Aboriginal graduate and intern programs

Applications are now open. Find out how to apply.

Are you an Aboriginal person who has recently completed, or are currently studying a university degree? Build your own career path with our Aboriginal graduate and intern programs.

As a graduate officer or intern, you will gain valuable experience alongside supportive, future-focused professionals.

We will encourage you to take initiative and challenge your thinking. You will do this while contributing to solutions that benefit all South Australians.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible to apply, you must:

  • be an Aboriginal person
  • be currently studying or have completed a bachelor’s degree (or higher) in the specified or equivalent discipline within the last three years
  • agree to a national police check and clearance to meet required entry standards
  • meet all employment conditions – this includes the ability to make your own way to and from your workplace, training sites and other sites as required.

Who we are looking for

We want to hear from talented and innovative team players who are:

  • excited by the opportunity to create a better future for South Australians
  • ready to embrace our values and commitment to safety
  • great at organising, planning, prioritising and meeting deadlines
  • analytical problem-solvers with great research skills
  • driven, accountable and keen to use their initiative
  • empathetic and culturally aware
  • great with people and building relationships
  • familiar with the Microsoft Office suite.

What you will receive

Graduates will complete our two- or three-year program.

Interns will undertake flexible paid work with hours that fit around your university semester.

While working with us, you will:

  • access professional mentoring programs aligned to your career goals
  • participate in professional development courses
  • experience a range of roles relevant to your qualification and career pathways through regular rotations
  • be able to request access to paid study leave to complete further study (law graduates can complete their Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice)
  • get annual salary increases within your pay level (subject to satisfactory performance)
  • join our Graduate Community of Practice to build relations with fellow graduates
  • participate in our Knowing Community Project to work on a project with your fellow graduates that will benefit the community.

As an Aboriginal graduate or intern, you will also:

  • be supported by consultants from our Aboriginal Employment team
  • participate in Aboriginal career development programs
  • experience Aboriginal representation at all stages of recruitment and employment
  • expect to work in a culturally safe and inclusive workplace
  • be able to access cultural leave
  • connect with leaders at our Aboriginal Staff Summit and employee meetings.

Find more reasons why you should work with us.

What our staff and past graduates say

This video features two of our Aboriginal staff members:

  • Anthony St Clair, Project Officer
  • Vonda Last, Senior Cultural Consultant.

Anthony started with us as a trainee. He encourages graduates to go out of their comfort zone and take on new opportunities.

Vonda shares information about our Aboriginal graduate program, traineeships and Aboriginal Staff Summit.

  • Watch other videos

    See what to expect during our graduate program, including potential regional rotations and our Knowing Community project.

Program details

Our graduate program has two streams: engineering and corporate. Examples of fields in the corporate stream are finance, legal, human resources, information technology or construction management.

Graduate program Intern program

Engineering stream:

  • Employed as a Professional Officer Level 1 (PO1)
  • $71,375 to $83,594 per year, plus superannuation (12%)
  • Temporary contract up to 3 years

Corporate stream:

  • Employed as Administrative Service Officer Level 3 (ASO3)
  • $67,589 to $72,033 per year, plus superannuation (12%)
  • Temporary contract up to 2 years

Both streams offer at least three job rotations.

  • Paid at Administrative Service Officer Level 2 (ASO2)
  • $58,709 to $63,154 per year (or part-time equivalent), plus superannuation (12%)

Offered as full-time positions. You will be expected to work 37.5 hours a week over five 7.5-hour days.

Flexible work arrangements are available to all staff. You can discuss options that best suit you at the interview or employment offer stage.

Offered as part-time positions. We can work with you to tailor your weekly hours and placement duration to suit your study schedule and business needs. For example, we have some interns working:

  • full-time during study breaks
  • part-time over a longer placement.

Locations

Graduate and intern roles are usually offered in the Adelaide CBD and metropolitan area. Rotations give you a chance to work across different teams and explore diverse career pathways related to your qualifications.

Rotations sometimes include regional locations and may form part of the role you are being considered for. When this is the case, we will discuss this with you at the interview or employment offer stage.

Disciplines

As one of the largest government agencies, we have 11 unique business areas. This means we can offer roles in a range of disciplines.

Our large portfolio also increases the breadth of our rotation opportunities. Rotations allow you to explore the diverse career pathways related to your qualifications.

Past roles

Past roles have been offered in:

  • business administration or management
  • communications, media, journalism or marketing
  • construction management
  • contract management
  • engineering – civil, electrical, mechanical, structural, systems or traffic
  • environment studies and cultural heritage management
  • finance, economics, accounting or commerce
  • graphic design, film and production
  • humanities, social science, Aboriginal studies and arts
  • human resource management or psychology
  • information technology – cloud computing, computer science or programming, cybersecurity, data analytics, geospatial, network operations, or software development or engineering
  • law
  • legal studies and criminology – business, administrative, employment, labour or legal
  • logistics and supply chain management
  • network operations and planning
  • project management
  • property
  • public policy or political science
  • safety management
  • transport modelling or transportation engineering survey
  • work, health and safety.

If your discipline is not listed, you can find out if you are eligible. Just email DIT.EntryTalent@sa.gov.au or DIT.AboriginalEmployment@sa.gov.au.

How to apply

Applications for our 2027 Aboriginal graduate and intern programs are now open.

Submit your application on I Work for SA by 11 pm on Monday, 31 August 2026.

Apply on I Work for SA

To discuss this opportunity, contact our Aboriginal Employment team at DIT.AboriginalEmployment@sa.gov.au or 08 7133 1796.

We may also advertise graduate roles throughout the year on I Work For SA.

Join our mailing list

Acknowledgement

The term 'Aboriginal' is inclusive of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Contact us

Aboriginal Employment team

Email: DIT.AboriginalEmployment@sa.gov.au

Phone: 08 7133 1796

Entry Level Programs team

Email: DIT.EntryTalent@sa.gov.au

Related information

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