Policy Analyst
What the work is
Develops and analyses policies guiding the design, implementation and modification of government or commercial operations and programs.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Liaises and consults with stakeholders to identify policy needs
- Reviews existing policies and legislation to identify anomalies and out-of-date provisions
- Researches social, economic and industrial trends, and client expectations of programs and services provided
- Formulates and analyses policy options, prepares briefing papers and recommendations for policy changes, and advises on preferred options
- Assesses impacts, financial implications, interactions with other programs, and both political and administrative feasibility of policies
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in the policy branch of a fictional state government transport department. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A briefing you wrote helps a decision maker choose with confidence
- A community group tells you that for once someone really listened
- A policy you worked on is finally in place and people feel the difference
Hard days
- A senior person wants an inconvenient finding left out of your paper
- Two groups you have to consult want opposite things and both feel strongly
- A deadline arrives overnight, and the evidence is still not as clear as you would like
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 223332, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.