Working for NSW is more than just a job. A career in NSW Government is for people who want to make a tangible and lasting difference in our community.

As Australia’s largest employer, NSW Government includes many departments and agencies who work together to develop policy and deliver important services such as health, education, housing, justice, transport and infrastructure across our state.

As a proud employer who values diversity, NSW Government is committed to reflecting the community we serve by creating an inclusive workplace for all. Whether you are delivering services or designing policies, there is a place for everyone, inclusive of gender, race, age, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, and personal commitments.

We are looking for talented and passionate graduates to build on this work and become leaders of tomorrow. Our graduate program offers a primary stream, which is open to all disciplines, and four degree-specific streams; a legal stream, digital stream, social work stream, and an engineering stream. 

You can apply for up to two streams, including the primary stream plus one degree-specific stream. Each stream offers on-the-job experience, a series of networking events and a tailored learning and development component.

The NSW Government Graduate Program gives graduates an opportunity to shape and change the future of NSW. 

With three six-month rotations across government agencies, the 18-month program offers an incredibly diverse experience that allows you to build your own career, no matter what degree you studied. 

From day one, you will play an integral role in exciting and important projects, allowing you to build a strong foundation of skills for your career. You will also have a personal mentor and executive sponsor, and many opportunities to engage with your cohort and develop your professional network. Graduates who successfully complete the Program will be offered a permanent position with the NSW Government. 

About the Program Streams 

The graduate program offers five streams: the primary stream, which is open to all disciplines, and four degree-specific streams; a legal stream, digital stream, engineering stream and a social workstream. To learn more about these streams, please visit our website.

To be eligible for the 2024 NSW Government Graduate Program, you must:

at the time of submitting your application, hold a current visa permitting you to work full-time in Australia* for the 18-month duration of the program until 11 August 2025.

complete your undergraduate or postgraduate degree between 1 June 2021 and 31 December 2023*

be available to start full-time work on 5 February 2024.

*Having the right to work in Australia under the Government Sector Employment legislative framework means that you must be:

• an Australian citizen, or
• a permanent resident of Australia, or
• a New Zealand citizen with a current New Zealand passport, or
• a citizen of another country with a current visa that allows you to work continuously in Australia until at least 11 August 2025.

*Completion dates: The eligible dates are based on your degree completion date as confirmed by your university or in your university transcript. This is not your degree conferral date or graduation ceremony date. You must complete all components of the degree, including any work placement requirements.

*Eligible degrees: Qualifying degrees as rated by the Australian Qualifications Framework are at level 7 and above.

Proof of eligibility

Citizenship or residency

You must provide evidence of your current eligibility to work full-time to be eligible for a place in the assessment centre for the NSW Government Graduate Program. Depending on your citizenship, residency, or visa status, you may need to provide one or more of the following documents:

• Australian or New Zealand passport
• Australian birth certificate and photo identification
• Australian citizenship evidence and photo identification
• Certificate of Status for New Zealand Citizens in Australia and photo identification
• an overseas passport and a check from the Department of Home Affairs’ Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) system showing that you are a permanent resident
• a proof of current visa from the Department of Home Affairs’ that permits you to work full-time in Australia for the duration of the Program until at least 11 August 2025.

Qualification

You will need to demonstrate that you have fully completed an eligible degree or will complete an eligible degree by 31 December 2023. Eligible degrees are those rated by the Australian Qualifications Framework as being level 7 and above.
In addition, to be eligible for the legal, digital, social work, or engineering streams you must also meet some stream-specific requirements as detailed in the sections below.

In addition, to be eligible for the legal, digital, social work, or engineering streams you must also meet some stream-specific requirements as detailed in the sections below.

To be eligible for the legal stream you must:

• hold a law degree
• be willing to study a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (GLDP) during the program. If you have started studying a GLDP, you are ineligible for the legal stream.
• agree to pay up to $4,000 of the GLDP fees, with FEE-HELP options available.

To be eligible for the digital stream, your degree must be an information technology or technical degree.

Disciplines we are looking for in the digital stream relate to applications development, computer design, computer engineering, computer science, cyber security, data analytics, data science, engineering science, information technology, programming, software engineering, systems analysis and design, user research, and web development.

To be eligible for the social work stream, you must:

• hold a degree in social work, psychology or social science welfare
• have a current driver's licence
• hold a current Working with Children Check clearance

To be eligible for the engineering stream, you must hold an engineering degree.

Disciplines we are looking for relate to biomedical engineering, civil engineering, construction management, building construction, and project management.

• Greater Sydney metropolitan, including Baulkham Hills, Blacktown, Kingswood and Liverpool, Parramatta and Sydney CBD
• Hunter, including Newcastle, Gosford and Maitland
• Central Tablelands, including Bathurst, Dubbo, Lithgow, Parkes and Orange
• North Coast, including Coffs Harbour and Grafton
• South Coast, including Nowra
• South East including Queanbeyan
• South West, including Wagga Wagga

You’ll also work in different roles across NSW Government. Your first placement will be your ‘home’ agency, where you will return for your ongoing (permanent) role once you successfully complete the program.

Make time for what counts

We know that maintaining a positive work/life balance is an important part of staying engaged and productive at work. Whether you want to make more time for family and friends or to pursue further study, we want to help you make it happen. 

Many NSW Government departments and agencies have flexible work arrangements in place. Common flexible working options  include:

• working from home or another location
• flexible start and finish times
• flex time and banked time in compensation for extra hours worked

The NSW Government’s commitment to making all roles flexible on an ‘if not, why not’ basis, is a key enabler of diversity and inclusion in our workforce. We understand that organisations who value flexible working have productive and fulfilling workplaces, which attract and retain employees.

An inclusive place to work

The NSW Government is a proud employer of a diverse range of people. We are committed to reflecting the diverse community we serve and creating an inclusive workplace for all people, where everyone feels valued.

The strength of our workforce lies in its diversity and embracing difference, with the key to our success leveraging the contributions of employees with different backgrounds and perspectives. Whether you are delivering services or designing policies, there is a place for everyone, inclusive of gender, race, age, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, and personal commitments.

There is a NSW Government initiative to improve diversity and inclusion by 2025, by increasing the number of senior leadership roles held by women, doubling the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in senior leadership roles and increasing the representation of people with disability.

Everyone has a role to play in building our diverse and inclusive workforce – continued progress depends on all of us.

We want everyone in our workforce to have an equal opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to the community. We are working to break down barriers that prevent women from progressing their careers into senior leadership. Our focus is aligned with the government’s initiative to increase the proportion of women in senior leadership roles in the NSW government sector from 33% to 50% by 2025.

We’re committed to providing more opportunities and welcoming more students with a disability.

People with disability are under-represented in the NSW public sector workforce and have the potential to add valuable skills and perspectives to our sector. There is a job out there for everyone, and people with a disability can often have the ideal skill set to excel in a role.

If you have a disability you can request a reasonable adjustment in each step of the recruitment process.

Requesting an adjustment during the recruitment process

The Australian Network on Disability has nationally recognised and accredited our Graduate Program’s recruitment practices.

Students with a disability applying to the Graduate Program can request a reasonable adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process. Recruitment practices can be adjusted to provide all applicants a fair opportunity. Each request will be considered on a case by case basis. Some examples of adjustment requests include:

• providing students with vision impairment a phone assessment instead of an online assessment
• completing ability tests using paper and pen/pencil instead of online
• longer break times between activities
• additional time to complete certain activities
• providing students with mental illness additional reading time during online and written assessments.

When applying for the program, tell us your preferred method of communication so that we can get in touch with you throughout the recruitment process. Please contact Akanksha Joshi on 02 8918 0835 or email [email protected].

We’re committed to making sure our workplaces are safe, inclusive, and welcoming for everyone. If you identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer/questioning, and asexual (LGBTIQA+), we want you to feel supported to bring your whole and true self to work in the NSW Government Graduate Program and throughout your government career.

As a NSW Government graduate, you are welcome to join our Graduate Pride Network, whether you identify as part of the LGBTIQA+ community or as an ally. This is an inter-agency professional network where LGBTIQA+ graduates and their allies can come together to find support and connect with their peers. The Graduate Pride Network hosts events and can help with sourcing mentors for graduates.

The Graduate Pride Network is affiliated with Pride in NSW, the NSW public sector network for LGBTIQA+ employees and their allies. As a Pride in NSW member, you will have opportunities to socialise and meet other members, collaborate on LGBTIQA+ work, learn about all parts of the community and hear from leaders and experts on issues that impact LGBTIQA+ staff.

As a graduate and throughout your government career, you can reach out to the Pride in NSW team anytime you’d like a little extra support, or any LGBTIQA+ resources. They’re available to ensure you are never on your own – there are rainbows all around you..

We’re committed to growing career paths for Aboriginal students to join the NSW public sector.

The NSW Government Graduate Program has partnered with Indigeco, an Aboriginal employment services provider, to support Aboriginal students throughout the recruitment process.

If you identify as Aboriginal in your application, Indigeco will contact you throughout the recruitment process to discuss the support options available to you.

Aboriginal candidates can also contact Indigeco at any time. Call Indigeco on 0408 852 268 or contact Will Middleton via email at [email protected]