First Nations pathway
Our First Nations pathway gives you the opportunity to tell your story, your way.
Bring your strengths and unique experience and become part of the future of the Queensland Government. Get involved with supporting and delivering policies, services and programs to contribute to full, safe, inclusive social and economic participation for all Queenslanders.
The Future Leaders Graduate Program is seeking applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander graduates who are ready to make an impact and help shape the future of Queensland.
Our recruitment process is designed to be inclusive and provide all First Nations candidates with the best opportunity to showcase their strengths and suitability for the program.
Join a workplace where your contributions are genuinely valued, your perspectives respected, and your personal and professional growth is prioritised.
What else do we offer?
- Tailored support: We recognise that First Nations graduates may be at different stages of connecting or reconnecting with culture. Our program offers flexibility, mentorship, cultural networks and tailored support to help you thrive in your career while building or maintaining cultural connection.
- Cultural awareness and shared responsibility: We value the rich cultural heritage, knowledge, and lived experiences that Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples bring to the Queensland Government. You won’t be required to carry the cultural load if that’s not your choice, as we offer a wide range of roles across different portfolios.
- Regional placements: We offer placements in Townsville, Cairns, Rockhampton and Toowoomba (as well as our existing Brisbane placements). These regional placements will provide graduates an opportunity to work closer to, or on, Country, ensuring you stay connected with your community.
If you’re unsure whether to opt in or have any questions about our First Nations pathway, get in touch at anytime via futureleadersgraduaterecruitment@premiers.qld.gov.au.
First Nations candidate journey
Start your journey by submitting an online application. This includes:
- answering a few quick questions to confirm your eligibility for the program
- providing basic contact and demographic information, including details about your studies
- uploading your resume (no cover letter required!)
- uploading your most recent academic transcript (if your qualification/s is from overseas, please include your overseas qualification recognition).
Once we receive your application, we’ll give you a call to talk through the next steps, so you know what to expect. You’ll also have an opportunity to let us know if you require any adjustments
You’ll also be offered a mentor to support you through the recruitment process, and provided an opportunity to request adjustments tailored to your needs.
How to prepare
- Learn how to write a resume.
- Download the Be Work Smart pre-employment skills workbook for extra tips.
- Check your eligibility.
If your application meets our eligibility criteria, you'll be invited to share your story with us. This is your chance to tell us about yourself—what drives you, what makes you unique, and why you’re passionate about joining the program.
We want to hear about your journey, your motivations for applying, and how your skills, experiences, and perspectives align with the qualities we’re looking for in our Future Leaders graduates. This is your chance to showcase your strengths, skills and potential and how you can contribute to shaping Queensland’s future.
How to prepare
- Carefully read and follow the instructions provided in your invitation email.
- Take your time—this assessment is untimed, and you can save your progress and return to the assessment at any time during the assessment period (approximately 10 days), giving you the flexibility to complete the task at a time and pace that suits you.
- Reflect on your journey and what makes you, you.
The final phase of our recruitment process is the assessment centre, where you’ll be invited to attend either in person or virtually, depending on your circumstances and location. This is a great opportunity to meet our team, connect with other candidates, and participate in engaging activities. At the assessment centre you’ll take part in:
- a yarning circle style group activity where you’ll work collaboratively with other candidates to complete a task
- an individual interview where you’ll have the opportunity to share your experiences, skills and insights with our assessors.
This is also a chance to learn more about the program and gain insights into the type of work you might do as part of the program.
How to prepare
- Reflect on the skills and knowledge you’ve gained through your life, studies, and any paid/unpaid work that you could use as examples when answering interview questions.
- Familiarise yourself with behavioural interview questions and the STAR response framework to help structure your answers.
- Review the Leadership Competencies for Queensland (PDF, 254 KB) to understand the key skills and behaviours we’re looking for.
- Most importantly, just be yourself!
Following the assessment centre, we will contact your nominated referee(s) to conduct a reference check.
If you’re successful, you can expect to receive an offer in mid-June. This offer will be subject to the completion of pre-employment checks, including criminal history, and commencement paperwork.
The 2027 program will officially commence on Monday 15 February 2027.
Key dates:
- applications open 10 March 2026
- applications close 8 April 2026
- assessment centres 11-15 May 2026
- offers made mid-June 2026
- program commences 15 February 2027
Support during employment
If you are successful in joining the program, we will connect with you before you commence to understand what support you may need on the job. This might include:
- access to cultural leave
- opportunity to connect with sector wide networks and support groups
- access to an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander mentor.
The Queensland Government is proud to offer the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander career pathways service, which helps First Nations employees develop their skills and progress their careers into leadership and decision-making roles. This is something you may consider joining after completion of your graduate program to continue to support your transition to leadership roles.
Meet our First Nations graduates
Hear from our graduates on what it's like to be part of our program and read about their experiences.
[James Pullen, 2024 Graduate)]
My name is James Pullen. I'm a proud Dharug man with connection to Coonabarabran in western New South Wales on my father's side, and Sri Lankan heritage on my mother's side. I studied at Queensland University of Technology, and I did a Bachelor of Law (Honours) and a Bachelor of Justice majoring in Criminology and Policing.
[Joe Marsh, 2024 Graduate]
My name is Joe Marsh. I'm a proud Gidabal man within the Bundjalung Nation. I studied the Bachelor of Social Work and have honours in that in that area as well.
[Jessica Kiss, 2023 Graduate]
My name is Jessica Kiss. I'm a Goreng Goren woman. I grew up in Bundaberg, I moved to Brisbane for university, I did a Bachelor of Arts at University of Queensland, and I majored in Geography and International Relations.
[Question on screen: 'Why did you join our graduate program?']
I want to help make a change for our people, the First Nations people. The reason why I've actually the other reason why I've chosen that is because I've studied social work other areas, I've worked in sports areas, but I found that we can make a big difference in policy area and be able to make a change back in the community. So that is one of the reasons why I wanted to look into policy area.
[James Pullen, 2024 Graduate]
See, I always wanted to merge the worlds of governance and policy with criminology and justice, but I wasn't quite sure how to do that. I'm given the opportunity to rotate to different departments where I could make that dream become reality.
You don't need a policy background to thrive in this space. I think that policy concerns every facet of life, so it doesn't matter what social or tertiary background you have, there are transferable skills that you've learned that the public service will definitely value.
[Question on screen: 'What advice would you give to someone who wanted to apply?']
[Joe Marsh, 2024 Graduate]
The recruitment process was really good. I had very good mentors, I had a good support person, able to speak to people, especially the mentor whenever I needed.
[Jessica Kiss, 2023 Graduate]
My advice for anyone looking to apply for the program would be to just go for it. Don't doubt yourself. Embrace your insecurities. If you're young or inexperienced from a different cultural background, these are all things that will make you a great public servant.
Contact us
We are here to guide you through every step of the process. If you have any questions, need clarification or if something isn’t working, don't hesitate to reach out. You can contact us anytime get in touch at anytime via futureleadersgraduaterecruitment@premiers.qld.gov.au.