Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples
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The Queensland Government is committed to the employment of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Chapter 2 of the Public Sector Act 2022 seeks to promote equity, diversity respect and inclusion in the public sector and Chapter 1, Part 3 outlines the government commitment to Reframing the Relationship. Attracting and retaining Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples to the Queensland public sector is critical to delivering improved health, housing and education services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Queenslanders.
Progress towards target
Data completeness and quality is of the upmost importance. When asked, only 74% of First Nations respondents in the 2024 Working for Queensland (WfQ) survey had shared they were Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander in their organisation's payroll system.
The primary reason given was they did not see any reasons or benefit in sharing this information and that it is not relevant to their employment.
The proportion of people who responded to the 2024 WfQ survey who identified as being Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander is 3.95%, while 6.73% of respondents preferred not to say. The higher proportion of respondents selecting Prefer not to say, indicates there is further work to do to build First Nations employees’ trust in their organisation, the survey and the sector more broadly.
Employee engagement
Employee engagement for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander employees in the WfQ survey was 60%, which is equal to the whole-of-sector engagement score. This is an improvement of two percentage points from the previous year.
In the 2024 WfQ survey, employee engagement for First Nations employees is similar to that of non-First Nations employees.
- Overall engagement is 60% for First Nations employees compared with 62% for non-First Nations employees
- First Nations employee sense of pride is 64%, compared with 70% for non-First Nations employees
- First Nations employee positivity to recommend is 61%, compared with 66% for non-First Nations employees.
| First Nations employees | Non First Nations employees | |
|---|---|---|
| Employee engagement | 60% | 62% |
| I am proud to tell others I work for my organisation | 64% | 70% |
| I would recommend my organisation as a great place to work | 61% | 66% |
| My organisation inspires me to do the best in my job | 60% | 60% |
| My organisation motivates me to help it achieve its objectives | 60% | 59% |
| I feel strong personal attachment to my organisation | 56% | 56% |
Source: WfQ 2024.
Safe, respected and included
Feeling safe, respected and included as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person in any workplace is critical to being able to thrive at work.
The safe, respected and included index score for First Nations employees is 69%, compared with the score of 78% for non-First Nations employees.
| % positive First Nations | % positive non-First Nations | |
|---|---|---|
| As an employee of this organisation, I feel safe at work | 72% | 83% |
| As an employee of this organisation, I feel respected at work | 67% | 76% |
| As an employee of this organisation, I feel included at work | 67% | 76% |
| Safe, respected, included | 69% | 78% |
Source: WfQ 2024.
The impact of feeling safe, respected and included for First Nations employees
When First Nations employees agree or strongly agree that they feel safe, respected and included at work, employee engagement increases from 60% to 79%.
- Recommendation: increases from 61% to 83%.
- Pride: increases from 64% to 83%.
- Personal attachment: increases from 56% to 71%.
- Motivation: increases from 60% to 79%.
- Inspiration: increases from 60% to 81%.
Source: WfQ 2024.
Cultural safety is highly correlated to feeling safe, respected and included.
Cultural safety
Perceptions of cultural safety have remained relatively stable for Aboriginal employees.
After an increase in perceptions of cultural safety for Torres Strait Islander people between 2022 and 2023, it has decreased again between 2023 and 2024.
The sense of cultural safety for employees who are both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees increased from 58% to 70% between 2022 and 2023, then decreased to 68% in 2024.
In considering these shifts in data it should be noted that the number of Torres Strait Islander employees and those who identify as both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees that responded to the 2024 WfQ was small – 201 and 289 respectively. These small numbers make the data more volatile.
In its simplest form, a culturally safe environment is one in which people feel spiritually, socially, emotionally and physically safe. It is important that all members of an organisation take responsibility for creating a culturally safe workplace. For this reason, results from First Nations respondents on questions about how team members, leaders and managers care and create safety form an indicative set on this issue.
Perceptions of all elements of cultural safety, for the First Nations employee population, have improved over the past three years.
There is a notable difference in the 2024 perceptions of cultural safety when comparisons are made between perceptions of First Nations employees and non-First Nations employees. Non-First Nations employees are generally more positive, except for the item relating to managers or supervisors taking responsibility for the cultural safety of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees where the scores are equal.
| First Nations employees | Non-First Nations employees | |
|---|---|---|
| Workgroup cares about the cultural safety of First Nations colleagues. | 72% | 81% |
| Organisation provides a culturally safe work environment for First Nations employees. | 61% | 71% |
| Cultural practices and significant dates of First Nations peoples are acknowledged and celebrated. | 78% | 82% |
| Leaders across my organisation take responsibility for building cultural capability of employees. | 59% | 69% |
| Manager or supervisor takes responsibility for ensuring the cultural safety of First Nations employees. | 67% | 67% |
Source: WfQ 2022–2024.
Diversity as a barrier to success
As per the trend in cultural safety data, whether being Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander is perceived as a barrier to success is more positive for non-First Nations people than First Nations people.
While formal training builds cultural capability, work-based discussion and First Nations people sharing their unique perspectives and experiences (where they feel safe and comfortable to do so) is known to be an extremely effective way of building cultural capability and in ensuring First Nations employees feel culturally safe.
Perceptions of these themes have increased in positivity since 2022. First Nations employees have indicated that they are increasingly invited to share their unique perspectives with an increase from 46% to 50% between 2022 and 2024.
Perceptions that colleagues actively embed the perspectives of Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people in their work has increased from 44% in 2022 to 52% in 2024.
For non-First Nations people, asking questions is a critical way of understanding the experience and perspectives of First Nations people. Consideration of the impact of work on First Nations peoples and confidence in asking First Nations people for their perspectives have each increased.
A range of programs across the sector are not only focused on attracting First Nations employees to the Queensland public sector but to also help them thrive in their careers.
Diversity initiatives in action
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander career pathways service (the service) commenced in 2019. The service has been designed to increase the representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees in leadership and decision-making roles.
The service is delivered as a partnership between the Public Sector Commission and the Department of Women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships and Multiculturalism.
In 2025, the service:
- collaborated with 24 agencies across the sector
- had a total of 290 service users including 153 participants, 88 supervisors and 49 agency representatives.
Since commencement the service has achieved the following:
- 222 mobility opportunities secured by participants including 31 opportunities obtained through the service job and mobility pool and 47 permanent appointments obtained.
- an increase in confidence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees to apply for higher level leadership and decision-making roles.
- greater access to networks across the sector, through monthly yarning circles for participants, bi-monthly Knowledge Circles for agency representatives and an annual in-person event for participants.
- engagement with in-house designed resources and communication materials to support self-directed development.
- 179 cross-agency learning and development opportunities accessed by services users.
- informal mentoring to service users through the 34 career guides and/or cultural advisors available through the service advisor pool.
The Department of Primary Industries has created a dedicated First Nations Futures team tasked with increasing the department’s cultural capability uplift. The First Nations Futures team works with internal business groups and industry stakeholders.
Foundational matters included improving cultural capability and safety and increasing recruitment and retention of Aboriginal and/ or Torres Strait Islander staff. Improvements were also needed to build consistent engagement with First Nations communities across Queensland.
The team is working across all business groups to support engagement with the primary industry sector, with a specific focus on First Nations engagement and has identified Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander stakeholders across Queensland.
The team has commenced development of a departmental Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property Policy which will guide the department to gain consent from appropriate traditional parties and to embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into our work.
Queensland Health is supporting First Nations peoples in kick starting or transitioning to a career in the digital industry by providing a pathway to employment through the whole of government First Nations Digital Careers Program (FNDCP).
The aim is to reduce barriers to entry to employment and provide the right support to both employers and participants. It is an ‘earn while you learn’ model, called a traineeship, where individuals both work and learn at the same time.
The program provides meaningful employment opportunities and celebrates First Nations cultures while equipping participants with valuable digital skills and qualifications. Upon completion of the program, participants will earn a Certificate III in Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
Since the program’s inception in 2023, eHealth Queensland (eHQ) have championed the FNDCP, rolling the program out across the division to various eHQ teams across the state and more recently partnering with several Health and Hospital Services (HHSs) to place trainees within HHSs. The team, a collaboration between members from Queensland Government, Queensland Health, eHealth Queensland, Microsoft, TAFE Queensland and MEGT, is responsible for program development, training delivery, mentorship and on-the-job support. This diverse team ensures comprehensive support for participants enabling prospects for long term placements.
The traineeship provides a 12-month paid full-time position, including a 4-week pre-skilling pathway.
A total of 15 participants have either successfully completed or are advancing through the traineeship:
- Cohort 1 saw six participants successfully complete the program, all of whom have secured permanent roles within Queensland Health and the private sector,
- Cohort 2 is progressing well with two participants and is on track to complete their traineeship by January 2026,
- Cohort 3 commenced in January 2025 and has seven trainees. This latest cohort is particularly special as it’s extended to the Health and Hospital Services (HHSs) for the first time, including regional placements in Mackay, Rockhampton, Longreach and Hervey Bay, offering participants valuable opportunities to gain experience in diverse settings within their local community.