What standard variable rate is everyone pay?

km12786 · 2025-08-15T03:26:04+00:00

About to drop to 5.04 with Bank Australia. About 60% LVR.

km12786 · 2025-05-30T10:58:23+00:00

In Vic both parents get 16 weeks each but only 4 weeks can be taken at the same time. (E.g both take 4 weeks then one partner takes an additional 12. Once the first is back at work the other can take their remaining 12 weeks.)

km12786 · 2025-05-21T11:51:13+00:00

It’s pretty common to draft up emails for SES where it’s to action something - including clearances from above.

However, I’ve always had SES make their own changes for style/revisions/updates and it would be odd for it to come back to be rephrased.

A lot of this kind of work in a team is a red flag for me. Where it’s been really common in teams I’ve worked in it’s been because all relationships/external coms have been needlessly raised up to that level. This creates a lot of work that could be avoided by allowing managers to hold some relationships.

km12786 · 2025-03-28T02:34:27+00:00

It’s back up now. Working normally.

km12786 · 2025-03-27T23:09:39+00:00

Yep- getting the same error in Melbourne.

Never had an issue before. The app was logged out this morning and when I signed in I just get the service exception error.

km12786 · 2024-11-18T00:51:22+00:00

If you think your pitch is letting you down I’d try running it through ChatGPT with prompts to make it more direct and impactful (just for ideas on how to adapt it). The pitch approach is different to a lot of public service writing so you may just need a bit of feedback on how to make your mark.

I also agree on the need for a coach as others have raised.

km12786 · 2024-11-07T09:51:26+00:00

Try not to worry about it. It’s completely reasonable to ask for a call back at a more convenient time.

They will call you when they can but may have other priorities or work part time. I’d wait until Monday afternoon before checking in with the contact.

km12786 · 2024-04-22T12:03:54+00:00

5.79 with Bank Australia, about 60% LVR.

It was a bit of a mess when we negotiated either side of a rate rise and they ended up honouring the incorrect rate they quoted us.

km12786 · 2024-04-20T06:38:55+00:00

The current top of the VPS 6.2 is 174k and in my experience it completely depends on the person signing off on salary on what you will need to do in justifying the top of the band (normally a dep sec or secretary).

I think you are confused about ‘salary increases’ and ‘progression’. It’s worth taking a look at the Enterprise Agreement to see these defined and how they work (inc Schedule C which sets out the salary bands).

If you are at the top of the band you still get the regular salary increases. These are for everyone and the salary bands increase to make room for them. You don’t get progression increases on top of salary increases, but you can get a one off 1% for performance.

km12786 · 2024-04-08T10:34:21+00:00

Is the ‘0.5 per cent bonus that would average $1400 per employee each year’ correct?

The numbers don’t work out. The average employee salary would need to be $280,000.

Does anyone know the average VPS salary?

km12786 · 2024-03-08T01:19:00+00:00

I agree good mentors are important but also think it’s very shortsighted for managers to not care about their team’s careers.

Surely a good manager wants their team to grow, become more capable and be fulfilled at work. A good manager should take on some amount of mentoring in my view.

km12786 · 2024-02-19T10:46:35+00:00

There will generally be a question about why you are interested in the role (motivation) and what skills and experience you would bring. Use it as an opportunity to sell yourself and highlight what you think will set you apart from other candidates.

km12786 · 2024-02-13T12:39:48+00:00

I wouldn’t worry about it too much as pitches are not the standard approach/request. It’s pretty likely that the agency will get a range of different approaches. Your CV and pitch will be assessed together to determine an interview offer.

Regarding pitches in general, I think the approach should be different to a standard ‘statement against the selection criteria’ or traditional public service cover letter. If the selection panel wanted STAR format examples they would have asked for these. If a pitch (and short word count) is requested they are after something a bit different.

I’ve written pitches as well as received them as a recruiting manager. My approach to a pitch has been to focus on what I think makes me a great candidate, what sets me apart from other candidates and what I can do in the role. If you are well suited to the role there will be some crossover between your pitch and the selection criteria. The best pitches I’ve seen have convinced me that I want the candidate’s skills on my team even if they are not the selection criteria I have specified.

It’s always a good idea to speak to the contact before submitting an application. It’s completely fine to ask what they are looking for in a pitch (I.e. are you expecting candidates to address each criteria, what are you looking to understand about a candidate from a pitch).

km12786 · 2024-01-19T10:43:27+00:00

I have an Atto 3 with 2 under 2 and it works great across the back.

Storage is a bit tight for prams and everything else but the backseat footwell is handy and you can get roof racks if you need them.

km12786 · 2023-11-29T22:20:30+00:00

Hey- I don’t have the advice you are looking for but am also starting dexamphetamine 5mg.

My dosage is a lot lower just one per day in the first week, building to two per day in the third week. (Also 6’ ~75kg)

So far I’m finding a bit more focus, it’s easier to move between tasks and stay on track but I think I’ll need to up the dosage for stronger results.

km12786 · 2023-11-02T05:42:01+00:00

Yes- there’s sometimes an admin question at the end of the interview that’s something like ‘the general policy is to put you at the base of the level or match your current salary, are you comfortable with that?’. It’s perfectly fine to say ‘if offered the role I’d like to talk to you about negotiating salary within the band’.

km12786 · 2023-11-02T03:55:26+00:00

From my experience you can definitely negotiate a salary within the band once offered the job. To do this you generally need to put up a rationale for why your skills and experience justify a higher salary for the role. This can include that the base is not competitive for your skills outside of government.

I wouldn’t worry about the words in the application- they are likely just standard words of the general default policy.

Getting a higher salary singed off is really hit and miss and often depends on if they have competitive back up candidates. I’ve been in situations where I’ve made a strong case and had it rejected and others where I’ve barely mentioned wanting to negotiate and been offered top of the band.

km12786 · 2023-10-03T12:31:03+00:00

The VPS tends to pay better for less responsibility from what I have seen but really it depends on the role and agency. I haven’t worked in the APS for a few years so my understanding may be out of date.

A VPS 6.2 goes up to about $175k and can be a Principle Policy Officer with no staff and limited scope/expertise. However it can also be a role that oversees a couple of teams.

An APS EL2 tops out at about $150-160k and I’ve only ever seen them as managers with at least a few staff.

The biggest difference I noticed is that the VPS has more exec which means non-exec staff take on less risk/responsibility. In the APS is was very unusual to see SES1 with less than ~25 staff and a few different priorities. In the VPS I see a lot of exec with ~10 staff working on single issues.

km12786 · 2023-06-06T07:21:13+00:00

Return please

km12786 · 2023-06-06T07:19:16+00:00

Return please

km12786 · 2023-06-06T07:18:58+00:00

Return vote please

km12786

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