UWA student Max Stewart interned with the Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety (LGIRS) through the McCusker Centre for Citizenship, helping the Consumer Protection Division take some of the complexity out of the tenancy bonds process that many Western Australians deal with.
Undertaking a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Philosophy, Politics and Economics, Max’s degree is covering a wide variety of study areas, with majors in Chinese Studies and a Minor in Active Citizenship. He applied for a McCusker Centre internship to further broaden his learning with real-world experience.
Max’s supervisor, Debbie Butler, Manager Bonds Administration in LGIRS’ Consumer Protection Division, said that Max had whole-heartedly committed himself to his research project, engaging with stakeholder organisations and internal team members and providing valuable qualitative analysis.
“When engaging with stakeholders, Max always covered more ground than we expected. He is truly interested in people, so rather than a simple question-and-answer session, he facilitated deeper conversations, which provided richer information than initially sought,” Ms Butler said.
“The outcome of Max's research will ultimately benefit every tenant, landlord, community housing provider and agent in Western Australia. This work had never been undertaken before, and will have a significant positive impact on delivery of the bonds management process.”
Acknowledging the impact of Max’s contribution, Ms Butler nominated him for the McCusker Centre for Citizenship Outstanding Intern Award. Max was also offered an 8-week employment contract to continue working on the project.
For Max, the internship delivered on expectations of the benefits of practical, community-focussed work as part of his study.
“It was an incredible feeling to contribute to a team, and really rewarding to see how the role I played was helping improve an important process that Western Australians interact with every day. People have a lot of things to stress about already, and I realised my contribution can help make someone’s day slightly less stressful,” Max said.
“I feel particularly lucky to have undertaken this role with Consumer Protection. I was already wanting to find work in the WA public sector after completing my studies; now, not only do I have confidence that this is the right direction for me, but I also have some experience under my belt.
“I feel really excited about my professional life and how I can contribute to positive outcomes for the community through my future career,” he said.