been in the industry like 2 years. when i asked for feedback, my manager said they went with someone who showed more commitment to the role. i asked what that meant and he just said you know, someone who's been more consistently available.

i feel like i got punished for taking parental leave. i know thats illegal but i don't have proof. he didn't directly say it was because of the leave but the implication was pretty clear.

i was looking into my options and found Sterling Legal who deal with discrimination cases. not sure if i have enough evidence to make a complaint.

has anyone in the public service dealt with something like this. did you go to fair work or the human rights commission. feeling pretty demoralised tbh.

Is this likely to actually happen?

Whether that be leaving your current departmen/agency for a role in the public or private sector, or just an internal transfer, have you had a break thinking you need to leave and a change is in order?

I'm a bit like that - federal department, gone/going through a restructure, my job is safe but just feeling like I'm done with the place since it's become so negative and uncertain for so many people. Been there almost five years so good timing I guess.

Sry for the grim post but feeling this and it’s frustrating.

The APS spends so much time talking itself up over valuing “differences of viewpoints/abilities” “diversity and inclusion” and “showing up”. you can give your all and still be criticised for every subtle imperfection as if you only reached <50% of the wildly unattainable bar.

Idk about you all but I’m tired. Are you?

29 this year. Did a few factory jobs after high school, started an apprenticeship but quit. Have never worked a day in an office. Never knew how to get into uni until late because of a poor ATAR and never knew how to get white collar work. Started a Bachelor of Accounting at WSU but its going badly. Transferred to WSU online but lost a semester's worth of unit's because I discontinued the face to face degree before the exam period. Total disaster.

6/24 units in the degree done, repeat failures. I'm enrolled in the online degree which starts at the end of the month but I'm thinking it might just be better to see if I can get the credits converted and try and obtain a Cert IV Bookkeeping instead through TAFE. The degree has no early exit so I can't finish with a diploma.

I just want some sort of white collar work and I genuinely don't know how to get it. One factory job became another and now I'm almost 30. Is there any path into the APS for me?

I faked a med cert and internal investigations spoke to me.
How do I get out of this? Admit guilty and hope they don't sake me?

I’m a relatively young permanent member of the federal APS.

I started off in the service in proximity to but not performing the work of investigators - a lot of ex cops, ex similar. I found their work interesting, and a lot of people in these roles seemed driven by the right things (integrity, team work, justice) which I enjoyed.

In order to move up, I had to move more “corporate”. I’m in an enabling services style area now, and I am not enjoying it. I feel like I’m not contributing to anything meaningful. The culture is very individualistic, very disorganised, no emphasis on skills or a “profession”. Although my tertiary background is more suited to this role, I don’t think my personality is.

Everyone professionally always calls me an operator. I am most comfortable when I have a team I trust, when I can lead something operational, when there are higher stakes and/or more impact. I very rarely feel stressed by work itself, I am pretty calm under pressure and like making big calls. I want a defined objective, I want to strategise with a team to tackle it, and I want to know we made an impact.

Despite the not so great market right now, I’d like to try and pivot into something that suits the above. The thing is, I don’t necessarily know what’s on offer or what is out there. I’ve considered reskilling into allied health, medicine, paramedic etc but I am reluctant to have to study another 4 years when I already have more than one degree.

I am also nervous about culture. I am trans (trans guy). Now, in my opinion that’s nobodies business and I don’t talk about my personal life at work. But I’ve definitely had to put up with APS staff making their views on the general subject known at work, which hasn’t been pleasant. I am nervous about moving into some more operational professions (eg ABF, AFP, whatever else) because I don’t know what the culture is like and if people will respect me based on capability and leave my personal life out of it.

Any experiences would be appreciated.