Australian Public Service (APS) Women in Defence

Defence recognises the importance of having a diverse workforce, and is committed to creating an environment that recognises, values, and utilises the contributions of people representing that diversity.

All Defence employees are encouraged to work in their areas of strength and capability and women are not limited in the roles they can perform but encouraged to participate across the full range of job families Defence has available.

Job families available to all Defence APS employees include:

• Intelligence & Security;
• Logistics; Infrastructure;
• Corporate & Business Management;
• Engineering & Technical;
• Procurement & Contracting;
• Finance;
• Health;
• Information and Communication Technologies;
• Science & Technology;
• Legal;
• People;
• Project Management;
• Senior Officers;
• Strategic and International Policy.

If you are successful in obtaining a position as a Defence APS employee you can expect a career that will offer enormous scope for personal and professional development. You will join an open, flexible, and creative environment - one that gives you the freedom to acquire multiple skills, the opportunity to gain experience across a whole range of activities, flexibility to move into new roles and even switch careers altogether, as Defence itself evolves to meet new demands and priorities.

In 2011, the Secretary of Defence announced a review to examine employment pathways for APS women in Defence.

The aim of the review was to look at cultural and/or other barriers and make recommendations to improve representation rates of women at all levels and improve women’s progression outcomes for Defence APS that are consistent with the merit principle applying to APS employment.

A copy of ‘The Review of Employment Pathways for APS Women in the Department of Defence’ is available for more information.

Defence is committed to improving the recruitment and retention of women through effective strategies that will:

• attract women to work as Australian Public Servants (APS) in Defence;
• support the retention of APS women within Defence;
• improve the utility of employment pathways within Defence;
• improve representation rates of APS women in Defence; and
• improve progression outcomes for APS women working in Defence.

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