Department of Defence
Technical Pathway Graduate Program (Feb 2026)
Canberra, Sydney, Darwin
Opportunity details
- Graduate Job or Program
- AUD 79176 / Year
- + 15.4% superannuation (salary advancement upon successful completion of the program)
- 140-200 vacancies
- Apply by 9 Apr 2025
- Start date 9 Feb 2026 - 18 Feb 2026
Make your mark in the Technical pathway by working on some of the largest national acquisition and sustainment projects at Defence, like:
- fighter aircraft
- Navy ships
- soldier systems, and
- the nation’s nuclear-powered submarines.
The Technical pathway gives graduates the experience of working in one of Australia’s largest program management, logistics, procurement, and engineering organisations.
The Technical pathway includes support to undertake industry-recognised learning and development opportunities.
The Technical pathway is not just for technical degrees. Defence is looking for applicants with a degree and an interest in:
- business and commerce
- cyber security
- engineering
- information and communication technology
- logistics and supply chain, and
- project management.
Salary
All successful candidates will commence the Graduate Program on a salary of $79,176 plus 15.4% superannuation (increasing to $81,868 in March 2026).
Graduates advance to a higher salary after successfully completing the Program. The salary increase depends on which training pathway is completed.
Defence's is committed to enabling an enjoyable work-life balance through:
- a generous remuneration package
- conditions of service
- flexible work arrangements, and
- leave benefits.
Location
Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Cairns, Darwin, Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth, Sydney and Williamtown.
Duration
12-18 months.
Roles
Applicants to the Technical pathway need to nominate one of these areas of interest in the application form:
Cyber
- Support the implementation of the Defence Cyber Security Strategy.
Engineering
- Work on complex and nationally significant acquisition and sustainment projects.
- Manage and perform systems engineering focused activities.
- Plan, facilitate and assure confidence in the delivery of engineering outcomes for Defence.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
- Be part of one of the largest ICT networks in Australia.
- Support Defence operations around the world.
- Access a wide range of opportunities across Defence.
Logistics
- Provide logistics support across the life-cycle of a project or capability. This means being involved in strategy and concepts, to acquisition, transition into service, sustainment, upgrades and disposal.
Project management
- Work in diverse project teams that deliver nationally significant projects.
- Experience projects unparalleled in size, cost, timescale, risk profile and level of technological complexity.
Defence is the winner of the 2023 Graduate Employer award for Government & Public Safety by Prosple.
Hiring criteria
- No experience required
- Australian Citizen
- Business & Management +more
- Bachelor or higher
Reviews
They are different every day but I have had the opportunity to draft emails, documents and undertake academic research as part of developing doctrinal policy.
- Document review, editing and drafting. - Handling correspondence for projects - Attending meetings - Stakeholder engagement (both internal and external)
Policy writing, decision making, liaising with other areas of Department . These roles and responsibilities are very rewarding
About the employer
Department of Defence
4.1
1,000 - 50,000 employees
Government & Public Service
Bring your unique skills and experiences to a world of opportunity at Defence.
Pros and cons of working at Department of Defence
Pros
Opportunity to learn and exposure to a vast array of experiences. Sense of pride in working on behalf of the Australian people and for the defence of the country.
The support for learning development opportunities and ongoing exposure to networking opportunities.
The department is very flexible when it comes to hours, including making ample arrangements to work from home if necessary.
I have had the opportunity to draft emails, documents and undertake academic research as part of developing doctrinal policy.
They are supportive and are good mentors in teaching the internal procedures that otherwise would not be shared if not directly exposed to them.
Cons
Workplace culture is heavily dependent on the dedication of the supervisors and senior leaders which varies depending on the work area.
When all workplace employees are working on-site there is often a shortage of desks which is inconvenient for all involved.
Can be very slow to hear updates.
There is a good mix of women, ethnic minorities, etc., but this seems to be very aggregated in certain groups/services—not so much integrated or dispersed across the department.
I am unsure of my current knowledge or capacity to comment on their sustainability efforts.