Career Prospects at Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

From what I've heard, it's difficult to move above pay point 6 if you are not looking to go into leadership (which for the moment, I would not like). To advance you generally need to apply for roles at the higher level as if they are a new Job. I think this is a fair way to do it, as they also consider outside talent at the same time.

Limited by budget

Since I was a graduate, I have seen three promotions. One during the graduate program and two afterwards. I have been given several opportunities to take on higher duties and have since secured two permanent level promotions

There are ample opportunities to move around within the ABS. I think it is more common for promotion opportunities to happen faster in Canberra however this trend seems to be changing as things shift to a more flexible work from home type environment. I think that hard work is rewarded at the ABS so if you are working hard and showing good results it will be noticed.

Just showing that you have the desire to move up does wonders, people will help when they can. There is a clear list of what is needed for each rung in the ladder so aiming to show those things is easy.

There are always lots of opportunities to grown. It often seems like you just need to do your job well for a certain period of time to progress - which is great in some scenarios and not so great in others. I have encountered quite a few supervisors and managers who are very intelligent and great at coding and statistical analysis but have very poor people management and poor communication skills and there is little that is done to assist and develop these skills

Often good opportunities to progress to higher levels while staying in the same work team, move work teams while staying at the same level and move work teams for promotion

I have been accepted to the merit pool for APS5 in an adjacent section but now my current team is not willing to create an aps5 position for me

Just do your job and don't rock the boat. Taking initiative isn't really rewarded as much as just being around a while is. People rotate in and out of teams frequently so spots will open up. Can also help to be flexible in your vision about the types of roles you'd like to do

Promotion opportunities exist but can be rare - sometimes leads to feelings of competition, if you are not success in this round, then it could be a while before the next one.

Seems to mostly be through higher duties. As an SME in an area which uses bulk rounds, moving up is very difficult.

There are a lot of internal vacancies here that get filled in 'rounds' similar to the initial job process. You apply, reference your skills via examples and go through an interview stage, and then find out if you get it. I think as you get higher there are fewer roles to go for but generally there's plenty of room to move around.

Early on there are plenty of opportunities at the APS 4 & 5 to get experience in different team and progress. APS 6 and onward the opportunities become very limited. Especially with the recrement process where you may be acting at a higher level for 6-12 months and apply to get the position permanently but the position may be given to someone else even if you had great performance feedback as your supervisor is not part of the hiring process for the position.

I can't really speak to this, as I've only been at the ABS for a few months, but automatic advancement from the grad program to a permanent higher position is a big plus. I've also seen anecdotally that the ABS is a good place for career progression, particularly coming from the grad program.

Opportunities to be promoted come a few times a year. Anyone can apply and the process is fairly unbiased. Competition with external people as well as internal people. It doesn't necessarily matter if you have been working in the capacity of the role you are applying for.

I am only at my current level because my current directors have had to advocate for me. I went through promotional rounds, but I was asked questions that were unrelated to my subject matter area. I know I am performing at a higher level based on the consistent quality of my project work, but that seems to be ignored in favour of a panel asking me about things I'm unfamiliar with (e.g. economics, but I'm in education & crime).

After my rotation I returned to my original position as an acting APS5. I've applied and been successful in RYH and there will be a round for ongoing APS5 coming up soon.

I'm not aware of promotion opportunities in my immediate area, but admittedly I am quite content and don't plan on moving yet.

I have been very lucky since starting at the ABS to receive a permanent promotion and another temporary promotion to effectively move up 2 levels in just over a year. From my experience, to move up the ranks requires just putting your best effort into your work and looking out for significant projects that you can take ownership of that develop your project management and leadership skills. These projects then provide great examples to use in your application for a promotion.

I am very disappointed with the options and support for career advancement and promotion. I am disappointed that I will have to look to other agencies for promotion opportunities. I have already been offered a better position with another APS agency with whom we collaborated, however I am holding off incase an internal offer comes along before the end of the year. I will not hold off forever.