APRA's 2021 Graduate Program

Tanja Mirkovic, recruited for the 2019 APRA Graduate Program.

APRA’s 2021 Graduate Program opens on Friday 28 February, and is accepting applicants from a wide range of disciplines. Offering placements in the Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane offices, our 18-month program provides three six-month rotations across APRA’s frontline supervision, policy and advice, and cross-industry insights and data divisions.

As Australia’s prudential regulator, APRA supervises the operation of banks, insurance companies and most superannuation companies. This means that working at APRA provides an unparalleled view of Australia’s financial services industry. But our graduates don’t just sit and watch the action from the sidelines. Instead, our program is all about providing graduates with hands-on, in-depth experience across the entire financial services system.

Law graduate Tanja Mirkovic was recruited onto last year’s APRA Graduate Program. On day one of her first rotation, Tanja was asked to help develop content for a speech being prepared by an APRA executive. “It felt good to know that I was trusted with important work from the beginning,” Tanja says. “Graduates aren’t seen as the bottom of the food chain at APRA, but as trusted colleagues who can bring innovative and creative ideas to the organisation.” 

Camilla Ganko, APRA’s Talent Partner – Graduate Recruitment, echoes Tanja’s sentiments. “Because of APRA’s size – we’re so much smaller than most financial services organisations – our graduates are exposed to quality work from the beginning, with significant autonomy to get that work done. They’re an integral part of our organisation.”  

A standout aspect of the program is graduate involvement in APRA’s face-to-face ‘entity visits’, which are held with the financial institutions we regulate. “After I’d been to a few entity visits, my manager asked if I wanted to take the lead,” says Tanja Mirkovic. “My manager was there but I was also asking questions to the CEO, CFO and CRO, and being part of the prudential engagement.”

Thanks to this real-world experience and the breadth of exposure to industry and senior management, our Graduate Program is recognised as one of the best and most diverse in the Australian financial services industry.

For our 2021 Graduate Program, we are seeking graduates in commerce, finance, economics, actuarial science, law, mathematics, public policy and statistics. Graduates from other disciplines (such as engineering, psychology, arts and social science) with strong research and analytical skills are also encouraged to apply. 

“Because we’re assessing and analysing risk all the time at APRA, we like to have graduates from different backgrounds and with a diverse range of degrees”, Camilla Ganko explains. “Having different perspectives means we’re going to be able to identify and manage risk more effectively.”

Interested applicants with Australian or New Zealand citizenship or Australian permanent residency, and a minimum credit average from an Australian university, can apply for APRA’s 2021 Graduate Program here.