Graduate, undergraduate and vacation programs across Australia

At BDO we are passionate about creating opportunities for individuals to grow and develop their career, with an array of pathways available.

Our programs

Graduate

We are looking for driven graduates who want to develop their careers in a nurturing and welcoming professional services environment. Being a graduate at BDO allows you to gain experience in an open-door culture, build relationships with clients and expand your network. You will get involved in real client work from the beginning of your career, supported by your Partners and team every step of the way.

Undergraduate

Our undergraduate program is open to students in their first to final year of study. This program allows you to work in a full-time or part-time capacity while completing your university degree.

Vacation

As a Vacationer at BDO, you will gain real-world, paid work experience in your chosen service line – think of it like a ‘try before you buy’ career opportunity. You will be allocated a buddy for the duration of your placement and get the chance to engage in career development and networking activities throughout the program. There will be opportunities to work with professionals on current client work, while experiencing our culture first-hand.

Service lines

Student opportunities are available across all our service lines, dependent on location. Learn more about our service lines below.

Service Lines

Advisory

BDO’s Advisory team provides transaction, risk, consulting, and strategic services to a broad range of clients. With more than 15 distinct speciality service areas, our national practice supports clients in navigating challenges throughout the entire business lifecycle. This includes assisting with corporate and personal insolvency matters, corporate finance transactions, due diligence and reporting, risk mitigation, financial crime investigations, litigation, cyber security, business transformation, data and technology, people advisory and more.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ADVISORY

Arush
Arush Senanayake, Analyst, Corporate Finance

Corporate Finance is a technically demanding service line. The team consistently prioritise knowledge development, with regular training as well as providing substantial exposure to different types of work. I particularly enjoy the non-repetitive nature of the work as well as the frequent technical discussions within the team.

Audit & Assurance

As a part of the BDO Audit team you will become an indispensable adviser to our clients whether they are listed on ASX200, a national not-for-profit organisation or a fast growing privately-owned business.

Working in Audit means building strong relationships with key individuals to better understand the company’s story before diving into analysing numbers, obtaining supporting evidence and reviewing their financial performance. Auditors must be able to understand the client’s business from all aspects, identifying potential risks and analyse information to provide the client and their investors  a level of assurance on the financial statements.

Each day will be different, working with a variety of clients with much of your time spent at the client’s premises talking to the different functions to understand the business being audited.

Upon completion of your professional study, you may be given the opportunity to be involved in overseas secondments in our network of over 1,800 offices across our international network of 167 countries.

LEARN MORE ABOUT AUDIT & ASSURANCE

William Bourke
William Bourke, Manager

Within the first few weeks of joining the Audit team, I was hitting the ground running at client sites working within a team. Each week – fortnight, you get to experience a new client and industry, take on new challenges and meet new people.

From large ASX listed clients to small non-profits, the constant exposure to different business environments and the constant learning that follows is unrivalled. There aren’t many jobs where, within a few weeks of starting, you’re sitting in a meeting with a CFO who is listening to you. The learning opportunities with the BDO Audit team are endless!”

Business Services

BDO’s Business Services team provides financial management and accounting services to clients for both their business and personal wealth needs. Whether a company is looking to outsource their finance function or seeking to understand how to succeed in their chosen markets, our Business Services team provides a comprehensive range of services to support their needs. This includes standard accounting functions such as bookkeeping, payroll, taxation matters, cash flow analysis, budget setting and holistic business reviews.

LEARN MORE ABOUT BUSINESS SERVICES

Andrew Smirniotis
Andrew Smirniotis, Manager – Business Services

As a Graduate in Business Services, you get the opportunity to work with clients from both around the country and around the world. We interact with clients based in Europe, North America, and Asia, to ensure the timely preparation and delivery of Income Tax Returns, Business Activity Statements, and Financial Statements.

We also work with our international clients in setting up subsidiaries in Australia and advising them on necessary information required to operate in Australia.

Business Services also serve as the outsourced finance function for many of our clients. This includes preparing payroll, AP and Management Accounts.

Tax

BDO’s Tax team partners with a variety of high-net-worth individuals and commercial organisations to provide specialist tax advice across a diverse range of issues. Our teams provide support with general compliance activities, employment taxation, and transaction support for mergers and acquisitions, right through to identifying opportunities for tax concessions via research and development and transfer pricing activities.

Our specialists advise on highly technical sector-specific activities, regulatory frameworks and legislation, whilst balancing exceptional client relationships.

LEARN MORE ABOUT TAX

Adam McLean
Adam McLean – Tax, Corporate Tax

The Corporate and International Tax team works closely with clients to help them understand Australian Tax Law and the impact it has on their business.

As we have clients from all around the world, each day tends to be different and our work can be categorised as either compliance or advisory.  Generally, our compliance work involves preparing complex Income Tax Returns, Business Activity Statements and assisting our clients with the tax disclosures in their financial statements.  The advisory part of our work tends to be the most varied and can range from advising on the tax implications of a complex transaction, to the most tax effective way to finance a company’s Australian operations.

Due to the nature of our work, we often collaborate with other service lines, which allows us to benefit from the diverse range of people and industries that form part of the BDO network.”

Key dates

Applications

Applications:

Applications will open on 19 February 2024 and close 27 March 2024 for future student programs.

Programs

Program start dates:

Vacation Programs

  • June/July
  • November/December
  • January/February.

Graduate Program

  • January/February
  • June/July.

Start dates may vary so always check the job advertisements or contact our team for more information.

Where can your degree take you?

You may be wondering which service line or team to apply for with the degree you have studied. Click on your degree below to understand your career options:

Accounting

Having studied accounting, you have many options of where to start your career at BDO. You can click to learn more about the teams under our Service Line section, but you may want to consider:

  • Business Services (Accounting)
  • Audit
  • Tax
  • Financial Management Consulting
  • Business Restructuring
  • Forensics
  • Private Wealth.

We have many teams who look for someone with a Commerce background. Ideally, you will have an accounting, finance, or Economics major. You can click to learn more about the teams under our Service Line section, but you may want to consider:

  • Audit (preferred major in Accounting)
  • Business Services (preferred major in Accounting)
  • Corporate Finance (preferred major in Finance)
  • Business Restructuring (preferred major in Accounting or Finance)
  • Project & Infrastructure Advisory
  • Consulting
  • Tax
  • People Advisory
  • Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Private Wealth.

Having studied economics, you can click to learn more about the teams under our Service Line section, but you may want to consider:

  • Tax – Transfer Pricing
  • Project & Infrastructure Advisory.

BDO supports careers within finance. You may want to consider starting your career in one of our following teams:

  • Business Restructuring
  • Corporate Finance
  • Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Project & Infrastructure Advisory
  • Private Wealth (Perth only)

You can learn more about the teams under our Service Line section.

Law

If you wish to use your law background, you may wish to consider joining the following teams:

  • Tax – Corporate & International, Indirect
  • Expatriate and Employment Tax (Melbourne only)
  • Mergers & Acquisitions.

You can learn more about the teams under our Service Line section.

Our Advisory Service Line includes teams that look for people with an IT background. Depending on your type of degree, and specialisation, you could consider the following teams:

  • Digital & Technology Advisory
  • Cyber
  • Risk Advisory.

You can click to learn more about the teams under our Service Line section.

We have limited Graduate roles for people studying a HR qualification. If you are based in Brisbane or Sydney, or open to moving to either, you may want to consider applying for the following team:

  • People Advisory.

If you have studied Engineering, the following teams may be suitable for you:

  • Consulting
  • Project & Infrastructure Advisory
  • Research & Development (tax).

You can click to learn more about the teams under our Service Line section.

Science

We are open to people with a science background to join the following teams:

  • Research & Development (tax)
  • Consulting.

You can click to learn more about the teams under our Service Line section.

Please note: the team and degree pathway may vary by location.

How to apply

Online testing

Apply via our student careers page 

Apply now

Invitation to online video interview 

Virtual assessment

Attend an assessment centre or interview

Receive an offer

Receive an offer

Start your role!

Start your role!

Starting your career is a big step, but we are here to support you at every stage.  If you need any additional support, you can contact our friendly student recruitment team at student.careers@bdo.com.au

  1. Filling out our online application form is quick and easy – we need to capture key information about you to start the process (such as academic background, work rights, etc.). We will also need a copy of your CV and latest academic transcript, so be sure to have these handy.
  2. If you are shortlisted from the application stage, you will receive an invitation to complete a brief virtual interview to get to know you better. The whole interview should only take about 10 minutes but if you need extra time, just let us know.
  3. After the video interview, shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend an in-person assessment day or face-to-face interview. Full details and what to expect will be sent to you with plenty of time to prepare. Our team make sure this is a fun and informative experience; providing an opportunity for you to get to know us and see if a career with BDO is right for you. 
  4. We will let you know the outcome of your interview or assessment day as soon as possible . You will first receive a verbal offer, followed by a written contract.
  5. Start your new role at BDO!

At BDO we are pleased to offer three student programs, including our graduate, undergraduate and vacation programs. Read more about these programs below to find out which is most suited to your current stage of study.

Graduate program

Open to students:

  • In their final year, or have completed a relevant undergraduate or postgraduate degree and within the past 24 months
  • You can commence full-time in January/February or June/July
  • You're willing to pursue related postgraduate study (CA, CPA, CFA).

Undergraduate program

Open to students:

  • From their first year of university onwards
  • Willing to work part- or full-time throughout their studies
  • Studying degree appropriate to service line (see job advertisements for detail).

Undergraduates at BDO are guaranteed a Graduate position upon completion of their degree.

Vacation program 

Open to students:

  • From the end of their second year of study onwards
  • Available in the vacation program periods (January-February, June-July or November-December)
  • Studying a degree appropriate to service line (see job advertisements for detail).

International students

BDO welcome applications from international students who:

  • currently reside in and have the right to work in Australia
  • have the intention and ability to maintain their right to work in Australia i.e., Temporary Graduate (Subclass 485)

BDO will not sponsor students for the purposes of permanent residency. Successful candidates with temporary working entitlements will be required to independently apply for and obtain permanent residency.

Benefits

While BDO is a global professional services firm, we pride ourselves on still having a ‘small-firm feel’ which means an awesome workplace culture, supportive environment, and great employee benefits*. BDO supports your professional development and mental and physical wellbeing by providing opportunities to get involved in our community.

* benefits may vary based on location.

Professional development

  • Buddy support
  • Ongoing training and development opportunities
  • Global firm secondment opportunities
  • Study support.

Health and wellbeing

  • Wellness program including yearly flu vaccine, skin checks and more!
  • Flexible work arrangements
  • Free daily breakfast and healthy snacks
  • Dress for your day
  • Employee assistance program.

Social and community

  • Social club events and Friday drinks
  • Team bonding days
  • Firm-wide celebrations
  • Workplace charity giving and events
  • Leave available for volunteering, cultural days and blood donor, etc.

Learn about a career with BDO

Want to know what a career at BDO looks like? Check out our people's stories here.

Our student career stories

Locations and contacts

We have student career opportunities in each of our major offices and our friendly student talent team are here to assist you every step of the way. To contact the team, email student.careers@bdo.com.au.

Amy Ryan

Adelaide

Amy Ryan
Team Leader – Student Recruitment

LinkedIn

Liv Burns

Brisbane

Olivia Burns
Senior Talent Acquisition Business Partner

LinkedIn

Charlie Cowell

Brisbane

Charlie Cowell
Senior Talent Acquisition Business Partner

LinkedIn

Rebecca Daley

Cairns

Rebecca Daley
People & Culture Manager

LinkedIn

Dennis On

Darwin

Dennis On
Partner, Business Services

Web profile

David Palmer

Hobart

David Palmer
Partner, Hobart Office Managing Partner

Web profile

Jess Saunders

Melbourne

Jess Saunders
Senior Talent Acquisition Business Partner

LinkedIn

Lynaire Eccles

Perth

Lynaire Eccles
Senior Talent Acquisition Business Partner

LinkedIn

Jade Baena

Sydney

Jade Baena
Senior Talent Acquisition Business Partner

LinkedIn

Cheryse Dolan

Sydney

Cheryse Dolan
Senior Talent Acquisition Business Partner

LinkedIn

BDO offices

BDO Australia map

 


Grad awards