What's your job about?
Our department is all about sustainability: addressing climate change and its impacts, building a stronger energy system, protecting our environment, and managing our water resources.
Most of my work so far has been in the climate change space dealing with emissions reduction policy. For my first six months at the department, my first rotation involved working in a task force to deliver reforms to the Safeguard Mechanism. This is a policy that enforces a declining cap on the greenhouse gas emissions of over 200 of our largest emitters in line with Australia’s commitment to net zero by 2050. A typical week involved talking to stakeholders, researching and developing future policy, and preparing correspondence and briefs for departmental executives.
For my second rotation, I’ve been working in our department’s central budget area which has responsibility for delivering funding to our portfolio through the Commonwealth Budget process. My role in this rotation specialises in coordination and strategy, in contrast to the policy focus of the first rotation. I get to collaborate closely with other agencies such as the Department of Finance, Treasury, and Prime Minister & Cabinet to plan for MYEFO (think of it as a mid-point between the annual budget handed down by the Treasurer).
We are lucky to have such a wide variety of work areas to choose from in our department. It’s fascinating hearing from other grads who are working in vastly different portfolio areas within the department, particularly in energy, environment and water.
What's your background?
I grew up in Melbourne’s east, attending my local primary and high school before studying Commerce at the University of Melbourne. I’ve been involved in various professional university clubs and held a wide variety of jobs including retail, tutoring high school students in economics, and the Victorian Government. I graduated at the end of 2022 and moved up to Canberra for this job the following January.
Politics, government, and public policy have always been interests of mine, but entry into the public service was really by chance.
My university years spanned Melbourne’s coronavirus lockdowns. At the end of the second year of the Commerce degree (2020) and having spent the two most recent semesters studying online, I felt I needed to take a break from my studies. During the second semester, I began looking for some professional experience over the summer to improve my chances of securing graduate work in consulting, or similar work in economics. Both needs were met when I secured a job in the Working for Victoria program, part of the Victorian Government’s pandemic Economic Survival Package. I deferred semester one of the following years, and worked full-time in employment policy.
The work was a seamless blend of my personal and academic interests, and the sense of purpose I took from it had me hooked. I went on to intern at another department on childcare policy, before I had to consider my options for life post-university. Moving to Canberra and trying my hand at the federal level seemed like a natural next step.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
While a bachelor’s degree is a requirement, I believe that having a willingness to learn and an interest in the work is what matters most. I applied to the program through the generalist stream, which did not require a specific area of study. The assessment process didn’t feel at all like a dissection of my CV more of why I wanted to work at DCCEEW, what motivated me to apply, and how someone with my background can contribute.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
It’s exciting to see how different pieces of work attract attention in the political debates and the media. Working at the height of the Safeguard Mechanism reforms was a particular highlight in that respect. I was able to attend a committee hearing at Parliament House and be in the room to see my executives answer questions from Senators. Other parts of my rotation included attending a National Press Club address, making a site visit to an impacted business, and watching our policy pass through Parliament.
What are the limitations of your job?
I think you need to have a healthy amount of patience when you work in government. Some processes here can seem slow, regardless of how necessary they are for public accountability. For example, depending on how public and critical the piece of work is, you can expect to have the same document proofread by several people before it progresses, even within the same department. The government is unique in having the widest range of stakeholders, with far more checks and balances than might be usual in the private sector.
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