Specialisterne Australia offers an alternative pathway for people on the autism spectrum to connect with employers who recognise and value the contributions and talents that individuals on the spectrum can bring to their organisations.
We are excited to partner with Services Australia in their Aurora Neurodiversity Program. They are currently looking for a Developer from within our community of talented autistic candidates.
About Services Australia
We touch the lives of almost every Australian and we are here to help people meet life’s challenges. Services Australia is responsible for the delivery of advice and high quality, accessible social, health and child support services and payments.
We continually build on our foundation of service excellence to shape how government services are delivered to the Australian community. Our task is to modernise the way we work to deliver simple, helpful, respectful and transparent services every time.
We offer work that improves the lives of Australians, great working conditions, workplace diversity and inclusion that reflects the community we serve and flexible work practises for work and family life balance.
About the team
You will be an integral part of the team specialising in the delivery of innovative technology for connecting, identifying and authenticating Services Australia customers. You will be part of a multi-disciplinary team, working with analysts and testers. We offer our employees full in-house training with a wide variety of work, which is both challenging and fulfilling.
About the roles
Role title
Associate Developer (1 Vacancy)
Tenure
The role is full-time, non-ongoing contract for up to 18 months, but part-time may be considered for the right applicant.
Location of role
The role is located in Tuggeranong, ACT.
What you will do
Information and communications technology (ICT) continues to be a key catalyst, enabler and driver of the agency’s customer service transformation. The Technology Services Group provides the underpinning technology and expertise to support the agency’s vision in the provision of government services to Australians.
Development describes the function of creating design documents, developing, testing, supporting and maintaining applications and frameworks involved in the software development life cycle. The Developer uses their in-depth knowledge to provide technical advice and guidance to less experienced staff.
Developers work under the support and general direction of senior staff. They exercise a degree of independent judgement and make decisions within defined parameters that require some reliance on skills and knowledge. The Developer undertakes their work in the context of competing priorities and contributes to changes in workplace practices and business improvement strategies.
As an Associate Developer, you will work as part of a multi-skilled team to:
- Assist with the analysis, design, development, prototyping, unit testing and maintenance activities
- Assist with the definition of software and technical designs for the realisation of low complexity custom solutions or conversion and migration solutions
- Under guidance adhere to high quality standards in software development
- Provide go-live support and maintenance for developments
- Assist in the development and delivery of projects
- Collaborate with stakeholders to ensure effective and timely implementation of projects
- Escalate issues as identified
- Maintain up-to-date knowledge of ICT policies and processes
- Ensure compliance with endorsed software development methodologies
- Exercise delegations in accordance with legislation and guidelines


Specialisterne Australia exists because autistic candidates are being overlooked for employment, largely due to the many barriers that autistic candidates come up against when competing for employment in typical recruitment practices.
Specialisterne has created an end-to-end recruitment and employee support framework that removes those typically found barriers, and replaces them with practical, demonstrative assessments and activities whereby candidates, over a patient process, have the opportunity to:
- better understand the requirements of the roles they are competing for to assess if they are the right opportunities for them
- meet team members and managers throughout the process
- connect with others who have previously gained employment via this program
- demonstrate through practical assessments and activities their motivation and suitability for the available roles over a patient process
- ‘show’ what they can do (not just tell someone what you can do)
At Specialisterne Australia our values are Respect, Clarity, Accommodation, and Accessibility. We keep these in mind in all that we do. We work with our partner employers to promote and sustain a diverse and inclusive workforce. To support you further throughout your journey, we provide a mentor and buddy, and we work with you to tailor an individual plan to accommodate your needs in the workplace, also providing a period of support for both you and your future employer, ensuring a successful transition into your new role.
Please Note: All applications must go through Specialisterne Australia. Our partner employers do not handle applications directly for these opportunities.
Location of role
This role is offered in Tuggeranong, ACT only, however applicants prepared to relocate for employment are encouraged to apply.
Applicant Requirements
Must have
To apply for these roles, these things are essential:
- Must be 18 years of age or older.
- Must have a diagnosis of autism (including autism spectrum disorder; Asperger’s Syndrome; Autistic Disorder or PDD-NOS). ‘Specialisterne may be required to provide evidence of your diagnosis to Services Australia to confirm your eligibility for the program.’
- Must have proof of Australian Citizenship and agree to background checks
- Must be able to obtain a Baseline security clearance
- Must live within a daily commutable distance to the location of the role.
Should have
These things are important to have:
- Ability to work in a fast-paced Agile team environment
- Ability to think critically and have solid problem-solving skills
- Ability to work on tasks autonomously and seek assistance when required
- Good time-management skills
- Good communication skills
- Good attention to details
- Positive attitude towards learning new technologies and products
- A background in IT, either professionally or academically, with knowledge of an Agile project delivery lifecycle
- Ability to analyse business requirements and design documentation
- Ability to interact with client and Services Australia project stakeholders, including team leads
Nice to have
These things are not essential, but if you have them that’s great:
- Obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Software Engineering; Software Development; Information Technology; Systems Engineering; Computer Science; Network Security; Data and Analytics; Mathematics; Statistics; Engineering; Business; Software Development; Cyber Security or related disciplines or have relatable real-world experience in same or similar fields.
- A strong interest or experience in any of the following or related fields: Systems Testing, Applications Development, Data Analytics, Systems Analysis, Business Analysis, Systems Administration, Cyber Security, Cloud Computing (AWS, Azure, Linux, Docker, Kubernetes), DevOps, Networking, Engineering, Business, or in related disciplines
- Ability to work autonomously, take initiative and work as part of an agile team environment using agile development approaches (e.g. SCRUM, Kanban)
- Experience with any development support tools (e.g. JIRA, Github/Bitbucket, Maven, Bamboo, VisualStudio, Selenium, JUnit)
- Any understanding of shell scripting using Bash, VBScript, TCL, Perl, Python, etc.
- Experience with .NET and PowerShell
- Any experience with Wintel services particularly SCOM, MDT, MBAM, and others
- Familiarity with Windows Server versions and administration
- Understanding of networking, virtualisation, servers, clustering, DNS, DHCP, etc.
- Familiarity with web services frameworks (e.g. SpringBoot, Grails, MicroNaut, .NET)
- Understanding of or ability to learn cloud services and related tools (e.g. AWS, Microsoft Azure, CloudMonitor, CloudWatch, Kubernetes)
- Good understanding of the systems delivery lifecycle
- Broad understanding of full technology stack (e.g. datacentres, network, infrastructure, platform, data, application etc)


Application Process
Before you can apply for jobs through Specialisterne Australia, you must first register with us as an eligible candidate using the form below. You only need to do this once, existing candidates already registered using this form can proceed to login at the candidate portal. To commence the registration process, please make sure you have the required documents stated below:
- Evidence of an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis. Evidence could be a Diagnostic Assessment or a letter from a treating medical practitioner.
- Proof of Australian Citizenship or Permanent Residence Visa. Accepted documents are one of the following:
- Australian Birth Certificate
- Current Australian Passport
- Certificate of Australian Citizenship
- Permanent Residency Visa in Australia (excluding bridging visas)
NEW CANDIDATES
Upload your documents using the form provided on this page below. A member of our team will check your eligibility and you will then be sent a link to complete an online registration form with Specialisterne Australia. After you have completed your registration form, you will be sent a link to the candidate portal to upload supporting documents and apply for our jobs.
EXISTING CANDIDATES
If you have already registered as an eligible candidate with Specialisterne Australia using the form below and have an account, you can login to your account in the candidate portal to apply for the jobs or opportunities you are most interested in. A link to the candidate portal is contained in the form provided on this page below.
Shortlisted applicants will be invited to find out more about the roles while participating in activities and assessments delivered by Specialisterne and our partner employers to determine their suitability for the various opportunities.
At the conclusion of the Talent Program activities, successful candidates will be offered employment. If you are unsuccessful, you may be considered for other Specialisterne opportunities.
Talent Program activities will be delivered in-person and online in a virtual assessment centre environment and therefore candidates are expected to have use of their own computer with a webcam and microphone, and have access to the internet in order to participate.
Please Note: All applications must go through Specialisterne Australia. Our partner employers do not handle applications directly for these opportunities.