First Nations employment
The Boosting First Nations employment measure outlines the Australian Government’s commitment to increase First Nations employment in the Australian Public Service to 5% by 2030.
APS agencies collect information on ‘Indigenous status’ from employees in their human resources information systems. They then report the information to the Australian Public Service Commission’s central APS Employment Database (APSED).
Figure AB 1 and Table AB 1 show First Nations employees in selected agencies as at 30 June 2025.
Proportions of First Nations people are reported in 2 ways. First, as a percentage of the total number of APS employees in an agency. Second, as a percentage of APS employees who have provided their status as Indigenous or Non-Indigenous (as opposed to ‘choose not to give’ or missing data). This latter method can be useful in determining an estimate of First Nations APS employment that is not influenced by missing data.
Figure AB 1: First Nations employees by agency (at 30 June 2025)
Source: APSED
Table AB 1: First Nations employees by agency (at 30 June 2025)
| Agency | First Nations | |
|---|---|---|
| % of total APS employees | % of APS employees who have indicated status | |
| Total APS | 3.4 | 3.9 |
| National Indigenous Australians Agency | 25.1 | 26.1 |
| Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water | 7.6 | 8.3 |
| Services Australia | 5.5 | 5.6 |
| Social Services | 4.6 | 5.0 |
| Australian Public Service Commission | 3.5 | 3.6 |
| Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts |
3.3 | 3.5 |
| Australian Taxation Office | 3.2 | 3.8 |
| Education | 3.0 | 3.1 |
| National Disability Insurance Agency | 2.8 | 2.9 |
| Employment and Workplace Relations | 2.7 | 3.0 |
| Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission | 2.7 | 2.9 |
| Federal Court of Australia | 2.7 | 2.9 |
| Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry | 2.6 | 2.9 |
| Foreign Affairs and Trade | 2.3 | 2.4 |
| Attorney-General's | 2.3 | 2.8 |
| Health, Disability and Ageing | 2.2 | 2.3 |
| Industry, Science and Resources | 2.2 | 2.4 |
| Home Affairs | 2.2 | 2.5 |
| Australian Competition and Consumer Commission | 2.2 | 2.3 |
| Prime Minister and Cabinet | 2.1 | 2.1 |
| Veterans' Affairs | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Defence | 1.8 | 3.2 |
| Finance | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Australian Trade and Investment Commission | 1.5 | 2.0 |
| Australian Bureau of Statistics | 1.4 | 1.7 |
| Bureau of Meteorology | 1.3 | 1.5 |
| Treasury | 1.2 | 1.4 |
Source: APSED