Boosting First Nations employment
The Boosting First Nations employment initiative aims to increase representation and strengthen cultural safety for First Nations people in the APS.
First Nations employment in the APS has not increased over the last 2 decades, with representation levels around 3.5% of the APS workforce. Achieving the Australian Government’s target of 5% for First Nations employment in the APS by 2030 requires a substantial shift in approach.
Barriers to advancement and high attrition are key drivers of lower retention rates for First Nations employees. At 30 June 2024, the average (median) tenure of First Nations employees was 4.7 years, compared with 6.2 years for non-Indigenous employees.
The First Nations Unit in the Australian Public Service Commission is leading the implementation of the government’s commitment to increase First Nations employment across the APS to 5% by 2030.
Representation at senior levels is critical to ensure First Nations perspectives, knowledge and voices are involved in decision-making processes. This has a positive impact on lifting cultural capability and cultural safety within agencies.
The Senior Executive Service (SES)100 initiative aims to increase the representation of First Nations SES leaders in the APS from 54 to 100 by mid-2025 through an increase in new senior executive recruits and promotions of First Nations employees to the SES. At 30 June 2024, there were 85 First Nations SES leaders, and the second round of SES100 recruitment is in development.
Investment in emerging First Nations talent at the Executive Level (EL) 2 and SES Band 1 levels is occurring through co-designed development and coaching programs, 360-degree feedback, mentoring, and networks to support First Nations employees to progress in their careers and prepare them as future leaders.
The development of a First Nations Employee Value Proposition is planned to showcase the opportunities First Nations people have in the APS, and better position the APS as an employer of choice.
The First Nations Unit is working to strengthen and standardise baseline system-wide cultural capability and accountability in the APS, by sharing knowledge and expertise across the service
New approaches include the work of the Collaboration Circle through the role of First Nations Systems Lead, which aims to improve recruitment and retention rates for First Nations people in the APS. This initiative includes an evaluation of the efficacy and adequacy of current cultural competency training.
Cultural capability knowledge and understanding are also being supported through the changes to APS enterprise agreements requiring departments and agencies to take reasonable action to upskill their employees’ cultural capability.
The unit works closely with other agencies including the National Indigenous Australians Agency and the First Nations Community Controlled sector, through the Coalition of Peaks.
This work directly contributes to the Closing the Gap Priority Reform Three – Transforming Government Organisations. It does so to identify and eliminate racism and embed and practise meaningful cultural safety. It supports the expectation of the government, Parliament and the community that the APS genuinely represents the diverse needs and aspirations of Australia.
See also in this report
APS agency benchmarking – First Nations employment
Appendix 1–APS Workforce trends
Appendix 2–State of the Service additional data
Find out more
Australian Public Service Commission (2024) First Nations employment, APSC website, accessed 13 August 2024.