Department of Home Affairs Graduate Programs & Internships

The Department supports a range of activities, including international trade, the supply of skilled labour for our domestic economy, business relationships, revenue collection, law enforcement and national security outcomes, travel and tourism facilitation, community protection and building a prosperous and cohesive society. The breadth of these activities necessarily means that the operating and strategic environment in which we work is equally vast and is influenced by both domestic and international trends and events.

Our senior leadership team views our Graduate Development Program as an investment in developing and maturing our future leadership capability. The Department invests in enhancing leadership through development programs and opportunities, to ensure our leaders are equipped to build high performing teams and positively influence the direction of the Department.

Our 12 month Graduate Development Program offers you a variety of interesting and challenging work, access to professional development, excellent employment conditions, rewarding professional relationships, supportive diversity and inclusion networks and a wide range of career opportunities and pathways.

As a graduate at the Department of Home Affairs your unique perspective and contribution is highly valued. We need people from a diverse range of disciplines and backgrounds and encourage applications from all fields of study.

We will provide you with graduate specific orientation and induction, a range of high profile graduate events, access to health and wellbeing programs and ongoing support through engaging supervisors, mentors, buddies and a dedicated program management team.

You will participate in the following events throughout your program:

• Secretary’s Book Club
• Graduate Group Project
• Senior Leaders vs Graduate debate

We need a diverse workforce that is professional, agile and capable in order to fulfil our mission of a prosperous, secure and united Australia. We provide an exciting range of opportunities in the following vocations.

Policy

Policy is a busy and dynamic vocation in the Department. The work is challenging and often fast paced, requiring flexibility and agility to deliver results.

The Policy vocation covers a complex agenda of policy initiatives including immigration and citizenship policy; traveller, customs and industry policy; national security and law enforcement; international engagement and capacity building, while influencing whole-of–government strategic policy development and remaining cognisant of cross-agency program management and operational environments.

Corporate

The Corporate vocation is a key enabler that supports teams across the Department with technical expertise and advice in the areas of finance, law, human resources, risk and security management, communication, parliamentary and executive services.

Employment in this vocation will provide extensive exposure to all the various parts of our organisation and will provide you with a solid platform to build your career and develop a network of contacts.

Program Implementation

The Program Implementation vocation manages and delivers Government programs in relation to visas, citizenship, emergency management, national security, customs and trade. The Department’s significant program of initiatives focuses on supporting a safe and secure Australia that maintains strong economic growth and is globally competitive, liveable, sustainable and welcoming.

Through this vocation, your work will have true value and you will be contributing to projects of national importance.

Intelligence

This vocation provides intelligence services and formulates products to support strategic and operational decision making to counter border threats and support the Departments mission. Intelligence is critical to the safety and security of Australia, and the Department of Home Affairs is at the forefront of the Government’s intelligence effort. It operates in a complex, rapidly evolving environment, with real threats and real world implications that matter to the lives of Australians.

Your career with us will expand your understanding of the national security and intelligence environment, and will enable you to answer some of the most complex problems facing Australia today.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

A career in ICT at Home Affairs is exciting, diverse and challenging. We offer hands-on experience and training in some of the most innovative and advanced technologies available, including:

• Cyber Security (risk mitigation, incident responses and network operations)
• Biometrics
• Smart Gates (airports)
• Wearable technology
• Software Development (Java, Web, Mobile Apps, database administration, systems analysis)
• ICT projects - Project Management (Agile), Business Analysis
• Data Science (Big Data analysis)

We employ fresh thinking, energetic and motivated people who can use their ICT skills to help protect Australia. The ICT vocation has a number of entry level programs available including graduate, cadet and apprentice programs.

In February 2023 you will commence our Graduate Development Program and be provided with a unique experience to start building valuable networks that may stay with you throughout your whole career.

The Department offers a progressive program that will align your interest and skills to one of the four professional streams detailed below. The stream based model offers you opportunity to grow your own career with rotations and learning that compliments the hands on job experience.

General Stream

Your options are not limited by your degree. The Department needs a diverse workforce that is professional, agile and capable in order to fulfil our mission of a prosperous, secure and united Australia. Your degree has equipped you with a wealth of transferable skills that can be utilised across all facets of the Department. This stream will give you the exposure and opportunity to build a diverse range of skills and knowledge through a variety of placements in all areas of the Department including: policy, intelligence, corporate, program implementation and many more exciting rotations.

Data Stream

As a graduate in the Data Stream, you will experience roles that are varied and support evidence-based, informed decision making, and you will work across all aspects of government such as policy development, research, program management and service delivery. These roles cover the full data lifecycle including survey and questionnaire development, research, data acquisition, data engineering and data analysis, as well as more specialised streams such as data science, methodology, geospatial analysis and data management.

HR Stream

HR roles will enable you to discover just how rewarding it is to be a public service HR practitioner, and see how the Australian Government has a real impact on the lives of Australians. Through your day-to-day work at the Department, as well as through cross-agency collaboration, you will help build the HR function’s strategic capability and shape an APS that meets the needs of all Australians.

Legal Stream

Legal Stream graduates will join one of the largest in-house legal practices in the Commonwealth, undertaking high profile and cutting edge legal work. You will have exposure to multiple practice areas through a series of rotation placements. This will provide you with a well-rounded and highly adaptable legal skillset as an in-house lawyer. As a flexible and cross-skilled lawyer, legal graduates will have varied, challenging and exciting career opportunities, as well as the ability to respond rapidly to changing organisational and Government needs. You will be provided with specialised legal training and professional support to help them grow and succeed in the role.

Watch this space! Exciting intern opportunities will be available mid-2022.

In addition to our own recruitment process, the Department also participates in centralised stream recruitment through the Australian Government Graduate Program.

Click on the links below to find out more:

• HR Stream
• Data Stream
• Indigenous Graduate Pathway
• STEM Stream
• Intelligence Stream

You can also check our website for other vacancies across the Department and the Australian Border Force.

The selection process for our Graduate Development Program involves a number of stages and runs over several months. You will need to be assessed as suitable for each stage of the selection process in order to move onto the next stage.​​​​

1. Online application – March to April
2. First round of assessments – May
3. Assessment Centre – June
4. Offers and Security clearances – August/September

We recognise and celebrate a number of days of significance, by hosting events and activities for all staff.  These include:

• International Women's Day
• Harmony Day
• National Reconciliation Week
• Pride Month
• NAIDOC Week
• International Men's Day
• International Day of People with Disability

We also have number of initiatives in place to give back to the community, both locally and nationally including:

• Grad Bakeoff – this graduate specific initiative is a chance for the Department to celebrate Refugee Week while raising money to support refugees in the community. The Grad Bake-off has the current graduate cohort challenge the previous year's cohort to see who can raise the most money by selling home-baked treats. Funds raised through the Grad Bake-off have been donated to Canberra Refugee Support to help provide scholarships for refugee students in the ACT.
• Fund raising Fridays – The money collected from Fundraising Fridays is donated to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and to local charities in each Region. Staff are able to contribute with a gold coin donation for casual dress.
• Share the Dignity Drive - The Department's Staff Advancing Gender Equality (SAGE) Network supports the Share the Dignity Drive through collecting donations of personal hygiene products for homeless women, victims of domestic violence and those experiencing homelessness and poverty.
• Remembrance Day Poppy Appeal – since 1921 the Returned & Services League (RSL) began raising money for returned solider following the First World War.  Staff from across the Department continue the tradition of selling poppies to raise money to support our Defence Force personnel.

In addition staff can choose to donate to charity from their pre-tax salary through Workplace Giving. Workplace Giving is a joint relationship between employers, employees and charities and assures your donation is received free of cost to the charity.

2023 Graduates will commence at the APS 4 classification with a starting salary of AUD $70,590 per annum plus 15.4% superannuation.

For our graduates living interstate we also offer a level of relocation assistance to help you move to Canberra if required. The Department is also looking at expanding our program into other state offices. More information about this will be available after the recruitment process has been finalised.

We also recognise that all parts of our lives are important—our work life, the roles we play as carers, parents, sporting club members, etc. Our flexible work practices enable employees at different stages in their lives and with different family and community responsibilities to lead healthy, balanced lives and contribute to our teams. Our graduates will have access to flex-time.

We acknowledge Indigenous Australians as the traditional custodians of this land and we recognise the importance of learning about our rich histories, cultures and achievements.

Our core foundations of success are built on respect, acceptance, understanding and equal opportunity to promote the attraction, retention and development of Indigenous Australians. Initiatives include:

• a Reconciliation Action Plan as part of our commitment to the ‘Closing the Gap’ agenda
• access to our Indigenous Staff Support Network and Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Working Group
• a Culture, Diversity and Inclusion Section and senior Indigenous Champions who drive Indigenous initiatives
• access to a mentor and/or buddy to provide support and guidance
• cultural appreciation training, language training and Indigenous Leadership training to support professional and cultural development

This allows us to reinforce our commitment to working with you to build a successful career, one that continually provides ongoing access to support, active career management and professional development opportunities to maximise progression and potential.

Indigenous Australians are strongly encouraged to apply for positions within the Department and the Australian Border Force (ABF).

For more information, visit Careers for Indigenous Australians.

We recognise and celebrate a number of days of significance, by hosting events and activities for all staff.  These include:

• International Women's Day
• Harmony Day
• National Reconciliation Week
• Pride Month
• NAIDOC Week
• International Men's Day
• International Day of People with Disability

We also have number of initiatives in place to give back to the community, both locally and nationally including:

• Grad Bakeoff – this graduate specific initiative is a chance for the Department to celebrate Refugee Week while raising money to support refugees in the community. The Grad Bake-off has the current graduate cohort challenge the previous year's cohort to see who can raise the most money by selling home-baked treats. Funds raised through the Grad Bake-off have been donated to Canberra Refugee Support to help provide scholarships for refugee students in the ACT.
• Fund raising Fridays – The money collected from Fundraising Fridays is donated to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and to local charities in each Region. Staff are able to contribute with a gold coin donation for casual dress.
• Share the Dignity Drive - The Department's Staff Advancing Gender Equality (SAGE) Network supports the Share the Dignity Drive through collecting donations of personal hygiene products for homeless women, victims of domestic violence and those experiencing homelessness and poverty.
• Remembrance Day Poppy Appeal – since 1921 the Returned & Services League (RSL) began raising money for returned solider following the First World War.  Staff from across the Department continue the tradition of selling poppies to raise money to support our Defence Force personnel.

In addition staff can choose to donate to charity from their pre-tax salary through Workplace Giving. Workplace Giving is a joint relationship between employers, employees and charities and assures your donation is received free of cost to the charity.

We support you to bring your authentic self to work through: having Diversity Champions, providing leadership development programs and opportunities, a range of workplace initiatives that support staff in balancing their work-life commitments, enabling staff with disability to fully participate, diversity networks that provide a platform for staff to come together and connect, and providing a safe and healthy work environment that offers wellbeing programs and services.

We drive innovation, performance and productivity by empowering our diverse workforce to utilise the unique skills, ideas, perspectives and qualities that they contribute every day.

For more information visit our inclusive workplace

The Department’s ‘Plan for Pride’ LGBTIQ+ Action Plan 2019―2022 shows our committed approach to support a diverse workforce. We aim to build an inclusive culture where everyone feels valued and confident to contribute in all our workplaces.

One of the many support services the Department offers is our LGBTIQ+ Staff and Allies Network. This is open to all staff and has been established to:

• Connect LGBTIQ+ staff and allies through professional and social networking opportunities
• Increase LGBTIQ+ visibility across the workforce.

The Department’s Gender Equality Action Plan 2021–26 (GEAP) sets our direction for sustained gender equality. It ensures that our leadership and people management practices are inclusive.

Four key areas of focus in the GEAP are:

• Enhance support to staff on leave and return to work processes.
• Support flexible working arrangements, where practicable.
• Improve workplace culture, inclusion and intersectionality.
• Enhance gender balance in leadership and employment practices.

Our Graduate Development Program applies the Australian Public Service (APS) RecruitAbility scheme, which supports people with disability applying for jobs in the APS by giving a better opportunity to put forward your skills and experience during the selection process.

RecruitAbility offers you the opportunity to progress to further assessment stages in the selection process if you:

• declare you have a disability
• apply and opt into the scheme
• are assessed as meeting the minimum requirements of the vacancy

Our Accessibility and Inclusion Action Plan 2021-25 (342KB PDF) shows our commitment to better support our employees and clients with disability, and those who care for a person with disability. It will help build relationships, create new opportunities, and provide accessible workplaces that allow everyone to fully participate.

We also provide reasonable adjustment for staff with disability. Reasonable adjustments refer to administrative, environmental or procedural adjustments made to enable an employee with disability to:

• safely perform the inherent or essential requirements of their job
• participate to their maximum potential in recruitment processes, and promotion and training opportunities
• enjoy equal terms and conditions of employment

We acknowledge Indigenous Australians as the traditional custodians of this land and we recognise the importance of learning about our rich histories, cultures and achievements.

Our core foundations of success are built on respect, acceptance, understanding and equal opportunity to promote the attraction, retention and development of Indigenous Australians. Initiatives include:

• a Reconciliation Action Plan as part of our commitment to the ‘Closing the Gap’ agenda
• access to our Indigenous Staff Support Network and Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Working Group
• a Culture, Diversity and Inclusion Section and senior Indigenous Champions who drive Indigenous initiatives
• access to a mentor and/or buddy to provide support and guidance
• cultural appreciation training, language training and Indigenous Leadership training to support professional and cultural development

This allows us to reinforce our commitment to working with you to build a successful career, one that continually provides ongoing access to support, active career management and professional development opportunities to maximise progression and potential.

Indigenous Australians are strongly encouraged to apply for positions within the Department and the Australian Border Force (ABF).

For more information, visit Careers for Indigenous Australians

Read what one of our Grads have to say about the Indigenous Graduate Pathway:

The Department of Home Affairs is a vastly diverse workplace that has allowed for me to work and engage with four different business areas over the course of my graduate year. In these teams, I have contributed first hand to issues that face and affect all of Australia. I would highly recommend for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander graduates to undertake this opportunity and see where the Department of Home Affairs could take you.

Alana – 2021 General Stream, Indigenous Graduate Pathways