We provide opportunities for undergraduates who are studying an accounting degree or a degree majoring in accounting to work with us and learn financial auditing.
Our undergraduate program allows you to work for us part-time while you finish your degree and fast track into an ongoing financial auditor role.
Our work experience program allows you to work full-time for 3-4 weeks during university vacation to learn about auditing.
Who we take
We are seeking students in either their second or final year of a degree in accounting or commerce (majoring in accounting). To be eligible, you must be an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident at the time of applying and your degree must meet the requirements for entry to the professional accounting program offered by CPA Australia or Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (accredited tertiary course entry pathway). Check your eligibility at the relevant site: https://www.charteredaccountantsanz.com/become-a-member/entry-requirements/chartered-accountant or https://www.cpaaustralia.com.au/become-a-cpa/starting-the-cpa-program/membership-pathways-and-arrangements.
Undergraduate program
This program allows you to work part-time to fit in with your studies, learn financial auditing from the ground up, and fast track into an ongoing job when you complete your degree.
We provide:
- Paid employment - working 2 to 3 days per week, allowing you to continue studying towards your degree (paid at the ASO2 classification level $58,709 - $63,154 pa, adjusted to actual hours worked plus 11.5 % superannuation)
- Flexibility in your days and hours worked, including the opportunity to increase your hours during university holidays if you wish
- Paid leave (accruing annual, sick and carers leave)
- On and off the job training
- Supervision by professional accounting association (CPA/CAANZ) members
- Access to our employee assistance program and opportunity to join our social club.
We're looking for people who are curious and proactive learners and interested in exploring auditing as a career. Ideally you will have completed a financial accounting subject that has given you exposure to accounting terminology and accrual accounting principles, and you don't need to have completed audit subjects (we'll cover that in your training).
Applications for undergraduate placements are currently open and close 11pm Sunday 18 May 2025 - please see application instructions in FAQs below.
Work experience program
This program is offered through the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand Achiever Program.
Placement occurs during the university vacation periods (our intakes are in February and July each year). To apply for these placements, please visit Achiever Program | You Unlimited (youunlimitedanz.com).
Applications for work experience placements are currently closed for 2025.
What will you be doing
You will work in a small audit team on assisting or completing audit tasks for a range of public sector clients.
These tasks include:
- documenting business cycles and internal controls,
- analytical review,
- controls and substantive testing, and
- financial statement verification
The actual tasks will be dependent on the work plan for your allocated team, and you will have team members to guide and assist you while you learn.
Undergraduate roles
Applications for the undergraduate program are currently open and close 11pm Sunday 18 May 2025. Please see information in FAQ below on how to apply.
Applications for work experience for 2025 have closed – Check the CAANZ Achiever program website Achiever Program | You Unlimited (youunlimitedanz.com) for information for the 2026 program.
Check your eligibility:
- Be in your second or third year of study.
- Have the right to work in Australia on an ongoing basis (Australian citizenship or permanent residency).
- Have a degree that meets the requirements for entry to the professional accounting program offered by CPA Australia or Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (accredited tertiary course entry pathway).
What to do next:
Email your resume and a cover letter to jobs@audit.sa.gov.au:
- in your cover letter tell us what interests you about the job and why you think you’d be a good fit
- in your resume include contact details for two current referees.- Also attach your documents to the email confirming your right to work in Australia and your academic transcript/s.
- Make sure that you have emailed your resume, cover letter and documents by the closing date of 11pm Sunday 18 May 2025.
What we do next:
- We will shortlist candidates and schedule an interview with a selection panel (this comprises of two or three people).
- The interview may use a range of questions and techniques – case studies or exercises, behavioural questions (where you give an example from your work, education or community experience) or hypothetical questions.
- We’re looking for a good match for us - please ask questions during this process to check that we are also a good match for you
- We may do further testing, and we will do referee checks
- The selection panel then makes an assessment and will notify you if you are successful or not
- Successful candidates will be required to undertake a national criminal history check.
Please email jobs@audit.sa.gov.au if you have any queries.
Undergraduate placements usually commence in February/March each year. This year (2025) they will be start in June.
Work experience placements are usually in February and July each year.
2-5 undergraduate placements a year are available. 2-5 Work experience placements are also available each year.
The undergraduate placement starts as a temporary (term role) up to 2 years (depending on how much study is required to complete your degree). Once your degree is completed we fast-track into an ongoing role.
We expect that you will work 2 or 3 days per week. Actual times will depend on your study schedule, as we want to make sure you have time to complete your studies successfully.
Flexitime is part of our normal practice and is available from when you start work. Flexitime allows you to vary your start and finish times (and duration of your lunch break).
You will have the option to increase your hours during university holidays if you wish.
You will accrue leave so will also be able to take time off (handy at exam time).
We offer a mixture of formal learning and on the job training and coaching in your teams. This covers both personal and professional skills and knowledge.
All staff have access to the Office's Professional Development Program, on-line learning, external courses and the CPA Congress.
We also employ graduates and provide full training in financial audit – see our information for graduates.
Unfortunately, no, as we need you to complete your degree within the 2-year timeframe (the time limitation to our temporary contract).
We have a defined career pathway that leads to more senior levels of auditing, including audit manager, and we provide leadership development to help you acquire relevant skills.
The nature of the training that we provide helps you acquire a range of transferable skills, and as we are part of the South Australian Public Sector you have the opportunity to apply for other roles in the SA Government.
As long as you are legally allowed to work, we have no restrictions.
We look for understanding of accounting principles and the ability to learn (so that we can train you in audit) rather than your grade point average.
No, we train all of the financial auditing concepts and methods. We look for knowledge of accounting terminology and accrual accounting principles so completion of at least one financial accounting subject is preferable.
You need to check the CPA Australia and/or Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand websites to see if your degree meets the prerequisites for direct entry to their professional study program through the tertiary entry pathways.
We welcome applicants with a postgraduate qualification, as long as your studies are eligible for the CPA Australia or Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand professional study program. (Check the CPA Australia and/or Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand websites).
You'll need to be able to balance your study load with working a minimum of 2 days per week (over the two year temporary contract).
As these roles lead to ongoing employment, you must have the right to work in Australia on a permanent basis or we cannot legally employ you.