Pathways to Procurement Program

The Pathways to Procurement (PtP) program supports APS officials who are new to procurement and contract management (PCM) roles and serves to improve capabilities within the Australian Public Service (APS).

Upon successful completion of the PtP program, graduates receive:

• a Certificate IV in Procurement and Contracting
• opportunities to continue their professional development.

Training overview

The PtP program is funded by Department of Finance (Finance) and is free for APS officials. There is no enrolment cost for entities; however, entities are responsible for paying staff salaries while they attend the program.

Training is delivered in person at Finance’s training facilities:

• One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603.
• Participants attend 2 full training days per week for 8 weeks.
• The maximum intake for each round is 20 participants.

Who can apply

The program is open to APS officials who:

• are transitioning into a PCM role, or
• have been in a PCM role for less than 12 months.

Applicants must be employed by a Commonwealth entity that is subject to the Commonwealth Procurement Rules.

Officials may apply directly (noting Finance will contact the relevant manager), or managers may nominate a staff member.

How to apply

• Applications for Round 1 are now open and will close on 7 January 2026.
• For more information and to apply please use the following Application Toolkit.
• Applications for Rounds 2 and 3 will open progressively throughout 2026.

2026 Schedule

Three rounds of the program are scheduled for 2026, as shown below.

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Contact

For further information, contact Finance at procurementexcellence@finance.gov.au.

More PCM training

Finance also offers a range of other procurement and contract management training that is available at /government/procurement/commonwealth-procurement-and-contract-management-training-suite.