APS First Nations employment

The Boosting First Nations Employment measure outlines the 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 centralised APS Employment Database. Figure 9.19 shows First Nations employees in selected agencies as at 30 June 2023.

Figure 9.19: First Nations employees by agency (at 30 June 2023)

A column graph displaying First Nations employment in various APS agencies at 30 June 2023, as recorded in employment data. The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water has the highest proportion at 6.3%. Treasury has the lowest proportion at 1.2%

Source: APSED

As diversity fields such as ‘Indigenous status’ are not mandatory to report, there are some employee records with no Indigenous status in agencies’ workforce figures. The number of records with no Indigenous status for some large agencies suggests that the true proportion of First Nations employees in the APS is likely higher than reported figures indicate. Figure 9.20 shows the proportion of employees with no Indigenous status recorded in selected agencies as at 30 June 2023.

Figure 9.20: No data for Indigenous status by agency (at 30 June 2023)

A column graph displaying the proportion of employees for whom there is no data recorded for Indigenous status in various APS agencies. The Department of Defence has the highest proportion at 39.7%. The Department of Veteran’s Affairs has the lowest proportion at 1.5%.

Source: APSED

Note: 'No data' includes where employees have selected a 'Choose not to give' option for Indigenous status, or where no Indigenous status data is recorded.

The Boosting First Nations Employment measure seeks to continue to increase First Nations employment in APS agencies over the coming 7 years (to 2030).

Enhancing data quality requires ongoing action to address barriers to reporting. This includes:

  • articulating to APS employees the benefit of accurate data, and demonstrating the relevance of this information to their employment
  • assuring employees that their reported First Nations status will remain confidential and not be used by employers in any discriminatory or otherwise negative way
  • reviewing human resources information systems and processes to optimise data collection and reporting.

See also

APS profile – Boosting First Nations employment in the APS, State of the Service Report 2022–23.

Australian Government APS Employment Data 30 June 2023 (Table 82), APSC website, https://www.apsc.gov.au/employment-data/aps-employment-data-30-june-2023, accessed 5 October 2023.

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