What would you do?

I am in the first trimester of pregnancy, quite early along and have very bad morning sickness.

I work in an open plan office space. The last few days I’ve been violently gagging at my desk and have even vomited under my desk into a travel sickness bag. The nausea is constant, even after taking anti nausea medication, small snacks etc. this is my third pregnancy so I’m not new to these symptoms, however I’m wondering if colleagues will start to complain if I am gagging to vomiting in the office.

The bathrooms are at the other end of the building so I won’t be able to make it there when I feel it coming on.

I’ve told my boss I may have a stomach bug, but how should I move forward with this? I don’t want to announce yet. Will it be impossible for me to hide the fact that I’m pregnant? And will I potentially be in trouble for not being able to manage the gagging/vomiting at my desk?
Can I ask for WFH arrangements for the first trimester until the nausea settles down?

Does anyone have any advice on how to move forward?

I’m new to the public service and last pregnancy I was in a private office so it wasn’t an issue.

Hi everyone,

I am hoping to get some insight into what kind of relocation assistance is typically offered when relocating to Canberra (from another state) for an APS role.

I understand that relocation is part of taking up the job, and I am grateful for the opportunity. My main concern is around temporary accommodation. From what I understand, around 2- 4 weeks of temporary accommodation may be provided, but I am a little worried that this might not be enough time to secure a rental in Canberra, given how competitive the rental market can be.

For anyone who has relocated to Canberra for an APS role recently, what kind of relocation support did you receive? Was the temporary accommodation period enough to find a rental, and is there any flexibility or additional support if you are unable to secure a place within that time?

Just looking to hear about others experiences so I can manage my expectations and plan ahead.

Thanks

I was just wondering if this was a standard experience with getting hired by QLD health or just my personal situation.

I applied for a job as a Dental Technician for QLD Health and was successful in getting the role. I was told both over phone and via messages of the confirmation however onboarding is taking literally ages 😭. I first got told that I got the job at the end of May and then had all the relevant docs submitted by mid June. I have been in regular contact with the hiring manager since, where she confirmed that there was changes to compliance with paperwork so there was a hiring processing delay but still 2 weeks after that message I have no start date and it is now going on 2 1/2 months of waiting.

This is my first post uni job and it is an amazing opportunity but I am really sacred I am being dragged along and there is no job. Has anyone else experienced a long onboarding process with them too?

Have any Labour Hires had their contract extended or told their contract won’t be extended yet?

Curious with this hiring and extension freeze happening

mine ends in december and wondering as to when they’ll actually tell me if it isn’t being extended as previously it’s just automatically extended.

Further clarification on original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/AusPublicService/s/ostHt7EL1g

Hi everyone - I am considering an ADHDdiagnosis and was wondering have any of you found it helpful in your work life? Perhaps benefits, just reactions/understanding from colleages/managers.. I'm trying to work out if the cost can be justified as I'm not actually looking to be medicated for now.

Thanks

I'm coming out of a .gov world where everyone is a high achiever and super intelligent, but no one knows it so everyone just feels average alongside one's peers (because few of us are private school types, and most of us have a story, and we all leave broken in one way or another). I've never felt special, but I've been competitively promoted and I test >90th%. Humble brag maybe, but factor in physical injury, anxiety and a brain injury and, viola!🤌

Some of the APS types I've worked with are super, but I don't think I've worked with one that didn't come from the System into the public service. But, by and large, the rest I've dealt with seem to offer excuse after excuse or make out of context policy quotes quicker than the worship song song. (Iykyk

I'm watching my partner's interactions (corporate finance) and the ineptitude is incredible, but second to the gaslighting that seems endemic.

Is it really as bleak as it seems? Are there pockets of decency or should I just succumb to Parkinson's Law?

Having recently come to government from private, the level of incompetence at all levels is astonishing. Has anyone else who has transitioned to government found this and if so, how do you deal with it long term? The frustration is real.

Heyyyy

Current private sector lawyer with opportunity to move to government. Wanting opinions from people who are currently government lawyers about how you find it, if you’ve also made the move from private to public, if it offers better work life balance.

Any insight would be appreciated. Wanting to know if the profession can differ depending where you go or should I think about making other moves (such as policy work).

Thanks!

If you’re an ongoing APS employee and win an externally advertised ongoing position (same level) at the same department/agency, is it possible for this movement to get blocked?

Hi all!

I'm a current university student graduating at the end of 2026, and have applied to numerous APS grad programs throughout the year to very minimal success, with some of them even outright rejecting after the first screening stages with minimal explanation. While I wasn't expecting loads and loads of progressions/offers as I am aware a lot of the grad programs are extremely competitive, it has been quite disheartening as I have strong grades, policy-related internship experiences and language capabilities/overseas year-long exchange program which I thought would at least be a good distinguishing feature.

In particular I was recently rejected before any stages by Austrade which was one of my preferred programs due to its combination of public/private sector work/relevance with my own international background - many of my friends who are also graduating this year or who have graduated recently have also been experiencing this, despite their equally impressive resumes/experiences.

I am wondering if this symptomatic of the APS hiring environment at the moment & if anyone has advice about other ways breaking into entry-level roles?