The Veterans' Employment Program is the Australian Government's main initiative for connecting transitioning and former Australian Defence Force members with civilian employers. It has been running since 2016 and now covers a network of several hundred public and private sector employers across most major industries. For veterans entering the civilian workforce, it is one of the most useful free resources available, and it is consistently underused.
This post explains what the program actually is, what it offers to veterans and to employers, and how it fits alongside tools like Career Seed that focus on the application and tailoring side of job search.
What the Veterans' Employment Program actually is
The Veterans' Employment Program is administered by the Department of Veterans' Affairs in partnership with the Department of Defence. It does not run a single jobs board or guarantee any individual veteran a role. It is a coordination program that does three things.
First, it maintains a list of employers who have publicly committed to hiring veterans. These employers sign the Veterans' Employment Commitment, which is a public pledge to actively seek out veteran candidates, recognise the transferable value of military experience, and provide support during transition into the role.
Second, it operates an Industry Advisory Committee on Veterans' Employment, which advises government on barriers to veteran hiring and recognises employers and individuals who have made a strong contribution.
Third, it provides information, case studies, and pathways for veterans, employers, and the families of veterans. The program does not place candidates directly, but it shortens the distance between a veteran and an employer who has already committed to hiring veterans.
Why it exists
The headline reason is that veteran unemployment and underemployment in Australia have historically been higher than the general population, despite a workforce that brings rare operational, leadership, and technical experience. Several factors contribute to this. Veterans often struggle to translate military experience into civilian language. Employers without prior veteran exposure often cannot evaluate a defence resume. Transition timing is rarely flexible, and many veterans land in the civilian job market with very little time to prepare.
The program exists to close those gaps from both ends. It educates employers on how to read and value military experience. It signals to veterans which employers are actively looking. It also creates a public accountability mechanism through the Commitment, which has corporate reputational weight for the employers who sign it.
The result, when it works, is that a veteran applying to a Veterans' Employment Commitment signatory is more likely to have their resume read by someone who understands what the content means.
What the program offers veterans
The practical resources available to veterans through the program fall into a few categories.
A list of committed employers. This is the most directly useful piece. The program publishes the list of all employers who have signed the Veterans' Employment Commitment. The list spans defence prime contractors, professional services firms, banks, mining and resources companies, government agencies, and a growing number of small and medium enterprises. Applying to roles at these employers means applying to organisations that have made a written commitment to take veteran experience seriously.
Resume and interview guidance. The program publishes guidance specific to veterans on translating ADF experience into civilian terms, structuring resumes, and preparing for civilian interviews. The advice is general but useful for a first pass.
Transition resources. Information on the broader transition process, including links to ADF Transition Centre support, financial transition resources, and family support services. The program acknowledges that employment is one of several transition challenges and points to the others.
Recognition programs. The annual Prime Minister's Veterans' Employment Awards recognise employers and individuals who have contributed to veteran employment outcomes. The awards generate media coverage that drives further employer engagement and that, indirectly, expands the list of committed employers.
What the program offers employers
For employers, the program offers structured ways to engage with veteran hiring rather than just signing a pledge and moving on.
The Veterans' Employment Commitment itself is a public commitment, listed on the program's website with the employer logo. The Industry Advisory Committee publishes case studies and guides for employers on adapting recruitment processes to veteran candidates, including selection criteria phrasing, interview structure, and onboarding.
Employers also gain access to the network of other Commitment signatories, which functions as a peer group for sharing what has worked. Larger employers often run dedicated veteran hiring streams, mentor programs, and reservist support policies. The smaller employers benefit from access to those models without having to build their own from scratch.
For employers in defence-adjacent industries, signing the Commitment is also a signal to government and to defence customers that the organisation actively contributes to veteran outcomes. That has commercial value in tender and partnership contexts.
How to engage with the program as a veteran
Engaging with the program is straightforward and free. There is no enrolment, no eligibility test, and no waiting list. The practical steps are short.
- Visit the program website and review the list of Veterans' Employment Commitment signatories. The list is searchable by industry and location. Identify the employers that match your target sector and geography.
- Apply to roles at signatory employers through their normal channels. The Commitment does not bypass the standard application process. It increases the chance that your resume will be read by someone who understands the content.
- Use the program's resume and interview guidance to refine your application materials. The guidance is generic but worth a read on the first pass.
- Watch for veteran-targeted recruitment events that signatory employers run from time to time, particularly around the annual awards and during major transition windows. Several large employers run dedicated veteran intake rounds.
- Engage with the broader DVA transition support that the program links to, including financial counselling, family support, and the ADF Transition Centre, if any of those are relevant to the broader transition.
The program does not require a current ADF member or veteran to opt in. The resources are publicly available and the employer list is open.
How to engage with the program as an employer
Employers interested in joining the program can do so through the Department of Veterans' Affairs. The process involves signing the Veterans' Employment Commitment, which is a written undertaking to take specific actions to attract, hire, and support veterans. The Commitment is reviewed annually.
Once signed, the employer is added to the public signatory list, gains access to the network of other signatories, and is eligible to be nominated for the annual awards. The Industry Advisory Committee provides guidance materials and case studies, and there are periodic webinars and events for signatories.
There is no fee to join, and the practical commitments are scaled to the size of the organisation. A small business is not expected to run the same veteran hiring program as a defence prime.
Where Career Seed fits alongside the program
The Veterans' Employment Program and Career Seed solve different parts of the same problem.
The program is a network and signalling layer. It tells you which employers are committed, gives you general guidance, and creates the conditions for a veteran-friendly hiring interaction. It does not tailor your resume for each application. It does not write cover letters. It does not translate your service record into civilian language at the per-role level.
Career Seed is the application layer. It takes the documents and experience you already have and tailors a resume and cover letter for each specific role you apply to. Veterans benefit particularly because the input volume is usually high, twenty years of course reports, performance appraisals, and posting orders, and the manual sorting effort is what tends to stall application momentum.
Used together, the workflow is straightforward. The program identifies the employers worth applying to. Career Seed handles the per-application work that would otherwise consume an evening per application. The veteran spends their time on the parts that genuinely require their judgement, the selection criteria responses, the cover letter framing decisions, and the interview preparation.
A practical starting point
For a transitioning or recently transitioned veteran, the simplest entry to the program is to spend an hour on the signatory list, build a target list of fifteen to twenty employers across your preferred industries and locations, and then start applying. The barrier to entry is zero. The signalling value of applying to committed employers is real.
The supporting work, the resume conversion, the per-application tailoring, the selection criteria writing, sits outside the program. That is where tools like Career Seed and the broader civilian transition resources take over.
The program is not a job placement service and was never designed to be one. It is a coordination and signalling layer that, when used alongside the rest of the toolkit, materially shortens the path from transition to civilian employment.