Challenge yourself: ATO graduate development program

Lucy Kippist

If graduate candidates needed an example of where a career with the Australian Tax Office can take you they only have to look at the department’s top executive.

The Australian Tax Commissioner Michael D’Ascenzo started his career as a grad 30 years ago.

And for those that think the ATO is just for finance and accounting, think again.

Each year the graduate recruitment intake at the ATO crosses auditing, accountancy, marketing and communications, design, human resources, learning and development and IT.

The ATO’s graduate development program exposes grads to a diverse range of disciplines as well as the possibility of career progression in as little as 12 months.

ATO graduate alumni, Psychologist Officer Marty Pye, Design Officer Trudie Harris and Taxation Officer Sonia Ward are representative of that diversity.

They agree that the ATO provided them with a “surprising” variety of roles, a great breadth of skill development and access to flexible working hours.

“I didn’t expect to end up at the Tax Office as a psychology graduate, but the career development opportunities were excellent, “said Mr Pye, who started the ATO grad program in February 2007.

“Not only have I had the opportunity to apply my psychology skills to recruitment, survey design, workforce planning and succession management, but I have had the chance to gain professional registration as a psychologist.

“It’s fantastic to be able to do all this in an organisation that also allows me to balance my work and personal life,” “he said.

The ATO supported social science grad Trudie Harris’ relocation to Canberra. Ms Harris said the ATO’s extended induction process eased her transition to work.

“The training during induction provides a great start for further development throughout the graduate year, as well as the added bonus of knowing how to do your tax return,” Ms Harris said.

“˜And I’m already enjoying the work/life balance that is part of working at Tax” , she said.

For Alison Del Socorro the scope and structure of the ATO training programs set her career as a taxation officer on the right track.

“I found the rotation-based workplace arrangement was a great way to introduce new-starters into the diverse environment that is the Tax Office. Within a 12-month period graduates were rotated around the Tax Office several times gaining the experience of the typical work and duties performed by those various teams,” Ms Del Socorro said.

“This gave me, as an individual, an opportunity to grow and really gain an understanding of the kind of work, roles and duties I wanted to develop now and may aspire to adopt and develop in the future,” she said.

Other benefits of working at the ATO include:

• work in the largest single entity in the tax industry
• work at the leading edge of tax administration
• be a contributor to the ongoing development to Australia’s social and economic environment
• help set standards for the tax profession
• develop your technical skills to world standard
• have support from industry experts
• join a significant, respected, national employer
• work in an innovative and design-orientated organisation
• enjoy excellent working conditions

The ATO look for with a credit-average. Candidates are screened via interview-based assessment focusing on a candidate’s professionalism, integrity, communication skills and problem solving abilities.