Embrace your unique neurodivergent traits and experiences to excel in your job without the need to mask.

Is this course right for you?
Are you an employee of the Commonwealth or ACT Government who identifies as neurodivergent (clinical diagnosis not necessary)?

Do you:

• Feel like a square peg in a round hole at work?
• Find yourself conforming, camouflaging or masking just to get through the day?
• Experience imposter syndrome despite working hard and caring about your work?
• You feel invisible, unrecognised or underappreciated, making you doubt your worth?

This course is designed for neurodivergent public sector professionals who want to better understand and validate their unique brain wiring, reduce the need to mask, and create a more sustainable, values-aligned career.

A note for people managers

In the 2024 Australian Public Service (APS) Employee Census, 8.8% of respondents identified as neurodivergent, while an additional 9.3% were unsure of their neurodivergent status.

Supporting neurodivergent employees is not only a legal requirement under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 but also a strategic opportunity. Research from the Harvard Business Review indicates that, when appropriately supported, neurodivergent employees can be approximately 30% more productive than their neurotypical counterparts.

By encouraging and enabling your staff to attend this course, you will help to:

• Build psychologically safe and inclusive teams.
• Retain high-potential employees who may otherwise experience burnout or disengagement.
• Enhance your agency’s ability to leverage diverse thinking and foster innovation.

Delivery

This course is delivered online via Microsoft Teams and is intentionally designed to be neurodivergent-friendly, so you can finish the program feeling energised, not exhausted.

• Inclusive: Leave the masks at the door. You are invited to show up as your authentic self so you can focus (or hyperfocus) on your professional and leadership development.
• Sensitivity-supporting: Join from your own comfort zone – weighted blankets, fidget toys, cameras off, stimming, standing, pacing or sitting quietly are all welcome.
• Bite-sized and break-filled: Content is delivered in short, evidence-based segments (around 10 minutes each), with built-in Q&A, processing time, reflection and regular breaks.
• Practical empowerment: Workbooks and reflective activities help you tailor your learnings, insights and goals to your unique profile, context and aspirations.
• Confidential conversations*: Connect through intimate, small-group discussions where lived experience, strategies and successes are shared in a safe environment.

* Chatham House Rule applies

This course is Part 1 of a three-part series for neurodivergent public sector professionals, alongside:

• Part 2 – Overcoming and avoiding burnout as a neurodivergent professional
• Part 3 – Working smarter, not harder as a neurodivergent professional

Together, the series supports self-acceptance, self-management and self-advocacy so you can build a sustainable, successful career. Each course can be completed on its own or as part of the full series, and you can take them in any order that suits your needs.

How does this support your public sector career?

This program is aligned with IPAA’s commitment to strengthening the capability of public sector professionals. By the end of this course, you will be better equipped to:

• Articulate your skills, strengths and personal best-practice ways of working so you can work more consistently to your potential.
• Develop a clear, professional articulation of your neuro-profile, preferred ways of working and unique needs in ways that make sense to neurotypical brains.
• Gain clarity on your life purpose and move towards goals that align your personal and professional passions.
• Feel more confident to authentically support and lead yourself – and others – at work, without having to hide who you are.

What will you learn?

Explore and define what it means to be your unique, valuable and neurodivergent self in a professional context, aligned with the purpose and values of the Commonwealth and ACT public sectors.

Through evidence-based insights, interactive discussions and individual activities, you will:

• Validate and embrace your neurodivergent identity in a professional context, understanding your unique value and how it aligns with the purpose and values of the Commonwealth and ACT public sectors.
• Craft and communicate a clear neuro-profile, including your strengths, preferred ways of working, boundaries and support needs, in language that makes sense to neurotypical colleagues and leaders.
• Clarify your life purpose and career direction, identifying where your strengths are best deployed in the public sector and mapping next steps towards a sustainable, values-aligned career.

Courses that do not reach the minimum required participants 14 days before the commencement date will be cancelled with a full refund.

If you work for the federal or ACT public service, or in the broader public-for-purpose sector, you’re most likely already a member of IPAA ACT. Check our membership list if you’re not sure.