Be part of the team protecting Australian inventions and ideas while maintaining a balanced lifestyle. We offer stimulating jobs with strong career paths in the exciting and fast-growing world of Intellectual Property. We administer IP rights and legislation relating to patents, trademarks, designs and plant breeder's rights. We contribute to the innovation system more broadly by using our skills and experience to advise government and Australian businesses to make the most of their IP. Our vision is to have a world leading IP system that builds prosperity for Australia.
What is an Examiner of Patents?
As a Patent Examiner, you will use your technical expertise in combination with the legal training we provide (see training section below), to assess whether patent applications comply with the requirements set out in patent legislation. This includes searching patent and scientific databases to ensure the invention is recent and inventive. This means Patent Examiners are amongst the first to see new developments across a wide range of emerging technologies!
The role also has a customer service element as you will correspond with patent attorneys, or directly with applicants/inventors, to resolve issues within their applications.
In addition to technology-specific skills, we’re looking for people who are self-driven, adaptable, committed to continuous improvement and responsive to change and feedback. Examiners must have clear, concise, and logical written and oral communication skills, and the ability to make evidence-based decisions and strong time management skills to achieve goals independently. Examiners work independently and as part of a small team to contribute to the goals of their technical section of up to 30 people. A typical examination section will consist of staff who are based all over Australia and who work in hybrid (home-based/office-based) settings.
In our Examiners we look for people who:
We are looking for people with:
· advanced search, analytical and critical thinking abilities
· highly developed communication skills to convey complex information clearly and effectively
· proven capability to learn and work independently, including in a virtual setting
· openness to receiving and responding to feedback and adaptability to change
· ability to engage and work collaboratively with others within a hybrid team
· willingness to take responsibility for own decisions to achieve agreed goals on time.
Workplace experience in industry or academia is well-regarded but not essential for this role.
Eligibility
As well as the eligibility requirements listed below, to become a Patent Examiner, you must:
• have completed a minimum of a Bachelor Degree (AQF Level 7) or higher relevant to at least one of the disciplines available in our candidate kit.
• have excellent written and verbal English skills to communicate examination outcomes with stakeholder
Looking for more information?
We are hosting a virtual information session on Wednesday 8 October from 11:30am to 12:15pm AEDT.
Please refer to the candidate kit for more information.
Diversity and Inclusion
IP Australia celebrates and champions diversity to ensure we reflect the community we serve, and pride ourselves on our inclusive culture. We welcome applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people of all genders, people with disability, people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, those who identify as LGBTQA+, mature aged employees and carers.
If you require adjustments to the recruitment process, please let us know—we will do our best to support you.
Applications close at 11:59pm AEST on Monday 13 October 2025.
📌 Examiner of Patents
🏢 Ip Australia
📍 Melbourne