Our community

Since Qantas was founded in the Queensland outback in 1920, our iconic Australian airline has helped the communities in which we operate. From assisting Australians in times of natural disaster to providing an international platform to showcase the best our country has to offer, the Qantas Group continues to make a significant social and economic contribution.

We’re proud to continue to serve regional communities, support tourism, champion diversity, and reconciliation, and promote the best of Australia to the world.

As the national carrier, the Qantas Group continues to have an integral role in the Australian economy. We remain a major employer and the biggest private promoter of local tourism.

In its most recent report, Deloitte Access Economics found that the Qantas Group had a $29 billion impact on the Australian economy. This included indirect economic impact adding up to $14.1 billion, or 0.6 per cent of Australian GDP, as well as $14.9 billion of tourism spending throughout the country.

As the national carrier, we are proud to support Australian businesses by showcasing their products across the country and around the world. Each year, the Qantas Group spends over $9 billion supporting more than 3,400 suppliers across Australia, many from regional Australia.

The Qantas Group has Australia's largest regional footprint by network, fleet and capacity connecting local communities and economies. We fly to more than 60 destinations across Australia.

Helping the tourism sector is crucial to the recovery of the broader Australian economy. We're supporting this through marketing partnerships with federal, state and territory governments both internationally and domestically, in addition to our own extensive marketing and media strategy.

At Qantas, we strive to reflect the spirit of Australia. That spirit isn't 200 years old. It's over 60,000 years old. 

Qantas' vision for reconciliation is a shared national identity that celebrates the knowledge and cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We believe this can be accomplished through greater social, economic and cultural inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. 

Qantas is dedicated to providing meaningful careers for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and diversifying our supplier base to include more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We're committed to amplifying First Nations experiences, stories and culture and strengthening our reconciliation journey through community engagements.

Qantas has long supported constitutional recognition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and publicly supported the Uluru Statement from the Heart in 2019. 

We have a proud history of championing reconciliation. We launched our first Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in 2007, and we launched an Elevate RAP in 2015. 

Qantas is working with Reconciliation Australia on our next Reconciliation Action Plan. 

Find out more about the Qantas Group First Nations Strategy.

The Qantas Group has long-standing partnerships with organisations that positively impact the community.

As the national carrier, Qantas plays a key role supporting Australian communities and having a voice on social issues. We partner with organisations that share similar values and champion the spirit of Australia.

Our partnerships focus on the areas of:

• Inclusion and diversity including First Nations partnerships.
• Support for Regional Australia.
• Environmental and social sustainability.
• Showcasing the best of Australian arts and culture.
• Building national pride through sport.
• Supporting Australian communities in times of crisis.

We're committed to giving back and building positive sentiment within Australian communities, and engaging with Qantas employees through our partnership and grants programs.

Since 1991, Qantas Airline customers have raised over $37.7m for UNICEF through the Change for Good initiative. The funds have supported the world's most disadvantaged children in over 190 countries.

Many Qantas Airlines employees have volunteered for worthy causes and donated to charity through the Qantas Workplace Giving program, which Good2Give administer.

In 2024 we announced a new chapter in our support for Australian Red Cross with a multi-million partnership to bolster its response to emergencies nationwide. This partnership will enable Australian Red Cross personnel to travel around Australia for humanitarian work reducing significant costs and facilitating a quicker response for communities in crisis.

At the end of 2022, Qantas restarted our Jawun secondee program with three Qantas employees spending six weeks working in and supporting First Nations leaders, organisations and communities achieve their own development goals.

Between 2007 and 2023, the StarKids partnership between World Vision and Jetstar has raised more than $12 million for children and families. StarKids raises funds through customer donations while booking flights on our Jetstar website, collections on board our flights and by public donations via the StarKids page on our website. We also raise funds via Workplace Giving and fundraising activities that we conduct at Jetstar Head Office and across our ports in Australia, Singapore, Denpasar and Bangkok.

Qantas, alongside many other Australian companies, engages on a range of social issues, from gender diversity, accessibility and LGBTQI+ inclusion to Reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Our identity is the Spirit of Australia, and one of the most fundamental values in this country is the notion of a 'fair go', which is why we speak up on important social issues.  

We're proud to have a long-standing relationship with Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, supporting the LGBTQI+ community, and playing an active role as a leading Australian organisation that supports equity. 

As the national carrier, Qantas also continues to support organisations and initiatives that showcase the best of Australia on the international stage including the Australian Olympic Committee and Paralympics Australia.

The Qantas Group was founded more than a 100 years ago in outback Queensland and we continue to play an important role connecting regional Australia.

Qantas has reduced fares for residents of selected regional cities in Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia through its discounted fares program. By making affordable air transport more accessible in towns that are particularly remote, we’re providing peace of mind for residents booking their personal travel, including same-day flights, last minute trips and travel during peak periods.  

In January 2020, the Qantas Group Pilot Academy was officially opened in Toowoomba, Queensland. It's part of our long-term strategy to ensure a talent pipeline for Qantas and the wider industry. The Academy also aims to increase the proportion of female and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pilots in the industry.

In February 2023 we relaunched the Qantas Regional Grants Program to support not-for-profit groups and projects directly benefiting regional Australia. In 2024, 28 regional community groups from around Australia will benefit from a share of $2 million.

Over the past years, the grants have supported more than 80 not-for-profit groups and projects across regional Australia, giving $5 million in grants since the program launched in 2019. 

These organisations are supporting employment and economic opportunities, boosting community engagement, enhancing access to key services, and improving, health and environmental outcomes.

Find out more about the Qantas Regional Grants Program.