Policy Officer

APS 5 - $76,260 - $83,658 per annum plus superannuation
- Agricultural Policy Division
- Brisbane, QLD,Canberra, ACT,Melbourne, VIC,Sydney, NSW
- Develop and implement policies that aim to make Australia’s agriculture sector more globally competitive and profitable.
- Work with industry and across government to unlock the potential of Australia's agricultural industries.
- Work in a supportive and dynamic division that operates flexibly and values diversity and inclusion

**Who we are**
It’s the people in Agricultural Policy Division (APD) that make us who we are. You’ll be welcomed by a supportive team that values diversity and inclusion, has a sense of humour, works hard and helps each other out. We are passionate about the work we do and always looking for better ways of doing things. We operate in a highly flexible and dynamic way, supporting hybrid teams and have already made significant progress towards being a future-ready workplace.

APD develops and implements policies that aim to make Australia’s agriculture sector more globally competitive and profitable. Achieving industry’s target of $100 billion by 2030 will require responsive policy, programs and legislative settings and faster productivity gains than have been achieved in past decades. APD is working with industry and across government to unlock further productivity growth. We provide policy advice on issues affecting industry competitiveness and productivity, develop and administer grant programs to support a stronger sector, and are modernising the legislation that underpins industry and government co-investment in key priorities.

**Team Descriptions**

**Innovation**: As a Policy Officer in the Innovation Team you will help shape and support innovation policy to drive productivity and profitability across the agricultural sector and regional communities. The role will also involve engaging with a range of stakeholders in the innovation system, supporting AgriFutures Australia and assisting with delivering our agtech, innovation and R&D programs.

**Levies Legislation**:As a Policy Officer in the Levies Legislation Team you will support the modernisation of the agricultural levies legislative framework, which underpins $800 million of industry and government investment annually into R&D, marketing and biosecurity, including through policy development, stakeholder consultation, analysing legislation and preparing drafting instructions.

**Workforce**: As a Policy Officer in the Workforce Team you will work across other agencies, the states and territories and industry to address workforce and supply chain challenges, including those resulting from the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, to position the sector to drive Australia’s economic recovery. This includes close collaboration with relevant agencies on the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme, visa options to source workers and efforts to skill workers domestically through the vocational education and training sector. You will advocate for the outcomes from the Jobs and Skills Summit to benefit the agriculture sector, including through the Employment White Paper and supporting the Tripartite Agricultural Workforce Working Group.

**Organics and Plant Based Reform**: As a Officer in the Organics and Plant-Based reform team, you will advise on organics and plant-based protein policy and regulatory matters. You will work with industry representatives and across government, contribute to the design of data projects and research into these dynamic and growing industries.

**The Job**
The Agricultural Policy Division has multiple vacancies at the APS 5 level. The duties of these roles would include but are not limited to:

- undertaking research and analysis and developing policy advice about issues affecting Australia’s farm industries
- preparing briefing, speeches, correspondence and reports for the Minister and executive
- supporting constructive and collaborative relationships with Ministers’ offices, other areas of the department, Commonwealth agencies, state and territory agencies, industry representatives and community groups
- representing the department in engagement with stakeholders and in a range of committees and forums
- working as part of a team and contributing to effective team culture. We are open to discussing flexible working arrangements and new ways of working - including part-time, job share or working from different departmental office locations.

**What we are looking for**

**Knowledge and experience**
- Experience working in a policy role including undertaking research and preparing policy advice, briefing material and analytical reporting would be an advantage.
- Knowledge or experience of legislative reform or in legislation policy, such as analysing legislation and preparing drafting instructions is required for some positions.

**Skills and capabilities**
- The ability to provide high quality policy advice.
- Demonstrated ab