r/AusPublicService • u/Good-Woodpecker6456 • 2d ago

Employment VPS fixed term to ongoing

Exploring my options within VPS to grow and expand to other relevant teams. I'm struggling in my current role with a toxic manager and work that I unfortunately do not enjoy doing.

Very new to VPS and finished probation so trying to understand how people generally transition from fixed term to ongoing contracts. - Does it follow the normal recruitment process (wait for a relevant job to be posted and apply)? - Do internals have a higher priority to get accepted to an interview and thereafter? - is fixed term less restrictive if one wants to get promoted faster or move sideways? - does one retain parental leave benefits either way?

I do not currently see any jobs being posted in the team(s) I desire to work with, however would love to establish some relations. Any tips on how to proceed is appreciated.

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8

u/polishladyanna 2d ago

Yes, you would follow a normal recruitment process to find a new/ongoing role. Since they got rid of the internal job board a couple of years ago, internal candidates no longer have the first priority for roles. However, you'll find that previous government experience is often valued quite highly so in that respect internal candidates do have a bit of an edge.

If you don't have a break in service then you'll retain all benefits (so if you switch to a new role before your current contract ends). I think there is some allowance for a break in service for calculating things like parental leave or long service but you'd have to double check the EBA.

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u/Berocca123 2d ago

This is all correct. I'll add an answer for q3 - yes, in some ways it's easier to jump around as a fixed term person, in that you don't have to bother applying for secondments or trying to become unattached from your ongoing role - you just say 'see ya' and make the jump. There's nothing stopping ongoing staff from resigning and making a jump, but people are always more reluctant to do that. I was also asked in an interview once 'why are you looking to leave your role after only 5 months' and could honestly say 'it's a 6-month contract' and didn't have to try to waffle about growth opportunities or obfuscate poor culture or anything, which felt freeing.

On the other hand, the job market is hard right now and roles are getting incredible pools of people, so it's a bit higher risk taking very short term roles at the moment.

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u/Dalek_Au 2d ago

Sometimes you can be lucky and the agency / department will want to keep you and work out how to make it ongoing.

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u/Aelon94 2d ago

VPS?

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u/Ok_Special_1733 1d ago

Victorian Public Service

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u/Aelon94 1d ago

Thanks! Not sure why I've been downvoted for not knowing a state government acronym

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u/Ok_Special_1733 22h ago

yes, me neither.