Victorian Government graduate program

Applications for the next round will open in March 2025.

Our pitch to you

We want Victoria to be innovative and progressive.

So we’re on the lookout for people with a range of skills, backgrounds and lived experiences.

Our graduate program has streams tailored to what you studied at university.

Plus, we’ve got pathways you can opt into if you’re an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person or a person with disability.

As a graduate, you’ll:

have diverse roles
work in different departments
get access to learning and development opportunities
learn and grow with mentors and peer networks
be guaranteed a job at the end of the program.

We recruit twice a year for a February 2026 start date. Note that you can only apply in one round and not both.

How the program works

Find out all you need to know before you apply.

If you think a career in the public service is something to be proud of, then we want to hear from you.
We’re less interested in your grade point average and more interested in who you are.
We want people who are creative, curious, have a drive to learn and live our shared values of integrity, respect and human rights.
Victoria’s strength is in its diversity of backgrounds and lived experience.
We want graduates that reflect the community we serve.
If you’re an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person or a person with disability, then check out the pathways you can opt into.
For all applicants, we have streams you can choose from, where we look for strengths in:
- verbal and written communication
- problem solving and analytics
- adaptability and resilience
- teamwork and stakeholder engagement.
When you apply, you must:
- have completed your undergraduate or postgraduate degree or the same as level 7 and above of the Australian Qualifications Framework(opens in a new window) between 1 January 2022 and 1 January 2025
- be an Australian or New Zealand citizen, an Australian permanent resident
- not be on a temporary graduate visa(opens in a new window)
- not have taken a voluntary redundancy from the Victorian public sector in the 3 years up to the program start date of 3 February 2025.
You'll work in 3 roles across different departments and get:
- a starting salary of $62,604 plus super
- personal and professional training
- mentoring from executives
- training in general and specialised areas
- flexible working conditions, such as hybrid working
- a chance to build networks with like-minded graduates across government
- a promotion and pay rise to more than $74,500 plus super at the program’s end
- access to future career opportunities that are only available to people who work in the Victorian Public Service.
For most streams, there are 10 departments(opens in a new window) and Victoria Police(opens in a new window) you can choose to work in.
And each department has agencies attached to them that you may end up working in.
You’ll work in 3 roles over 12 months across 3 departments.
Your choice of department will help decide where you may start and have an ongoing role.
Work location
All our roles are based in Victoria and the majority of those are based in Melbourne's central business district. You will negotiate your flexible and hybrid work arrangements with your employer in each rotation. The Victorian Government’s flexible work policy(opens in a new window) aims to strike a balance between your needs and the requirements of the role and team.
We’ll:
- never share your information with anyone without your consent
- leave it up to you, if you want to tell your employer or peers about yourself.
Read our privacy policy(opens in a new window) to see what we collect and why.

Program streams

Program streams for round 1 will be listed closer to March 2025.

In 2024 we recruited to generalist, accounting and finance, economic consultancy, and data analytics streams.

You’ll work in 3 roles across different departments over 12 months.

Pathways

Find out about the pathways we have for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people and people with disability.

It’s important the Victorian Public Service reflects the community we serve.
To help us make the public service diverse and inclusive, we’ve made pathways for:
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander applicants
- applicants with disability.
You still choose a stream to apply for and you can let us know about any adjustments you already use or know you’ll need.
Note that although these are alternative pathways into the program, if you apply this way you are still considered against all candidates for the same roles.
The Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander pathway is an alternative entry pathway for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.
You can opt to use this pathway if you are an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person.

This support is flexible and tailored to you.
It includes things like:
- support with your application
- support from your own pathway manager
- one-on-ones during the application process
- regular contact and catch ups with the Aboriginal Employment Unit at the Victorian Public Sector Commission.
If you would like to talk to someone about the Aboriginal pathway please contact the Aboriginal Employment Unit at Aboriginal.employment@vpsc.vic.gov.au(opens in a new window) or or call the graduate employment team on 03 9922 8600.
Some graduate roles available may give you priority consideration as per the Special Measures provision of the Equal Opportunity Act 2010(opens in a new window).
Watch the video below to hear graduates Amber and Lauren talk about their experience of the pathway:

Amber and Lauren's stories | Aboriginal pathway | Vic Gov graduate program

View transcript

Barring Djinang
This pathway is an initiative of Victoria’s public sector Aboriginal Employment Strategy, Barring Djinang(opens in a new window) which is designed to improve attraction and retention of First Peoples in the Victorian public sector. Barring Djinang has an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment target of 2% for the Victorian Public Service.
The intended outcomes of the pathway are:
- increased success rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants
- increased breadth and depth of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicant pool
- an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce that is more evenly distributed across functions and levels of the public sector.
The team that coordinates Barring Djinang connects with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees through a range of programs and networks.
If you get into the graduate program, check out what else in the Barring Djinang strategy could help you as a public servant.

Your privacy
We’ll:
- never share your information with anyone without your consent
- leave it up to you, if you want to tell your employer or peers about yourself.
Read our privacy policy(opens in a new window) to see what we collect and why.
We want applicants with disability to have an equitable experience.
So we’ve taken action to make our process fair for people with disability.
You don’t need to share any information about your disability to apply through this pathway or throughout the program.
Support when you apply
If you opt into this pathway, we’ll work with you to give you flexible and tailored support in the application process.
For example, previous applicants have had these adjustments:
- audio description and live captioning for assessments
- materials in larger font
- more time to answer questions in the interview
- more time to do the online test.
These are just examples and we’ll work with you based on your needs.
Support if you get into the program
If you get into the program, we’ll check in with you and your manager regularly to see what support you need to succeed.
We’ll make a real effort to listen to your needs and act on what you say.
Other ways we’ll support you are:
- access to workplace adjustments and flexible work
- ways to connect with peers with disability.
Our action plan for people with disability
This pathway is an initiative of Victoria’s public sector disability employment action plan, Getting to Work.(opens in a new window)
The plan aims to raise the number of people with disability who work in the public sector to at least 12% by 2025.
The plan has 3 focus areas:
1. build awareness through access to information
2. attract and recruit people with disability
3. support employees with disability.
We believe that people with disability make the public sector stronger and better reflect our diverse Victorian community.
Some graduate roles available may give you priority consideration as per the Special Measures provision of the Equal Opportunity Act 2010(opens in a new window).
Speak to us about the disability pathway
If you’re unsure whether to opt in, get in touch with us for a confidential chat at GraduateDisabilityLiaison@vpsc.vic.gov.au(opens in a new window) or on 03 9922 8600.
Your privacy about your disability
We’ll:
- never share your information with anyone without your consent
- leave it up to you if you want to tell your employer or peers about yourself.
Read our privacy policy(opens in a new window) to see what we collect and why.

How the application process works

Find out what you need to do to apply and what happens at each step.

What you'll do
You’ll tell us in an online form:
- who you are
- what you’ve studied
- what stream you want to do
- if you’d like to opt into a pathway as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander applicant or applicant with disability.
What you'll need
You'll need your:
- proof of Australian citizenship or permanent residency or New Zealand citizenship
- undergraduate academic results and if applicable, postgraduate results or progress on your results if you don’t know what they are yet (we accept my eQuals(opens in a new window))
- resume.
If you opt to use a pathway
As part of the online form, you'll have the chance to opt into the:
- pathway for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people
- pathway for applicants with disability.
If you opt in, we’ll be in touch to talk about any adjustments you already use or know you’ll need.
What you'll do
You'll do a test on your numeracy, logic and verbal communication, with behavioural and situational assessments.
You can do a test question before the start of each section to practise.
We'll send you the results when you’re done.
What you'll need
You'll need:
- stable internet access
- at least 1 hour to do the test.
What you'll do
You'll record a video of yourself and get:
- 2 minutes to read each question
- 2 minutes to record your response to each question.
You can do a test question before you start to practise.
What you'll need
You'll need:
- stable internet access
- at least 20 minutes to do the task.
What you’ll do
You’ll do:
- an activity on your own, except if you apply for the generalist stream
- a group activity
What you’ll need
You’ll need:
- to complete a pre-work document
- stable internet access
- a device to take part in a video call.
What you’ll do
You’ll do an interview with with a government hiring team.
What you’ll need
You’ll need:
- stable internet access
- a device to take part in a video call
- at least 40 minutes to do the interview.
If you get an offer
We'll:
- check your references
- call you
- do a pre-employment check(opens in a new window)
- send you some more paperwork to do.