National Graduate Program (Feb 2026)

About the program

You’ll help us make government services simple so people can get on with their lives.

As an agency, we offer a range of health, social and welfare payments and services through:

• Centrelink
• Medicare
• Child Support.

We want forward thinking graduates who can help transform the way we work. We aim to deliver a simple, helpful, respectful and transparent experience for our customers.

In return, we’ll develop you as a leader. We’ll give you a range of experiences and opportunities to kick start your career in the Australian Public Service (APS).

Streams

We offer 10 streams in our 10-month program.

You can apply for our generalist stream or, if eligible, one of the specialist streams below.

If your application is successful, we’ll match you to the most suitable stream. Once you start, you can't change streams.

Our streams are:

1. communication
2. data
3. digital
4. finance and accounting
5. generalist
6. human resources
7. legal
8. service delivery
9. service design
10. social work

Salary

We offer 2 pay points for graduates of the 2026 National Graduate Program. The pay point you’re eligible for depends on your qualification level.

If you’ve completed an undergraduate degree, your salary will be $63,760. Undergraduate degrees are level 7 qualifications according to the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).

If you’ve completed a double degree or have a higher qualification, your salary will be $71,063. These qualifications are level 8 or above according to the AQF.

Who we’re looking for

We’re looking for graduates who want to deliver a simple, helpful, respectful and transparent experience for our customers. We want the future leaders of the Australian Public Service - graduates who are bold and forward-thinking who have big ideas.

We’re looking for a wide range of people to join us and we’re committed to providing an inclusive workplace. We value our staff for their unique qualities, ideas and perspectives.

Our policies support workplace diversity and we implement strategies and initiatives to champion this.

We’re a Gold Status Employer, as recognised by the Australian Workplace Quality Index for our LGBTI+ workplace inclusion.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the program, you must be an Australian citizen on 17 April 2025.

You’ll also need to have completed, or be due to complete:

• an undergraduate degree within 5 years before the program starts
• a postgraduate degree within 5 years before the program starts.
• If you got your degree overseas, you’ll need to have it recognised by the Department of Education. 

Skill requirements

For your application to be successful, you’ll need to demonstrate all of the following:

• initiative
• ethical, adaptive and evidence-based judgement
• strong problem solving skills
• excellent written and interpersonal communication skills
• the ability to establish positive working relationships with team members and stakeholders
• support for a workplace culture that values diversity, respect and inclusion
• knowledge of current issues and practices related to the specific stream you apply to.

Start working with us

We look forward to welcoming you on 6 February 2026.

When you start, you’ll get an orientation where we’ll outline the opportunities you have in the program. You’ll also get to meet your supervisor and the team you’ll be working with.