APS5 pitch guide (500 words)

Short answer: For a 500-word APS5 pitch, use 2 examples of about 205 words each, between a roughly 50-word opening and a 40-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 500 words

500 words fits two examples. Keep the opening to two or three sentences and set each scene in one or two.

Part	Words	What goes here
Opening	50	Name the APS5 role, your current role and what your examples will show.
Example 1: Coordinating a consultation	205	S ~20 · T ~20 · A ~123 · R ~41
Example 2: Analysing program data for a brief	205	S ~20 · T ~20 · A ~123 · R ~41
Closing	40	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: Policy Support 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: Coordinating a consultation

Situation: Stakeholders said a proposed form was too complex.
Task: Run consultation that small organisations could join.
Action: Scheduled sessions at different times; sent a plain-English summary; offered phone options; grouped feedback into themes; checked themes with two participants; drafted a recommendations paper.
Result: 26 of 30 organisations took part; the form was cut from eleven pages to four.

Example 2: Analysing program data for a brief

Situation: Director needed to know why uptake was low in one region.
Task: Provide evidence-based advice within a week.
Action: Pulled and cleaned two years of data; compared regions; interviewed two regional staff; drafted a two-page brief with three options.
Result: The director used my brief at an executive meeting; the recommended outreach option was funded.

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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