Australian Department of Veterans’ Affairs Employee Reviews about "people"

Pros

Good environment and very helpful people

Cons

Too political and sometimes too much work

Pros

opoortunity for entry into the Fed workforce. However, once you're in you'll be disappointed with the work culture and the people, so be weary as you may not last.

Cons

This is one of the worst places I have worked at; suffice to say, I have bad better jobs when I was in college. Toxic culture, sink-or-swim attitude, little to no training and out of touch senior management. Be weary as this place may be your worst nightmare!

Pros

Lots of really good people

Cons

The project areas were kind of chaotic.

Pros

All the staff are genuinely lovely, caring people. The work is very rewarding and good pay/ benefits.

Cons

The work is hard and sometimes you can’t help people.

Pros

Good mission minded people who want to help Veterans. Benefits are good. The mission is excellent. People help each other.

Cons

It can be difficult to find an upwardly mobile position. There are times when there is no work to be done on a given day.

Pros

Good culture Friendly people Genuine and motivated culture

Cons

Lot of administrative work. Takes a long time to achieve things, but that's the government for you.

Pros

People are friendly and generally caring towards fellow staff (notable exception in Client Benefits Division - it's every man for himself) Flexible work arrangements are good (where relevant to your role) with a 2 in, 3 out arrangement.

Cons

DVA is the archetype of public service bureaucracy. Doing the bare minimum and unnecessary obstructionism when dealing with clients seems to be the status quo across all facets of the organisation. Poor upper management driving decisions that are inconsiderate of veteran welfare, in such a manner that an outsider could easily believe that the money was coming out of the Secretary's own pocket. The reality at DVA is, most people come because the Royal Commission has made it the easiest avenue into a public service career. Talented individuals rarely stay due to burnout or moral fatigue due to poor business practices.

Pros

Being able to directly/indirectly assist war veterans who genuinely need help can be very satisfying on a big picture level.

Cons

- Most staff are on a work contract, and can be terminated suddenly without warning. - Due to this, those who need the work, keep their heads down and their opinions to themselves. They would rather stay passive aggressive then sing out to help another against mistreatment or address an issue with department process. - Crossing a manager or team lead can be detrimental to your career, and you may get reprimanded/blamed for no reason. This includes managers who choose to misconstrue incidences. - Managers & Team leads can have a style of authoritarianism, and prefer staff to keep heads down and not open their mouths. - Depending on the team, there may be little or no culture/fun expressed. - - Culture tends to benefit managers, team leads and senior delegates. Atmosphere can be passive aggressive and unfriendly to lower level staff, dependent on the type of work one does. - Team leads and senior delegates can be people who've done their time in the department, and 8/10 times possess a lack of leadership training and care of people management. Delegates also vary in terms of experience and again people training. There is alot of ego associated in the role of delegates - where many examples of bad culture can be seen from supposed delegates. My suggestion is assess the delegate based on their personal nature and their level of professional experience outside of the Dept. Those who've had extensive experience in a similar role outside of the Dept, tend to make better delegates.