Parliamentarians work in offices, as well as in parliament buildings either in their cities or Canberra, depending on whether they are involved in state or federal politics. They also work at their electorate or political party's offices, and may also work from home. They work long and irregular hours, and may be on call to attend meetings or provide statements to the press. Parliamentarians travel regularly and often between their electorate and either state parliament or federal parliament in Canberra.

Did You Know? "One of the oldest continuous democracies in the world, the Commonwealth of Australia was created in 1901 when the former British colonies—now the six states—agreed to federate. The democratic practices and principles that shaped the pre-federation colonial parliaments (such as ‘one man, one vote’ and women’s suffrage) were adopted by Australia’s first federal government. The Australian colonies had inherited an electoral tradition from Britain that included limited franchise and public and plural voting. Abuses such as bribery and intimidation of voters stimulated electoral change. Australia pioneered reforms that underpin the electoral practices of modern democracies. In 1855, Victoria introduced the secret ballot, which became known throughout the world as ‘the Australian ballot’. In 1856, South Australia eliminated professional and property qualifications and gave the vote to all adult men, and in 1892 gave adult women the vote. In the 1890s the colonies adopted the principle of one vote per person, stopping the practice of plural voting. Australia’s government is based on a popularly elected parliament with two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Ministers appointed from these chambers conduct executive government, and policy decisions are made in Cabinet meetings. Apart from the announcement of decisions, Cabinet discussions are not disclosed. Ministers are bound by the principle of Cabinet solidarity, which closely mirrors the British model of Cabinet government responsible to parliament. Although Australia is an independent nation, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain is also formally Queen of Australia. The Queen appoints a Governor-General (on the advice of the elected Australian Government) to represent her. The Governor-General has wide powers, but by convention acts only on the advice of ministers on virtually all matters." (Source: Australian Government) The 28 Governor-General Her Excellency the Honourable Ms Sam Mostyn AC Read this article to understand the Senate and it's work (Source: The Conversation)

Tools and technologies

Parliamentarians use computers and standard office equipment. They may also use laptop computers with wireless internet and mobile phones to stay in touch with key political contacts

Education and training/entrance requirements

Any person who is an Australian citizen over the age of 18 and free from indictable offenses on their criminal record may stand as a candidate to be elected to represent their state or federal electorate in parliament.

In order to become a parliamentarian you need to be elected to parliament. Any member of the community may seek to become a member of parliament by either independent nomination or by becoming a member of a political party and then standing for pre-selection, where they are selected from a group of other candidates by members of their political party to represent the party in parliament.

There are no standard qualification requirements to become an elected official, but it is useful to have a broad educational background. Most members of parliament already have established careers in anything from law or business to agriculture or community services.

The Speaker of the House, the Honourable Milton Dick MP, initiated a National YP to educate students aged 16 - 17 about the running of Parliament. The first National YP was launched in August 2025

Policy advisers guide the development and management of both government policies and the commercial projects and organisations that are concerned with these policies. They work with existing policies to update them and make them relevant for those sectors of the community that they effect. They also compile and present information regarding policy issues to governments and policy makers in the form of briefs, maps, charts and reports. They advise governments and related organisations on particular social, cultural or political trends that may affect policy development, formulate options for policy development, and assess the financial and social impacts of particular government policies.

ANZSCO ID: 224412

Alternative names: Political Adviser, Policy Adviser,

Knowledge, skills and attributes

• strong communication skills

• to be able to work under pressure, often to tight deadlines

• the ability to work as part of a team

• strong analytical skills and a grasp of political theory
  

Senior Policy Officer (Grade 9/10) - 2018 NSW Government Recruitment Pools
https://youtu.be/3bGQ0O2eR40

Duties and Tasks

• determining organisational and client intelligence requirements

• organising, collecting, collating and analysing data, and developing intelligence information such as electronic surveillance

• compiling and disseminating intelligence information using briefings, maps, charts, reports and other methods

• ascertaining the accuracy of data collected and reliability of sources

• conducting threat and risk assessments and developing responses

• liaising and consulting with program administrators and other interested parties to identify policy needs

• reviewing existing policies and legislation to identify anomalies and out-of-date provisions

• researching social, economic and industrial trends, and client expectations of programs and services provided

• formulating and analysing policy options, preparing briefing papers and recommendations for policy changes, and advising on preferred options

• assessing impacts, financial implications, interactions with other programs and political and administrative feasibility of policies

Meet our alumni: Priya Serrao, Policy Advisor, Victorian Government
https://youtu.be/Jn-l4qq3aSI

Working conditions

Political advisers work in government offices, as well as in other businesses and organisations that are concerned with government projects and policies. They usually work regular office hours, but may be required to work longer hours on certain occasions.

Policy advisers work in the offices of either state or federal government departments, and may work in cities or in regional centres where they can report on the way in which specific policies affect particular regional areas.

Tools and technologies

Policy advisers work mostly with computers and other office equipment such as telephones, photocopiers and fax machines. They often use the internet for research pursposes. They may be required to work with word-processing and data management software.

Education and training/entrance requirements

A Bachelor Degree or higher is usually needed and four in five workers have a university degree. Sometimes experience or on-the-job training is needed in addition to a qualification.

To become a policy advisor you usually need to complete a degree in politics and international relations with a major in an area relevant to the policy field in which you wish to work, for example, environmental conservation, sport and recreation, or culture and the arts.

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Political speechwriters prepare speeches for individuals in the political arena. They write for politicians in all branches of government, from the local and state level to the national level. Political speechwriters write speeches for politicians, or they may assist the politician in composing a speech. A politician may need speechwriters for several reasons.

Many politicians are extremely busy and simply do not have the time to write the many speeches they need to give. Others may not
feel comfortable writing their own speeches and require the presence of a speechwriter to help them make sense of what they want to say, and how they want to convey that message in a speech. Still other politicians may have excellent ideas for their speeches but need help communicating their vision to others.

Political speech writers are often ghost writers who are responsible for the elaborate and professional speeches given by politicians. They can write speeches for political figures such as city council members, all the way through to mayors, governors or even the prime minister. Political figures are often good speakers, but not good writers, so they hire someone to write it for them. Political speech writers will sit down with the politician and make a record of everything that will have to be discussed in the speech. They will determine key issues that need to be discussed, how long they will discuss each topic, the order in which everything will be discussed, and how long the overall speech will be. They are responsible with writing it with a specific tone in mind, and making sure the politician is saying exactly what needs to be said. Most speech writers are freelance writers who have a Bachelor’s degree in journalism with concentrations in communications, public relations or even speech writing if it is offered. Journalism students are almost always required to intern at a publication such as a newspaper or magazine in order to build their portfolio of clips and gain real-life writing experience.

Journalism students who aspire to be a speech writer can train by taking public speaking courses or speech writing courses to understand how the perfect speech is to be written. Speech writers can also look for internships with city council committees or local charities to help prepare speeches that will be made by public figures. To get a better understanding of the entire political system and how it works, political speech writers should take political science courses if they plan on writing for politicians.

 

Did You Know? The most unforgetable Australian speech! Julia Gillard's 'misogyny speech' in full (2012) | ABC News https://youtu.be/ihd7ofrwQX0 This speech was written by Julia Gillard as she listened to Tony Abbott. She did have information from her Department about Mr Peter Slipper and Tony Abbott. But the speech on the part of misogyny was all hers - she wrote this part of the speech while listening to Abbott.

 

 

ANZSCO ID: 232411

Knowledge, skills and attributes     

The ideal political speech writer will be an excellent writer with a degree in journalism or communications. They will be able to effectively communicate with high-end authority figures with confidence and be able to compile their thoughts into a well-spoken speech. Speech writers will be able to write a variety of speech styles. Some clients will want a word-for-word speech written, while others may just want an outline that touches on the topics they will discuss. Good speech writers will be able to write everything out so the speech giver can deliver the perfect speech.      

 

Duties and Tasks

A political speechwriter usually begins writing a speech once a topic is selected. They may have a topic assigned to them, or they may have to determine the topic of the speech themselves. To do this, a speechwriter may meet with the politician for whom they are writing to receive his or her input. A speechwriter might also meet with representatives of the group to which the politician will be speaking, in order to discover their con­cerns and ensure that they are addressed in the speech. Next, the speechwriter will typically research the topic to be mentioned in the speech. To do this, they may uti­lize the resources of libraries, the Internet, or interview knowledgeable authorities in the field.

Once a speechwriter has gathered enough initial information, they begin to write the speech. Speechwriters must keep several things in mind while writing the speech. They need to ensure that the speech sounds like it was written by the politician who will ultimately be delivering it. They also need to keep in mind who will be hearing the speech, making sure that the speech is written so that it will be not only be understood by the intended audience, but that it will also be persuasive and effective in delivering the politician’s message. The speechwriter is also concerned with the mechanics of good speechwriting: allowing the speaker to engage the audience; providing clear, key points of the speech that can be easily recognized and digested by the audience; and ensuring that the audience identifies positively with the speaker by the end of the speech. They also have to be concerned with more mundane issues, such as making sure the speech does not exceed any time limits.

After the speechwriter finishes a rough draft of a speech, it will need to be approved by the politician delivering it. Depending on the individual, he or she may or may not have had any interaction with the speech-writer until this stage. The politician, as well as his or her advisers, may revise the speech and send it back to the speechwriter for additional work, changing anything the politician or advisers are not satisfied or comfortable with. At this point, the speech may be shuffled back and forth several more times before it is finally approved.

After the speech is approved, the speechwriter may be responsible for producing the speech in its final form, which varies across different situations. The speech may need to be typed on easily readable note cards for a politi­cian speaking in a small auditorium, or the speech might need to be on a computer disk that can be input into a Teleprompter and displayed on a monitor for the politi­cian to read at a large rally or televised event.

 

Did You Know? One of the most famous Australian speeches is the 1993 Redfern Speech Prime Minister Paul Keating - Launch of International Year of the World's Indigenous Peoples, 1993: The Redfern Speech https://youtu.be/x1S4F1euzTw Don Watson, then Keating's principal speechwriter, later claimed authorship of the speech, although Keating has disputed this. Don took his undergraduate degree at La Trobe University and a PhD at Monash University and was for ten years an academic historian. He wrote three books on Australian history before turning his hand to TV and the stage. For several years he combined writing political satire for the actor Max Gillies with political speeches for the then Premier of Victoria, John Cain. In 1992 he became Prime Minister of Australia Paul Keating's speech-writer and adviser and his best-selling account of those years, Recollections of a Bleeding Heart: A Portrait of Paul Keating PM, won both The Age Book of the Year and non-fiction Prizes, the Courier-Mail Book of the Year, the National Biography Award and the Australian Literary Studies Association's Book of the Year. In addition to regular books, articles and essays, in recent years he has also written feature films, including The Man Who Sued God, starring Billy Connolly and Judy Davis, and Passion, a film about Percy Grainger starring Richard Roxburgh. (Source: Wikipedia) SMH 26 August 2010

 

Working conditions

The work environment of political speechwriters can vary. At times, they may find themselves working in a relatively quiet office. They may also find themselves traveling on a crowded bus, train, or plane with the politician for whom they are writing, trying to craft a speech that needs to be finished by the time they arrive at their next destination. Work hours in this profession can be long and very irregular. This is especially the case when a speechwriter is working for a major political candidate on the campaign trail. Political speech writers spend most of their time compiling speeches before their deadline. When they are not putting a speech together, they are usually holding meetings with politicians to develop an outline for exactly how their speech will be.

Often times a political speech writer will be called last minute to compose a speech and will have to write a large or very important speech in a short amount of time with little to no room for error. Speech writers must be able to deliver speeches under intense pressure and in short periods of time.

The work environment, whether it is on the road or in the office, has the potential to be frantic, noisy, and stressful. Politicians, political advisers, and speechwriters may have opposing views of what needs to be included in a speech, leading to heated exchanges. Speechwriters may have to make last minute changes to a speech based on the day’s news events, all with the stress of deadlines looming. That said, not all speechwriters are employed in these high-pressured settings. Depending on their employer, a speechwriter may also work in a typical office environment, with fairly regular work hours.

Many speech writers build their clientele and display their work by creating a website to advertise their services. This gives the writer the opportunity to display samples of speech styles they’ve written, rates they charge for speech, the opportunity for clients to sit and have a meeting about the speech, and the option of offering complete confidentiality about who is writing the speech.

For a speech writer who wants to work for high-end politicians such as Senators, Ministers or the PM [Local, State, Territory or Commonwealth], working on a campaign trail is an excellent way to get exposure, get involved in politics and possibly offer up their services to politicians. Leaving any sort of positive mark in a campaign trail is an excellent way for a speech writer to get involved in the system and get their name out there.

Most speech writers get in the field by working for local city council representatives. They can advance through word of mouth from one politician to another, or gradually move up in local government and gain more opportunities for speech writing.

 

Education and training/entrance requirements

Most speech writers are freelance writers who have a Bachelor’s degree in journalism with concentrations in communications, public relations or even speech writing if it is offered.
   

Employment Opportunities

Employment for political speech writers is not particularly on the rise or declining in necessity either. There are not many writers who are qualified to write professional political speeches, and it takes a very talented and professional person to successfully write political speeches for a full-time career. Most speech writers are freelance writers who also write for several other publications and do not depend solely on speeches to make a living.

Most political speech writers will also write for political organizations or political news outlets to keep up to date on current events and issues that may be covered in speeches. However, most of them work as a ghost writer for speeches and do not reveal to anyone that it is them writing for a political figure.

 

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Materials sourced from
Jobs & Skills WA [Member of Parliament; ];
State University [Political Speech Writer;]
DPC NSW [Speechwriter; ]
iresearch [Political Speech Writer; ]
Your Career [Members of Parliament;  ]

 

 

 

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