I have really enjoyed my time with AIHW. The culture here is far less bureaucratic than you might expect from a government agency. People at all levels of the institute are welcoming and the institute is small enough that you get to know people quickly. There are also plenty of lunchtime and after work activities you can be a part of.
The unit I work for has four major reports it is responsible for each year: Child protection Australia; Juvenile justice in Australia; The health of Australia's prisoners; and, Adoptions Australia (these are publically available at http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/). With my background in child and youth development, I have found the work of the unit really interesting.
It took a month or so for me to become comfortable with all the jargon that gets used here on a day-to-day basis, but once I'd worked out most of the acronyms and terminology life became a little clearer. With only about 10 people in my unit I've already had the opportunity to be a part of developing a new national collection, contributing to publications, thinking of new analyses, working with large data sets, undertaking professional development opportunities and travelling interstate to meet with stakeholders.
Despite being small the AIHW is very productive, producing a large quantity of diverse reports every month. If you want to work with large national data collections, in a busy but friendly organisation renowned for the quality of work it produces then AIHW is a good place to be.
Sam Chambers