How to Apply to WA Government

**Headline**: How to Get Hired by the Government of Western Australia: An Honest Guide for 2026 **Summary**: The Government of Western Australia is the state's largest employer, with roughly 150,000 public servants spread across more than 150 agencies, statutory authorities, and government trading enterprises. From the executive corridors of Dumas House in West Perth to remote police stations in the Kimberley and teaching positions in the Pilbara, the WA Public Sector touches almost every corner of the state. Premier Roger Cook, who succeeded Mark McGowan in June 2023, leads a Labor government that inherited a budget surplus built largely on iron-ore royalties, and that fiscal position translates into stable, predictable employment, generous superannuation, and one of the most secure career platforms in the country. It also translates into something less glamorous: a competitive labour market where mining giants like BHP, Rio Tinto, Fortescue, and Woodside routinely outbid the public service for engineers, geologists, finance professionals, and even general operations staff. This guide is written for candidates who want to understand both sides of that trade-off before they apply through jobs.wa.gov.au. **Sections**: - **Heading**: Who You Are Actually Applying To **Body**: When candidates say they want to work for 'WA Government,' they usually mean one of two things, and the distinction matters more than most applicants realise. The first is the WA Public Sector proper, governed by the Public Sector Management Act 1994 and overseen by the Public Sector Commission. This includes departments such as Premier and Cabinet (DPC), Treasury, Health (one of the largest single employers in the state, running tertiary hospitals, country health services, and the Mental Health Commission), Education (operating roughly 800 public schools), Justice (corrective services, courts, and the State Solicitor's Office), Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS), Environment and Conservation, Communities, Transport, and Water and Environmental Regulation. The second is the broader public sector — Government Trading Enterprises like Water Corporation, Western Power, Synergy, the Public Transport Authority, and Landgate — which sit outside the core public service but are still funded and directed by the state. Both worlds advertise on jobs.wa.gov.au, but the employment conditions, classification structures, and union coverage differ. Reading the agency name carefully and clicking through to the agency's own 'about us' page is a cheap, five-minute act of due diligence that most applicants skip. The Cook Labor Government, in office since June 2023, has continued the McGowan-era posture of an activist state: heavy investment in public housing, hospital expansion, energy transition, and Indigenous engagement. That has meaningful consequences for hiring. Departments aligned with the Premier's priorities — Communities, Health, Energy Policy WA, the Aboriginal Engagemen