Policy officer
Develop and review government policy across federal, state and local agencies.
Salary
Cited figures only: median full-time weekly earnings for the ANZSCO unit group Intelligence and Policy Analysts (2244) from Your Career (Jobs and Skills Australia), and where available the QILT graduate starting salary for the matching study area.
| Figure | AUD | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Median full-time weekly earnings | $1936 | Your Career (2026-09-23) |
Jobs, demand and who does this work
Figures for the ANZSCO occupation Policy Analyst (224412), the closest official match for policy officer, from Your Career (Jobs and Skills Australia data, sourced 2026-09-23).
- People employed
- 15,500
- Future demand
- Strong
- Work full-time
- 78%
- Average full-time hours
- 41 a week
- Women
- 66%
- Median age
- 38
Where the jobs are (share of workers)
| NSW | 20.3% |
| VIC | 21.6% |
| QLD | 12.6% |
| WA | 6.7% |
| SA | 4.7% |
| TAS | 2.7% |
| ACT | 29.9% |
| NT | 1.6% |
Highest qualification held by workers
| Postgraduate qualification | 43.5% |
| Bachelor degree | 42.7% |
| Diploma or advanced diploma | 4.5% |
| Certificate I-IV | 2.7% |
| Year 12 | 4.7% |
| Below Year 12 | 0.7% |
What a policy officer actually does
Policy officers sit inside a federal, state or local government department and work in a branch that owns a slice of policy. A typical day involves writing or editing briefs, drafting talking points, reviewing submissions from external stakeholders and attending internal meetings with the branch director and assistant secretary. Officers cycle between long-form work (a Cabinet submission, a discussion paper, a regulation impact statement) and short-fuse reactive work (a ministerial signature pack, Question Time briefs, responses to media or parliamentary questions). Workload follows the parliamentary calendar: sitting weeks, Budget week and any major announcement push everything forward. Hours sit at 37.5-42 a week during normal periods and stretch to 50-60 in a Budget or election cycle. Most of the day is desk-based in a Canberra, Sydney or Melbourne office or hybrid from home.
Typical tasks
- Brief ministers and senior executives.
- Conduct stakeholder consultation.
- Draft Cabinet submissions and parliamentary materials.
Skills you'll use
- Writing tight briefs in standard government format
- Reading legislation, regulations and consultation submissions quickly
- Stakeholder consultation across industry, community and other agencies
- Drafting Cabinet submissions, talking points and Question Time briefs
- Quantitative and qualitative analysis of policy options
- Working under tight ministerial and parliamentary deadlines
- Navigating internal clearance processes and chain-of-command sign-off
- Maintaining confidentiality of Cabinet-in-confidence material
How to become one
- 1Finish Year 12 with strong English and a broad subject mix
- 2Complete a Bachelor of Arts, Public Policy, Economics, Law or Science (3-4 years), often a double degree
- 3Apply for an APS graduate programme (Department of Finance, PM and C, Treasury, DFAT, Defence, Services Australia and others), a state graduate programme (Victoria, NSW, Queensland, WA, SA), or a local-council graduate scheme
- 4Complete the graduate year with rotations across several branches before settling into an APS 4-5 (or state equivalent) policy role
- 5Build subject-matter expertise in one portfolio over 2-5 years (tax, health, social services, infrastructure, environment etc.)
- 6Move from APS 6 to Executive Level 1 and 2 as you take on team-lead and assistant-director responsibilities
Where you can work
- Australian Public Service departments and agencies
- State and territory public service departments
- Local government strategy and planning teams
- Independent statutory bodies (ACCC, AER, ASIC, AHRC, Productivity Commission)
- Parliamentary research and committee secretariats
- Ministerial offices on secondment from a department
- Think tanks and policy non-profits
Career progression
Typical stages and roles. Years of experience are a rough guide; pay at each stage depends on the employer, award or agreement.
- Graduate or APS 3-40-3 yearsTypical roles: APS graduate, APS 3 or APS 4 policy officer, State VPS 2-3 analyst
- APS 5-6 policy officer3-7 yearsTypical roles: APS 5 policy officer, APS 6 senior policy officer, State VPS 4-5 policy officer
- Executive Level7-15 yearsTypical roles: EL1 assistant director, EL2 director, State principal policy officer
- Senior Executive Service15+ yearsTypical roles: SES Band 1, SES Band 2, First Assistant Secretary
Is this for you?
You might love this if
- You like building a careful written argument from evidence
- You can balance political reality against expert advice without taking sides
- You're patient with process, sign-off and consultation
- You can switch from a four-week project to a four-hour brief without losing quality
- You're comfortable handing your work to a more senior person to put their name on
- You're willing to spend years on one portfolio before becoming an expert
This might not suit you if
- You want fast feedback loops and quick wins each week
- You hate writing or revising drafts to a fixed house style
- You can't tolerate slow approvals and chain-of-command sign-off
- You want to make decisions yourself rather than advising someone who will
Ways in
Uni and TAFE routes for policy officer. We only list pathways that actually lead to this occupation.
University
Bachelor degrees that lead to this career.
TAFE / VET
Nationally accredited Certificate and Diploma qualifications.
No direct TAFE pathway to this career.
Sources
ExamExplained does not publish predictive salary figures. For current Australian earnings data check Your Career (yourcareer.gov.au) directly. Career classifications follow the ABS ANZSCO 2022 release.