Test Engineer (APS5) Federal Government Contract

Company and location details

• Services Australia Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide
• Employment type
• Contract
• Category
• QA & Testing
• Security clearance
• Baseline
• Negotiable
• Location
• Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, ACT
• 21 Oct 2026

About the role

Test Analysts determine and then carry out testing activities to validate the design and behaviour of systems and services. APS5 Test Analysts ensure that their test effort is effectively executed and that allocated activities are completed in a structured, consistent manner in accordance with agreed test guidelines.

At this level you use in-depth knowledge to provide technical advice and development to less experienced testers, working under the general direction and support of senior staff. You exercise a degree of independent judgement, make decisions within defined parameters, plan your own work and contribute to team goals amid competing priorities and changing workplace practices.

Services Australia is at the frontline of government service delivery, supporting millions of Australians, and is building world-class platforms and capabilities to help Australians get on with their lives.

Estimated start 1 January 2027. Initial contract of up to 12 months with an extension available. You are expected to work onsite for the first six weeks; a hybrid arrangement may then be considered, provided you live within reasonable travel time of the work location so you can attend onsite in an emergency or when the business requires it. The work location is the capital city of the selected state.

You must be able to obtain a Baseline security clearance.

This role requires an Australian Government security clearance. Australian citizenship is the normal eligibility requirement for one, though a sponsoring agency can seek a citizenship waiver in limited circumstances; this RFQ does not say whether that would be considered here.

Responsibilities

• Execute assigned test cases at various stages of testing on the appropriate testing platforms.
• Develop test plans, test cases, task cards and supporting test data and requirements under your own direction from the specifications provided.
• Analyse and report on test activities and results, and elevate issues and risks to senior staff.
• Identify, manage and document defects, programming errors and operational characteristics inconsistent with stated requirements and design specifications.
• Conduct testing to ensure the ICT service functions as per requirements, and create test data within external software vendor environments.
• Contribute to team improvement initiatives and projects, including team tools, process changes and test automation.
• Accurately record time and effort for test cases, and allocate work to team members by matching issue complexity to staff capability.
• Provide assistance and training to less experienced testers, and support the team to follow business processes and align to overall delivery outcomes.
• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders, including external software vendors, on the testing and development of software, and assist with cost analysis as required.

Skills & experience

• Acceptance testing (SFIA Level 4): develops acceptance criteria for functional and non-functional requirements, business processes, features, user stories and business rules; designs, specifies and executes test cases and scenarios; analyses and reports on test activities, results, issues and risks including the work of others.
• Methods and tools (SFIA Level 4): advises on the adoption of methods and tools and adherence to policies and standards; tailors processes in line with agreed standards; reviews and improves the usage of methods and tools.
• Testing (SFIA Level 4): selects the appropriate approach including manual and automated testing; develops and executes test plans and test cases; implements scalable, reliable automated tests and frameworks; identifies improvements in requirements, design or specification processes.
• User experience evaluation (SFIA Level 3): evaluates design options and prototypes, tests usability and accessibility, administers evaluations, analyses the data and checks adherence to applicable standards, guidelines and legislation.

Nice to have

• Business situation analysis (SFIA Level 3): investigates straightforward business situations to identify problems and opportunities and contributes to recommended improvements.
• Quality assurance (SFIA Level 3): contributes to the collection of evidence for formal audits or reviews and determines compliance with organisational directives, standards and procedures.
• ISTQB Certified Foundation Level Tester, with knowledge of the frameworks, legislation, policies and information management requirements relevant to the work area, and of the agency's privacy, ethics, WHS and security protocols.
• Prior experience within government or a similarly large-scale organisation.