ATO Graduate Program recruitment process
Everything you need to know about the ATO Graduate Program recruitment process.
Applications for the 2024 Graduate Program are now closed.
On this page
Who can apply for the program
You can apply for our graduate program if you:
- are an Australian citizen at the time of applying and are willing to undergo police and character checks as required
- have completed your university degree in the last 5 years, or you're in your final year of study. By the time you start our program, you must have completed all your course requirements.
For more information to help you decide if you are eligible to apply, see Graduate Program eligibility and the ATO Graduate Program.
Lodging your application
When completing your online application, we will ask you to provide:
- personal information
- details of your qualifications – including your current academic transcript (as an attachment – maximum 3 MB)
- a statement verifying your qualifications if you have overseas qualifications (as an attachment – maximum 3 MB).
Tips on lodging your application:
- Have all the required information ready when you start your application.
- Save your application regularly to ensure you don't lose any data. The page will time out if it's inactive for more than 30 minutes.
- Have your resume ready – we may ask for it at a later stage if you progress.
Lodging Data and Human Resources applications
If you want to apply for positions in the Data or Human Resources (HR) graduate streams, the application process is different.
You must apply through the Australian Government Graduate ProgramExternal Link (AGGP) only. Do not apply through the ATO.
You can then select the ATO and other government agencies as your preference and we will receive your application.
The AGGP offers graduates job opportunities across multiple disciplines. The ATO is a participating agency in the Data and Human Resources (HR) streams of the AGGP. This means you will only have to go through the application and selection process once to be considered for several Australian Government agencies, including the ATO.
HR Graduate program
For more information about the HR Graduate Program, visit HR StreamExternal Link.
Data Graduate program
For more information about the Data Graduate Program, visit Data StreamExternal Link.
After you lodge
Once you've lodged your online application, you'll receive a notification email confirming your submission.
If you don't receive an acknowledgement email, you can check we have received your application by logging in to eRecruitmentExternal Link and selecting My profile then View emails.
You can update your personal details at any time by logging in to eRecruitment. However, you can't change any other details in your application.
If there are issues with your application, email us at EntryLevelPrograms@ato.gov.au.
Assessment activities and timeline
The stages of the assessment process, include:
- Applications open (6 March 2023)
- Applications close (17 April 2023)
- Round 2 Activity (March/April 2023)
- Assessment Centre (May 2023)
- Ascertain availability and security checks (June 2023)
- Offers commence (July 2023)
- Early/First (optional) intake commences (mid-August 2023)
- Second Intake commences (early February 2024)
You will need to perform strongly in each assessment to progress to the next stage, including application, online activities and interview.
You will receive notification of the outcome of each stage, even if you are not successful.
Preliminary decision
At this point, we will review your performance from all assessment stages of the process and determine your suitability for the merit pool.
Unsuccessful candidates can get feedback about their assessment centre performance after the selection process has finished.
Final checks
If your application is successful, we will phone you to confirm your availability for the graduate program.
We will then undertake the following checks:
- We will confirm you are or will be an Australian citizen at the date of application.
- If you are still studying, we will confirm you are on track to complete your university qualifications by 31 December 2023.
- If you're in the Taxation or IT stream, you have an option to commence the program in August 2023. To be eligible for this early intake, you'll need to have completed your degree by 30 June 2023. You can select this option on the application form.
- You will need to satisfy our integrity check. We will confirm your identity, check police records, perform additional checks as required and ask you to complete the following forms:
- declaration of secrecy
- compliance with tax and superannuation obligations.
For more information about pre-engagement integrity checks for candidates who are not current ongoing ATO employees, see Our integrity checks.
Offers
After we have confirmed your availability and completed our integrity check, we will send you a formal offer.
We anticipate making offers from July 2023.
Everything you need to know about the ATO Graduate Program recruitment process.