Government Lawyer, Corporate Legal branch.
It’s a high-profile department and it’s going to be the centre of government policy for a while to come. That, and the competitive pay and conditions.
An opportunity to develop my professional skills early in my career, training to support professional development and a solid foundation for my career, wherever that goes. You get a snapshot of a range of different and high-profile issues. DEEWR also has high-quality legal staff, so I’ve had some good mentors.
The rotation system exposes you to different areas so you can assess where you want to go in the public service. I had a rotation in Corporate Legal branch where I was involved in preparing legal advice regarding the General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme insolvency law, and miscellaneous commercial law matters. I also opted to have rotations in Workplace Relations Legal Group and in a policy area.
Yes, without a doubt. As far as training and development goes, the Graduate Program has been everything I hoped it would be. Not only were my professional qualifications paid for, but I was also given a small amount of study leave that helped take the edge off my after-hours’ study load.