Senior Policy Officer

About Us

The Department of Government Services (DGS) was established on 1 January 2023 to improve everyone’s experience of doing business and interacting with the Victorian government.  We bring important day-to-day services together in one department to make things easy and seamless for Victorians and businesses.  We are doing this by connecting and digitising our systems and platforms across state and local government as well as streamlining our corporate and procurement services.  

You can find out more about our Ministers, leadership and entities here: Department of Government Services. 

About the Group

The ​Consumer Affairs and Local Government Group 

The purpose of this group is to make it easier for customers and businesses to engage with government. It is accountable for strategy and policy development, regulatory design, sector support and program design and the delivery of regulatory services to – and in the best interests of – Victorians.

The Regulatory Policy Division  

The Regulatory Policy Division is focused on delivering policy and legislative reform across the consumer and local government portfolios, as agreed through priority planning with the Minister. This includes policy research and joint problem solving with portfolios that intersect with ours (like housing supply, building regulation, energy efficiency) and deliver the associated policy and legislative reform across the consumer affairs, renters and local government portfolio.

About the Role

We have an opportunity for 2 (two) Senior Policy Officer roles, where you will contribute to the timely development and implementation of high-quality legislative and regulatory reform proposals, legal policy advice on a range of complex matters, drafting submissions, guidance, strategies and other policy documents. The role applies sound knowledge of relevant statutory frameworks to provide critical analysis and input to Cabinet processes and major DGS reforms from a consumer affairs and local government perspective.

Key Accountabilities

• Develop policy and legislative reforms in relation to the consumer and local government portfolio.
• Provide high quality, authoritative and comprehensive advice to the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Ministerial office, the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Executives and Senior Officers on policy issues arising in Regulatory Policy
• Manage designated projects and activities to deliver statutory reviews, develop evidence-based reform proposals, undertake research and public consultations, and analyse and evaluate public policy options to address consumer and fair-trading issues and deliver on government priorities

 About You

We are seeking applicants who have demonstrated experience from the following criteria:

• Strategic and Legal Policy Advice: experience in providing strategic and legal policy advice in a government context on complex and sensitive matters.
• Policy and Legislative Formulation: demonstrated expertise in formulating policy and in drafting regulations, legislative instruments and other legislative options and advice.
• Cabinet and Parliamentary Preparation: experience in developing Cabinet and Parliamentary documents, including Legislative Impact Assessments and/or Regulatory Impact Statements, that align with government priorities
• Policy Design and Development: Formulates and communicates public policy options and recommendations; develops a clear narrative for the policies and business cases including clear problem definition and objectives; considers impact of policy to strategic plans, community needs, complementing programs and policies across the service.

This role is a permanent/ongoing position. This position is only open to applicants with relevant rights to work in Australia.

For more information, please see the Position Description

How to apply 

Apply before the advertised closing date 11:59pm on 27 July 2026. All applications should include:  

·       a resume; and  

·       a cover letter which addresses the key selection criteria (within three pages).

Other relevant information

To be eligible for appointment to this role, applicants will possess corresponding work rights for the advertised employment period. Appointment to an ongoing role is only available to an Australian/New Zealand citizen or an Australian Permanent Resident.  Preferred applicants will be required to undertake pre-employment screening. DGS actively promotes diversity, inclusion and an equal opportunity workplace. We welcome applicants from all diverse backgrounds, including people with disabilities and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. All roles at DGS can be worked flexibly, however it may differ from role to role.