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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".
![Designer Mat Colley said a six-month stint at the ATO inspired the very Canberran T-shirt. Photo: Lightbulb Studio Designer Mat Colley said a six-month stint at the ATO inspired the very Canberran T-shirt. Photo: Lightbulb Studio](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/d7031058-8193-4fbc-88f6-90467bb81169/r0_0_2000_1333_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
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.
!['I wanted to design a T-shirt that only Canberrans would understand,' Colley said. Photo: Foundry 'I wanted to design a T-shirt that only Canberrans would understand,' Colley said. Photo: Foundry](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/f154fcaa-6476-4f3b-8af1-50dc789faa8d/r0_0_1920_1200_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"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/