APS5 pitch guide (1000 words)

Short answer: For a 1000-word APS5 pitch, use 3 examples of about 273 words each, between a roughly 100-word opening and a 81-word close. The panel looks for coordination, analysis, process improvement and drafting advice for a supervisor.

What APS5 panels expect

An APS5 role means owning a body of work or a process end to end. The panel looks for coordination, analysis, process improvement and drafting advice for a supervisor.

Taking responsibility for a process, program activity or set of cases
Coordinating input from colleagues, other teams or external parties
Analysing information and drafting advice, briefs or correspondence for supervisors
Improving processes and making sure the improvement sticks

Structure and word budget for 1000 words

1000 words usually means three examples in different contexts, so the panel sees breadth rather than one strength repeated.

Part	Words	What goes here
Opening	100	Name the APS5 role, your current role and what your examples will show.
Example 1: Running a grant round end to end	273	S ~27 · T ~27 · A ~164 · R ~55
Example 2: Resolving a stakeholder dispute	273	S ~27 · T ~27 · A ~164 · R ~55
Example 3: Drafting correspondence for a senior executive	273	S ~27 · T ~27 · A ~164 · R ~55
Closing	81	Link your evidence to this APS5 role in one or two sentences.

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What to emphasise at APS5

Ownership: something you ran from start to finish
Coordination across teams or with stakeholders
Analysis that led to a recommendation or decision
Results that reached beyond your own desk (other teams adopting your work)

What to avoid

Examples that only show you following instructions well
Describing the team's achievement without your specific role
Skipping the result; APS5 panels expect evidence of impact

Verbs that suit APS5 (only if accurate): coordinated, analysed, designed, implemented, consulted, recommended, owned.

Coming from outside the APS? Project coordinator, analyst, case manager or small-business owner experience often provides APS5-level ownership examples.

Fictional example outline: Grants Officer (APS5)

An outline, not a script. The scenarios are invented. Use them to see what APS5-level evidence looks like, then write about your own experience.

Example 1: Running a grant round end to end

Situation: New round with tight timeframes.
Task: Manage the round from guidelines to funding agreements.
Action: Drafted the guidelines; set up the assessment schedule; coordinated three assessors; prepared the funding brief; tracked agreements to signature.
Result: All agreements signed on schedule; no complaints about the assessment process.

Example 2: Resolving a stakeholder dispute

Situation: Two funded organisations disagreed about shared reporting.
Task: Find a workable arrangement.
Action: Met each separately to understand concerns; proposed a shared template; documented agreed responsibilities; followed up at the first reporting date.
Result: Both organisations reported on time and continued the partnership.

Example 3: Drafting correspondence for a senior executive

Situation: Backlog of complex ministerial correspondence.
Task: Draft accurate, timely responses.
Action: Researched each issue; consulted policy areas; drafted plain-English replies; tracked each to clearance.
Result: Drafts cleared with minimal changes; my team leader asked me to mentor a colleague on correspondence.

Related guides

Free download: a worked APS5 pitch (PDF)

A complete 500-word fictional APS5 pitch with notes on why each paragraph works, plus a one-page STAR planner. Email is optional. You can download it straight away either way.

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The APS Pitch Kit (A$24, made by us) adds an Excel/Google Sheets example bank, a criteria matcher with word counts for 300-1000-word limits, pitch, statement of claims and selection criteria templates, and three fictional worked pitches (APS4, APS6, EL1). One-off price, instant download, 14-day refund with no questions asked. If you got here from the free sample, code SAMPLE20 takes 20% off (A$19.20).

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