📌 Vacancy Fact Sheet
- Reference Number: VN-0769817
- Agency: Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
- Job Title: Executive Assistant to the Secretary
- Position Number: 26/0528 EXT
- Classification: Executive Level 1
- Closing Date: Monday 08 June 2026
- Job Type: Full-Time, Ongoing
- Location: Canberra ACT
- Future Merit Locations: Various locations – ACT
- Salary: Future Merit
- Office Arrangement: On Site;Flexible;Hybrid (Flexible working arrangements will be considered in)
About Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
We are committed to empowering futures, ensuring rights and enriching lives. We support people
to have safe, secure and well-paid work with the skills for a sustainable future as we ourselves
strive to be a model employer.
Duties
- Responsibilities of the Executive Assistant role may include:
- Coordinate and oversee the flow of work to and from the Secretary, triaging and prioritising
- highrisk, sensitive and timecritical matters, including ministerial and Cabinetrelated business.
- Manage the Secretary’s schedule, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities, parliamentary
- commitments, and stakeholder engagements.
- Act as a central coordination point across Deputy Secretaries and divisions, ensuring
- consistency, quality and timeliness of advice.
- Prepare and/or quality assure highlevel written materials, including ministerial briefs, Cabinet
- documentation, correspondence, speeches and presentations.
- Synthesise complex information from across the Department and external sources into clear,
- concise and strategically aligned advice.
- Ensure all material provided to the Secretary is accurate, fitforpurpose and aligned with
- wholeofgovernment expectations.
- Identify and assess emerging risks, issues and sensitivities, providing strategic advice to the
- Secretary and working closely with SES to manage responses.
- Exercise sound judgement in handling confidential, political and reputationally sensitive
- matters.
- Develop and maintain strong working relationships with senior stakeholders, including:
- Ministers and their offices
- Portfolio agencies
- Central agencies (PM&C, Treasury, Finance)
- SES leadership across the Department
- Facilitate effective communication and coordination to support joinedup policy and corporate
- outcomes.
- Oversee preparation and coordination of Senate Estimates, Question Time Briefs, and
- parliamentary materials, ensuring consistency and accuracy.
- Support the Secretary in meeting Cabinet, parliamentary and legislative obligations.
- Lead and contribute to executive office processes, improving workflows, governance and
- coordination across the department.
- Provide guidance and mentoring to APS staff within the executive support network, fostering
- capability and consistency.
- Contribute to departmentwide initiatives, including governance, performance reporting, and
- organisational priorities.
- For more information about the role, please click on ‘ Apply Now ‘ link.
Eligibility / Notes
- Please note, under section 22(8) of the Public Service Act 1999, employees must be Australian
- citizens to be employed in the APS unless the Agency delegate has agreed, in writing.
- This is a designated security assessed position. The successful candidate will have the ability to
- obtain and maintain a Negative Vetting 2 security clearance.
- This selection process may be used to establish a merit pool. The pool might be accessed to fill
- ongoing and non-ongoing vacancies for similar roles in the Department over the next 18 months.
How to Apply
Position Contact SES Unit, 02 6240 6999
Agency Recruitment Site https://dewr.nga.net.au/?jati=AD377883-354E-748B-D0A2-ECF23C88E8E2
Applicants to vacancies notified in all formats of the electronic Public Service Gazette should be aware:
that the names of successful applicants will also be notified in all formats of the electronic Public Service Gazette
applicants found suitable may be offered similar employment opportunities by other Australian Public Service agencies
Employment and Workplace Relations Vacancy