The federal government has announced the long-awaited results of the first round of its jobs program, a month out from the federal election.

First announced in February last year, the $707 million Remote Jobs and Economic Development (RJED) program replaces the Liberal-era Community Development Program (CDP), with the government vowing to implement it "in partnership with First Nations people" to help "build skills and experience and deliver services that communities want".

Whilst it has been lauded by many, there has been criticism from some circles that its timeframe has not been quick enough to help communities on the ground.

On Saturday, the government announced the first grant round of the program, which opened in December and was finalised in February. They argue it will bring more than 650 new jobs, from around 100 employers, across remote Australia.

Overall, the government says the RJED will bring 3000 jobs to remote parts of the country.

"Our Remote Jobs program is about giving people in remote communities the dignity of work, with decent wages and conditions, including superannuation and leave," Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy said.

"I'm incredibly pleased to see the overwhelming response to this first employer grant round and look forward to seeing these jobs filled in remote areas across the country."

The approximate number of jobs for each region—contingent on the signing of grant agreements— are:

-Arnhem Land & Groote Eylandt – 140 jobs

-Central Australia – 100 jobs

-Greater Western Australia – 80 jobs

-Kimberley – 50 jobs

-North Queensland – 130 jobs

-South Australia – 30 jobs

-South Queensland – 20 jobs

-Top End & Tiwi Islands – 100 jobs

-Western New South Wales – 10 jobs

"These jobs will help build skills, experience and contribute to Closing the Gap in employment outcomes as well as contribute to remote communities and their economies," Senator McCarthy said.

A government spokesperson previously told National Indigenous Times they "leverage local knowledge and our stakeholder relationships to create connections between community, private sector, and all levels of government to contribute to effective outcomes".

This includes "longstanding partnership with Empowered Communities in the East and West Kimberley", which is one way the "NIAA [National Indigenous Australian Agency] is listening to First Nations perspectives on the matters that affect them – including priorities for development, policies, and services in their regions to close the gap".

Slow RJED rollout fuels claims of inaction

A 2024 Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) report found whilst the NIAA's processes to "design and transition to a new remote employment program…were partly effective," advice to support the RJED was "not clearly informed by evidence".

"There was no program logic or evaluation framework for the new remote jobs program at the time of announcement," the report said.

Remote areas, including the Kimberley, have suffered from increasing crime rates and a lack of opportunities in work not linked to the mining sector.

National Indigenous Times has heard criticism from people in some remote parts of the country about the lack of jobs for First Nations people since the program was announced 14 months ago. Others have expressed concerns the new jobs program will deliver "more of the same".

Towns like Halls Creek see unemployment at 24 per cent and are ranked in the bottom 1 per cent of disadvantaged populations in Australia, whilst a 2023 report found the lack of early childhood education and care (ECEC) workers in the Kimberley has led to some services closing.

Nearly half the region's population is Aboriginal.

Government and Department insiders have been quick to highlight the time required to oversee a complete overhaul of a program, with the announcement of the RJED only then seeing the beginning of the consultation process.

Insiders have highlighted the RJED is focused on Indigenous consultation, speaking to the community about community needs rather than for them and the time this takes. The second RJED grant round opened in February 2025 and closed in April 2025, with outcomes expected to be known by June 2025.

The recent budget featured a transition between the CDP and RJED for a further four months, which opposition spokesperson for Indigenous affairs, Senator Nampijinpa Price, said amounted to a broken election promise with the new program not up and running over the course of the parliamentary term.

"They [Labor] can talk a big talk, but we haven't seen the action; we haven't seen it play out on the ground," Senator Price said this week. "What we see is welfare dependency. We see socialist enclaves in remote communities. Why should we have this double standard across this country, such as Australia?"

Whilst the opposition has criticised Labor's work in creating jobs, they have yet to release any concrete policies around job creation. Senator Price did not respond to questions from National Indigenous Times on whether the Coalition would guarantee more jobs for First Nations people—especially in remote communities.

Senator McCarthy says the Coalition has "no vision to create jobs in remote communities or invest in remote communities". She argues "Labor went to the last election promising to replace the failed CDP program [and] only Labor will deliver on that commitment".

She argued Senator Price was "a strong advocate for the failed CDP program, which penalised First Nations people and families, placing many in poverty".

Last month, The Saturday Paper reported successive government ministers and senior bureaucrats were repeatedly advised that the CDP was likely unlawful but did not stop it, with one source labelling it "Black robodebt".

Community consultation takes centre stage

The first grant announcement comes after community consultation and two years of trials, focusing on job creation approaches which support local priorities and enterprise development in the regions covered by the CDP, the government said last year.

National Indigenous Times understands the feedback from more than 200 remote communities, 650 organisations and 3,100 people has been largely positive, with participants arguing the RJED should have skills and support to complete paperwork, ongoing on-the-job training and tailored mentoring and coaching, as well as long-term job sustainability and culturally and locally appropriate employment.

A series of trials, including the New Jobs Program Trial, engaged 28 First Nations organisations, as well as one non-Indigenous organisation, as employers.

Senator McCarthy said the RJED is "about giving First Nations people in remote communities the dignity of work, with real jobs, decent pay and conditions, including superannuation and leave".

"From the Kimberley to Alice Springs to Maningrida, I've seen the impact these jobs can have on people – some of whom are in jobs for the first time. That's life-changing," she said.