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Data Profession: fifth year program report

Published

Foreword

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the Data Profession—a significant milestone built on the strong foundations of our first four years. Reflecting on our progress, I'm pleased to report that several critical activities were delivered during the past year.

Securing data expertise has been supported through the 2025 APS Data Graduate recruitment program with 38 participating agencies. The new Data Profession Employee Value Proposition outlines the attributes, experience and contributions of those working in APS data roles, helping to attract and retain great talent.

Data capability building has been strengthened. The EL2 Data Leadership course, which began in 2024 and focuses on building foundational skills, has been attended by 156 staff from 25 agencies this year. Our new eLearning course Introduction to Data in Government reinforces the Data Profession's commitment to addressing data skill gaps at all levels within the APS.

The Data Capability Framework, which serves as the cornerstone for a suite of capability-building initiatives led by the Data Profession, has been revised to incorporate references to additional resources and now aligns with SFIA 9, the new version of the global skills and competency framework for the digital world.

Cohort engagement has expanded through the Data Profession Members’ Community Platform, our web-based platform for members to learn about events, job opportunities, communities of interest, and resources relevant to their work. The Platform now hosts over 15,000 members.

We have exciting work planned for 2026.

In our sixth year, we’re embracing a renewed focus. As Head of Profession, I remain dedicated to embedding data stewardship throughout the public service and ensuring we meet the evolving capability needs of our growing community. The Data Profession has reset with fresh energy and will continue to provide tailored support to all our members from data graduates and generalist staff to senior leaders.

We will actively support the successful implementation of the APS Data, Digital and Cyber Workforce Plan by expanding EL2 capability development, updating our SES Data Leadership course and championing the APS SES Data Accountabilities.

The 2026 Data Awards will be held in March, once again celebrating and showcasing data-driven initiatives across the APS and recognising the power of data to improve services and policy development.

The Data Profession will iterate several existing resources, including the Foundational Data Literacy Pathway, the Curated Learning Offering, data roles within the Career Pathfinder Tool, and Job Role Personas.

I would like to acknowledge that the success of past achievements and ongoing work rests with the continued collaboration of our partner agencies.

I look forward to greater successes in the Data Profession in the coming years.

Dr David Gruen AO

Head of the APS Data Profession

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Topics
APS Professional Streams
Audience
Data Professions
Digital Professions
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