APS Integrated Leadership System (ILS) Explained for Job Applicants

The Integrated Leadership System (ILS) is the Australian Public Service Commission's capability framework: a set of capability descriptions and behaviours for every APS level, from APS 1 to Senior Executive Service Band 3. The APSC says it "provides capability development guidance for individuals and agencies in the form of descriptions and behaviours for all levels in the APS". For APS 1 to APS 6 it is built around five capability clusters: supports strategic direction, achieves results, supports productive working relationships, displays personal drive and integrity, and communicates with influence.

The ILS is a development tool, not a selection rulebook: the APSC says the profiles "do not contain any mandatory requirements". It also says the profiles complement agency-specific capabilities and individual job requirements, and at least one agency, the Australian Federal Police, suggests that its applicants can use its table of AFP bands to APS classifications to decide which ILS profile to open. Below: the clusters and their capabilities, how the descriptions step up from APS 3 to APS 6 (including the starting levels and possible progression that Finance and Defence describe for their graduates), what selection panels assess, and how to use the profiles when you prepare a pitch, a written exercise and an interview. Independent practice – not affiliated with the APSC or any department. The two worked answers below are original ProSyllabus examples, not APSC or agency material.

APSC ILS guide for APS 1-6 employees (clusters and capabilities) and ILS guide (launch date), Internet Archive copies of January 2026.

Each cluster holds three to five capabilities. The names below are the APSC's; the right-hand column is our one-line reading of each cluster.

From EL1 up, the APSC uses the original cluster names: shapes strategic thinking, achieves results, cultivates productive working relationships, exemplifies personal drive and integrity, and communicates with influence. Capability names differ too. In our comparison, where the APS 1-6 pathway has "Thinks strategically" and "Shares learning and supports others", the EL1 profile has "Focuses strategically" and "Guides, mentors and develops people". If you are applying at an APS level, read the APS-level profile; the EL profiles are for Executive Level roles.

The box below starts the free sample of our APS and DFAT graduate program practice test in our test player. Its questions are original ProSyllabus practice items, not APSC or agency material.

Starting levels differ between programs. The Department of Finance's graduates, for example, join as APS3 employees, and Defence's graduates commence at APS level 4 equivalent; both programs describe ways to progress further. Start with the profile for the level in your job ad, then read the next one or two up. Programs, levels and stages for each agency are in the APS graduate programs guide.

The table summarises selected parts of the APSC's descriptions for six capabilities where the change between levels is easy to see. Wording is shortened, and behaviours that carry over from the level before are mostly left out, so read each cell as "what is new or different here", not the full description.

Two patterns run through the whole pathway. First, it is cumulative: the APSC calls the behaviours at one level the "floor level" for the levels above, so an APS 5 is still expected to do what the APS 3 profile describes. Second, our reading: APS 5 introduces more explicit responsibilities for supporting others' performance and securing stakeholder support, including delegating tasks, providing constructive feedback and noting under-performance. The APS 3 and APS 4 descriptions of "Shares learning and supports others" do not mention delegating or managing under-performance; an example of helping a colleague learn something can fit them, provided it answers the role's criteria.

The APSC's "layers of complexity" tool describes four aspects of complexity that increase as roles change:

Our tip: when you choose an example, check it against these four aspects for the level you are applying for. A graduate example with one team, a few stakeholders and a result for that team is a sensible fit for APS 3 or 4; claiming whole-of-organisation impact from a student project usually reads as overreach.

Keep three things separate when you prepare. The ILS describes capabilities; the APS Values, in section 10 of the Public Service Act 1999, describe the values of the APS; the job ad and role description set what this role needs. The six values themselves, with examples, are in our APS Values guide; this page does not repeat them.

The APSC's Cracking the code guide says your application is assessed against the requirements of the job and compared with other applicants, and that in a typical recruitment process the selection panel rates your suitability for the job based on your application, your performance at interview, other activities such as a work sample test, and referee comments if sought. It does not tell panels to use the ILS, and the APSC says the ILS profiles complement agency-specific capabilities and individual job requirements. Do not assume the ILS is the panel's scoring sheet: follow the assessment requirements in the job ad and information pack, and use the ILS to understand what a capability looks like at a given level. The Australian Federal Police, for example, says its work level standards correlate with the ILS and, in an example, says applicants could map the role's AFP classification to an APS classification, open that ILS profile, read the relevant clusters and pick examples that show those behavioural indicators. Check the information pack for any agency-specific capabilities.

Where the capability words can show up at each stage (our reading of the APSC stages, not an APSC mapping):

Test formats and timings for each graduate stream are in the APS graduate aptitude test guide; one-way video interview timing is in the DFAT video interview guide.

The box below starts the same free sample of our APS and DFAT graduate practice test, with a result page at the end.

The AFP gives this as an example for its own applicants: you could map the AFP classification to an APS classification, open that ILS profile, and pick examples that show its behavioural indicators. Below is our adaptation for any APS role, with our notes:

In the APSC's words, a work sample test "involves doing exercises or activities similar to those required in the job, e.g. a writing exercise." The ILS descriptions are capability guidance, not a marking scheme for your exercise: follow the exercise instructions. What the APS 3 to APS 6 descriptions can give you is a picture of what good work looks like at that level:

The APSC describes behavioural questions, which ask about something you have done, on the principle that past behaviour is a good indicator of future behaviour, and hypothetical questions, which set a made-up work problem. Where the role uses ILS capabilities, the profile helps in two ways. Before the interview, it helps you pick examples that show the behaviours in the role's criteria. In the answer, it shows the level: the APS 4 description of Negotiates confidently includes "Identifies other people’s expectations and concerns", while APS 6 has "Anticipates and identifies relevant stakeholders’ expectations and concerns" and "presents persuasive counter-arguments". Describe what you actually did, at the level the role asks for.

Do not recite ILS phrases. Cracking the code says that, where possible, you should use actual, specific examples of what you have done, how well you did it, what you achieved, and how that relates to the job; use the framework to choose and shape examples, not as a script.

One written criterion and one interview question, each mapped to the ILS and answered. Both are invented.

Ready to practise? The box below starts the same free sample.