“A senior title guarantees senior scope”
Titles are inconsistent. Test autonomy, executive proximity, governance exposure and decision support.
Executive Assistant Jobsexecutiveassistantjobs.com.au
Explore the site
Professional field guide
Standards, red flags, myths and the modern EA toolkit.
A practical standard for judging both your own evidence and the quality of a vacancy.
The standard
What strong executive support looks like.
01
Protect executive time using explicit priorities, not first-in-first-out administration.
02
Handle confidential information with need-to-know judgement and reliable records.
03
Prepare decision-ready briefs, agendas, minutes and follow-through.
04
Manage senior stakeholders calmly, including when access or deadlines conflict.
05
Understand governance, risk and the organisation’s operating context.
06
Improve systems and handovers so the office is resilient, not person-dependent.
Salary basis is unclear: base, package and super are mixed.
‘Always available’ appears without boundaries, overtime or time-off arrangements.
Several executives are listed but priorities and escalation paths are not.
The reporting line or actual supported executive is ambiguous.
The role combines EA, office management, HR, finance and events with no resourcing explanation.
Part-time hours carry a visibly full-time portfolio.
High confidentiality is demanded but systems, records and decision rights are absent.
The advertisement omits application instructions, closing timezone or an authoritative source.
Myth / reality
“Government always pays more”
Classifications are transparent, but corporate premiums and bonuses can exceed them. Compare the full package.
“A degree is mandatory”
Many EA roles prioritise relevant experience and evidence. The vacancy’s essential criteria control.
“Australian citizenship is always required for APS work”
Citizenship is common but vacancy-specific; an agency head can waive it. Read the exact conditions.
“A CV is enough for government applications”
Many roles require a pitch, criteria response or specific questions with strict page limits.
“Supporting more executives always means a more senior role”
Headcount measures load. Seniority comes from judgement, complexity, influence and accountability.
Tools being used
The modern executive-office stack.
Microsoft 365
Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and SharePoint remain the core collaboration and document stack.
Copilot and AI assistance
Used for drafting, summaries and meeting preparation—but sensitive data, permissions and human review still matter.
Objective ECM / Gov365
Government-grade electronic document and records management, including Teams integration.
TechnologyOne ECM
Enterprise content and records management named in public-sector EA role descriptions.
Microsoft Project
Useful where executive-office work includes structured projects, milestones and dependencies.
Board, CRM, travel and expense systems
The exact vendor changes; learn the workflow, approval controls and recordkeeping standard behind it.
Authoritative resources