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It's the Australian Public Service level where you finally get to lead a team, have input into some major business decisions and, in most cases, take home a six-figure salary. Yes, most public servants aspire to be an Executive Level 1 (EL1) for most of their careers - and now there's a T-shirt to wear when you've finally "made it". Canberra creative agency Foundry has just released a new series of T-shirts, including our personal favourite - the very Canberran Acting EL1 shirt. Foundry creative director Mat Colley's clever design recognises that it's actually those people acting in an EL1 role who have the best perks - they get to take home an EL1 salary for a few months but also retain the option of returning to APS6 level and the benefit of flex leave. "It really is the best of both worlds," Colley said. He said he designed the Acting EL1 T-shirt as a cheeky tribute to his home town and as a Christmas gift option for hard-to-buy-for public servant friends. "I grew up in Canberra and I love all its quirks and how we all speak in acronyms and public service language," he said. "I did a short stint at the ATO before launching Foundry and was fascinated by the public service culture. "I wanted to design a shirt that was a bit of an in-joke - something that only Canberrans would get." Colley, a graphic designer whose client list includes several federal government departments, has been designing and printing T-shirts as a hobby for more than a decade. While the initial print-run of Acting EL1 shirts is small, Colley has a printing press in his Fyshwick office and is ready to print more quickly if the shirts prove popular. "It's designed as a conversation starter - my dream is to see all the Acting EL1s out there in their shirts having a pint in a beer garden over summer," he said. In other public service news, we understand Canberrans are now using "EL2" as a verb in situations outside of work - as in, "she EL2ed me". The verb apparently means to approach a problem in an unnecessarily complicated way, ensuring that a consensus is reached for every tiny step along the way. Read the story of a Canberra mum being "EL2ed" in a school playground here. Foundry's T-shirt collection can be found online at http://foundryco.com.au/store/ Follow Bree Winchester on Instagram and Facebook

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