2026 nominee - Champion of Veteran Employment
The NSW Government’s Veterans Employment Program was launched in 2016 to help veterans understand how skills and attributes they learned in the Australian Defence Force are transferable to NSW Public Sector roles.
Through advocacy, program development and resource creation the NSW Government’s Veterans Employment Program has seen over 4200 veterans employed in new roles, since the program was launched. The program has gone from strength to strength, employing 831 veterans during the Centenary of Anzac, 1626 over the next four years and currently 1748 with six months to go in the current four-year reporting period against a target of 2000 veterans to be employed in new roles.
They have shared and offered to share all its tested and proven tools and resources with other state and territories, as well as sharing presentations on how to communicate veteran support and employment initiatives to the public and private sector.
The NSW Government’s Veterans Employment Program, in conjunction with other organisations, developed a Local Government Rank to Garde guide to help veterans in their employment search. They have assisted 38 of 128 Councils across NSW to establish their own Veterans Employment Program.
They have also helped NSW Government Portfolios and Agencies become Veteran Employment Commitment organisations, at the Employment Supporter, Friendly Employer and Employer of Choice levels.
The NSW Government’s Veterans Employment Program has continued to brief the Royal Australian Navy Command and Command Warrant Officer Designate courses to help the Navy chain of command support sailors and officers leaving the ADF maintain capability via reserve employment while taking up a new role in a NSW government agency supportive of Reserve employment.
They have also facilitated, for the past six years, an annual Veterans Employment Roundtable (chaired by the NSW Minister for Veterans) to bring the key players in the veterans employment field together from the public and private sector to work collaboratively on veterans’ employment. The last roundtable focussed on employment opportunities in Regional NSW.
In the words of their program Manager, “Working Together we can make a difference!”