TIME and Statista have launched the 2026 list of Best Employers, based on independent employee surveys conducted in countries around the world. In Australia, Statista gathered 200,000 evaluations from employees across a wide range of sectors. These surveys asked open-ended questions about employees’ willingness to recommend their own employer and their willingness to recommend other employers in the same industry. The top 300 employers, ranked based on these results, were named Australia's Best Employers 2026.
Although U.S.-based Apple leads the list, the majority of Australia’s top-ranked employers are locally based. These include New Zealand-founded fintech Xero (no. 2), homegrown software giant Atlassian (no.4), newer unicorn Canva (no.9), and more esoteric tech companies like casino slot machine manufacturer Ainsworth Game Technology (no. 10) and digital-first contractor Built Construction (no.8). The prevalence of tech firms as hotspots for talent signals a wider boom amid Australia’s startup scene, which in recent years has been attracting attention and investments from venture capitalists. According to a 2026 report from Side Stage Ventures, startups in Australia are using venture funding more efficiently than any other country, producing 1.22 unicorns for every $1 billion invested.
See the full list of Australia’s Best Employers of 2026 below: