17 Australian companies named in ‘World’s Best Employers’ list

Careers

Seventeen Australian companies spanning across eight different industries feature among the 900 organisations recognised on Forbes’ 2025 World’s Best Employers list.

Sydney, Australia – November 12, 2015: People crowd crossing street in central Sydney. Landmark in background, shopping center to the left.

Key Takeaways

Atlassian, recognised for its collaborative and flexible work culture, was Australia’s highest-ranked company at 117.
Last year’s top-ranked Australian employer, BHP Group, followed closely at 118.
The banking and financial services sector dominated the Australian list, accounting for 6 of the 17 companies, including the Big Four Banks – ANZ (181), Commonwealth Bank (269), Westpac (278) and NAB (418).
Woolworths, Australia’s largest private employer with 190,000 staff, ranked at 819, whilst Qantas, the national carrier, ranked at 872.

Australia’s Best Employers

Rank	Name	Industry	Employees
117	Atlassian	Engineering, Manufacturing	12,157
118	BHP Group	Construction, Chemicals, Raw Materials	90,000
181	ANZ Group Holdings	Banking and Financial Services	42,370
269	Commonwealth Bank	Banking and Financial Services	52,000
278	Westpac Banking Group	Banking and Financial Services	40,000
287	Wesfarmers	Retail and Wholesale	120,000
394	Suncorp	Banking and Financial Services	10,000
418	NAB – National Australia Bank	Banking and Financial Services	38,000
549	QBE Insurance Group	Insurance	11,000
644	Lendlease	Construction, Chemicals, Raw Materials	5,000
669	Treasury Wine Estates	Food, Soft Beverages, Alcohol & Tobacco	2,600
670	Cotton on Group	Retail and Wholesale	20,000
721	Macquarie Group Limited	Banking and Financial Services	19,700
774	Harvey Norman	Retail and Wholesale	6,500
786	Telstra	Telecommunication Services, Cable Supplier	28,889
819	Woolworths	Retail and Wholesale	190,000
872	Qantas Airways	Transportation and Logistics	26,000

Request from this Forbes Ranking for research, reference and other limited use options.

Key Background

Seventeen Australian companies were recognised in this year’s list, up from 14 last year. Globally, Microsoft retained its place at the top of the global rankings, followed by Delta Air Lines and Alphabet.

Top 20 Global

Rank	Name	Industry	Country/Territory	Employees
1	Microsoft	IT Software & Services	United States	228,000
2	Delta Air Lines	Transportation and Logistics	United States	100,000
3	Alphabet	IT Software & Services	United States	183,323
4	Adobe	IT Software & Services	United States	20,709
5	BMW Group	Automotive (Automotive and Suppliers)	Germany	159,000
6	NVIDIA	Semiconductors, Electronics, Electrical Engineering	United States	29,600
7	Sony	Conglomerate	Japan	113,000
8	IBM	Semiconductors, Electronics, Electrical Engineering	United States	300,000
9	Apple	Semiconductors, Electronics, Electrical Engineering	United States	164,000
10	Lego Group	Packaged Goods	Denmark	31,000
11	Samsung Electronics	Conglomerate	South Korea	262,647
12	Costco Wholesale	Retail and Wholesale	United States	333,000
13	Cisco Systems	Semiconductors, Electronics, Electrical Engineering	United States	90,400
14	Shopify	IT Software & Services	Canada	8,100
15	Rolex	Clothing, Shoes, Sports Equipment	Switzerland	10,000
16	Marriott International	Travel & Leisure	United States	263,000
17	Nike	Clothing, Shoes, Sports Equipment	United States	79,400
18	HubSpot	IT Software & Services	United States	8,500
19	AIRBUS	Aerospace & Defense	Netherlands	156,921
20	Nintendo	Media & Advertising	Japan	7,724

Methodology

To determine the list, Forbes partnered with market research firm Statista to survey more than 300,000 employees in over 50 countries.

Participants evaluated both their own employers and others in their industries on factors including salary, career advancement, work-life balance, and company reputation.

Companies were eligible if they employed more than 1,000 people and operated globally. The 900 organisations with the highest overall scores made the final ranking.

Tap here to see the full list.

Look back on the week that was with hand-picked articles from Australia and around the world. Sign up to the Forbes Australia newsletter here or become a member here.