Careers at the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage

Delivering the best outcomes for communities throughout Western Australia requires collaboration from a wide range of disciplines. Find out about opportunities available at the Department.
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The Department is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to engaging and growing a diverse and inclusive workforce across many specialties including urban planning, architecture, environmentalism, heritage practice, Aboriginal affairs, engineering, law, cartography, economics, finance, human resources, business, administration, IT, communications and design.

Graduate officers at DPLH

Graduate Development Program

Our innovative program has been developed to provide structure, continuous learning and an employee experience focus throughout the program and beyond.

Work environment and conditions

The Department offers competitive employment conditions including a flexible working environment in line with changing business needs, healthy work/life balance options, and quality professional learning and development opportunities.

Flexible work options can be negotiated where appropriate and achievable in accordance with business needs. These may include:

  • flexible working hours and attendance patterns to suit work and personal commitments 
  • telework and work-from-home on occasion 
  • permanent part-time work arrangements 
  • option to purchase extra leave per year.

More information about the Department鈥檚 employment conditions can be found in the .

Leadership Expectations

The Department believes all its people are leaders and expects and encourages them to demonstrate leadership in their roles.

It is committed to building the leadership capability of its people and to support this has adopted Leadership Expectations.

Leadership Expectations is specifically for the public sector to build leadership impact. It is about understanding what 鈥済ood鈥 leadership looks like, how we show up and how we approach our work. Describing the mindsets and expected behaviours for every leadership context supports our staff to be successful and for our Department to be high performing.

Leadership Expectations helps staff understand the behaviours and mindsets required to succeed in their roles and progress their careers. Through Leadership Expectations, you will have access to practical tools and resources for reflection and self-assessment, performance conversations and learning and development.  

For more information, please visit Leadership Expectations.  

Professional learning and development

The Department recognises that its people are its most important asset. It aims to ensure it has the right capability and culture to support its strategic agenda and achieve great outcomes for Western Australia.

Professional development is based on the 70:20:10 principle where staff are encouraged to learn on the job from colleagues and through formal learning. We deliver a range of internal courses tailored to our staff and our organisational context and also support staff to attend external programs to build their capability and professional expertise.

Performance development - MYPLAN

The Department has a dedicated performance development process that supports our Statement of Strategic Intent, and our values.  

The process is aligned to the outcome of enriching our capability and building a high-performing and engaged workforce as well as fostering an effective organisation where people want to work.

MYPLAN is focused on coaching and development for staff from entry level to the executive team. This process helps to identify whole-of-organisation development needs, supports employee participation in development opportunities and achieves individual career goals.

Opportunities for career advancement

All Department employees have access to development opportunities on a fair and equitable basis and are encouraged to apply for acting and promotion opportunities when they arise.

Acting positions and short-term vacancies are advertised to employees through an internal online jobs board; permanent and longer-term opportunities are advised via Jobs WA. 

Temporary employment register

DPLH are seeking expressions of interest from highly motivated and engaged individuals who may be interested in short term employment opportunities (up to twelve (12) months). The register will be used to fill range of positions that may become available across the Department at short notice.

DPLH will conduct National Criminal History Checks (NCHC)  for all successful candidates.

To be eligible for a fixed term appointment you must have documentary evidence of your entitlement to live and work in Australia for the period of the contract being offered.  

Referee reports will also be obtained for any suitable applicants prior to being offered employment.

After lodging your application, you may be contacted to attend an informal interview as suitable vacancies becomes available. Your details will stay on our temporary employment register for a period of twelve (12) months. Our register will be refreshed annually and you will need to re-apply after the 12 months. 
 

Aboriginal Employment Register

We are excited to announce the launch of our new Aboriginal Employment Register (AER). This is a significant step towards fostering a more inclusive and diverse workplace and supporting our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander current and future workforce.

This initiative is part of our ongoing commitment to strengthen and celebrate the rich cultural heritage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples within our Department as outlined in our Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan.

The AER is designed to assist hiring managers recruit Aboriginal job seekers for both short-term and permanent employment opportunities within the Department, both in the Perth region and across our regional areas of Western Australia.

You can share the link within your networks or if you know of a job seeker interested in working with us, please direct them to apply via the AER link.

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