Graduate Opportunities

Graduate recruitment
The Department runs two graduate programs each year, a foreign and trade policy graduate program and a corporate graduate program.

The Policy Graduate Program is for applicants from all academic backgrounds and prepares successful candidates for a career as a generalist policy officer. Policy graduates work to advance Australia's interests across a broad range of areas — from security to trade and represent Australia in a formal capacity while serving overseas.

The Corporate Graduate Program is for those with qualifications in accounting, ICT and human resource management. The program prepares trainees for a career managing the Department's human and financial resources and programs. When serving overseas, corporate officers have responsibility for managing the post's administrative processes and providing consular and passport assistance to Australian citizens.

Both the Policy Graduate and the Corporate Graduate programs expose graduates to a number of areas within the Department to ensure they develop a broad knowledge and understanding of the Government's foreign and trade policy priorities, the international environment as well as the Department's financial and corporate context.

Who we want
As a dynamic agency working in a complex environment, the Department is looking for graduates from varied backgrounds.

Successful applicants will have a strong record of academic achievement and usually have honours, combined or higher degrees. However, academic qualifications are not the sole criterion for selection. Applicants will also be assessed on the quality of work experience, extra-curricular achievements and community activities.

In recent years DFAT graduates have had degrees in Antarctic Studies, Architecture, Arts, Asian Studies, Business, Commerce, Communications, Computer Science, Economics, International Relations, Language Studies, Law, Medicine and Science.

For the Corporate Graduate Program, the Department is seeking graduates with accounting, ICT and human resource management qualifications.