Jobs in Canberra 2024: Government and Private Sector

Canberra's job market has the lowest unemployment rate of any Australian capital city and has maintained this distinction through most economic cycles. The explanation is structural: the Australian Public Service provides a large, stable, recession-resistant employment base that buffers the ACT economy against the commercial downturns that affect Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane labour markets more sharply.

Australian Public Service — the APS employs approximately 70,000 people in the ACT, across every federal department and agency. Graduate programmes in departments including Finance, Treasury, DFAT, Home Affairs, and the ABS are competitive and well-regarded. APS classification levels (APS 1 through SES Band 3) govern salary progression, and lateral mobility between agencies is common. Seek, LinkedIn, and the APSJobs portal (jobs.apsjobs.gov.au) are the primary recruitment channels.

Defence sector — the Department of Defence, the Australian Signals Directorate, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, and the Australian War Memorial are major employers beyond the civilian public service. Defence contractors (Boeing Defence Australia, Thales, Raytheon, SAAB) employ significant numbers of technical and engineering professionals in the ACT.

Health and education — the ACT Health system (Canberra Hospital, North Canberra Hospital, various community health centres), the Australian National University, and the University of Canberra are major employers outside the APS. The ANU employs approximately 4,000 staff and is a significant research employment anchor.

Technology sector — Canberra has a growing cybersecurity and technology cluster centred on the ASD, the Defence Science and Technology Group, and a growing cohort of technology companies (Penten, Sapient, DXC Technology) serving government clients. The ACT government's DataACT initiative is building local data and technology employment capacity.

Median salary — the ACT's median weekly earnings are the highest of any Australian jurisdiction at approximately $1,600 per week, reflecting the APS salary scale and the professional qualifications concentration of the workforce.

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