Career and personal development

Defence invests in the personal and professional development of Australian Public Service (APS) employees through all careers stages. Defence's range of career and personal development opportunities are considered unmatched by other agencies or industries.

Some opportunities include:

  • Access to the Studybank education assistance program, that provides financial reimbursement and work release to cover the cost of a tertiary qualification across a range of different study areas.
  • Positions for APS employees on the year long Defence Strategic Studies Course and Australian Command and Staff Course. These courses are run by the Australian War College and provide opportunities for APS employees to study leadership development, strategic and defence policy and planning and security issues, alongside Australian Defence Force (ADF) members.
  • Fully funded places for postgraduate study at the University of New South Wales: Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA).
  • Fully funded positions at the Australian National University National Security College Executive Programs.
  • Opportunities to apply for fully funded PhD study via the Sir Roland Wilson Foundation PhD Scholarship and Sir Roland Wilson Foundation Pat Turner Scholarship.
  • Access to bespoke leadership development - short-courses developed in partnership with the Melbourne Business School.
  • Access to a range of online learning and development tools to develop professional skills and knowledge across a range of different focus areas.
  • Funding for relevant corporate memberships.
  • Opportunity to participate in the Defence Mentoring Program and coaching resources.
  • Secondment opportunities to work in other areas in Defence, with other Government agencies and with Defence industry partners.