Career Prospects at Australian Taxation Office (ATO)

Moving up the ranks can be as fast or as steady as you want. It is up to the individual to gain the skills and capabilities necessary to move through the ranks

I think it will be quite easy for me to move up the ranks once I've finished the grad program. I hope to get to an APS 6 role in the next 2 years.

It's going to take time, but I'm very confident that I will progress. The ATO is extremely fair in the sense that every single person has the same opportunity to apply for roles. It's very competitive, but very fair.

I see many opportunities for career progression. My current leadership supports me applying for these opportunities.

An advantage to working in the APS is how transferrable the skills acquired within an industry are. In addition to moving within an agency, there are good chances that the same skills are applicable across different agencies.

Very clear structured way to climb the ranks and its all laid out for the individual.

I feel like my managers have all taken an active interest in my professional development. They are freely giving of their time and advice and have suggested roles I should apply for so that I can be best placed to accelerate my learning and gain a promotion. Promotion appears to be based on merit and demonstrating your capabilities.

I am hopeful and believe that there are both promotion and career progression opportunities. To 'move up the ranks', you need to work diligently to produce high quality work (output) and provide evidence of meeting the capabilities and criteria expected of the higher role. There are Merit Pools that you can be placed in for similar roles across agencies in the APS. There are also opportunities to work in 'Higher Duties' roles temporarily to gain experience at the level you want to be substantively promoted to (while earning that higher salary whilst performing that higher duty work).

There appear to be great opportunities to progress your career within the ATO, with many previous grads now being EL1 - SES level.

Already made the merit pool for an APS 6 role. Staff shortages and high demand in data means it is easy to move up the ranks - other disciplines may have different experiences.