Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

At PHE Group, diversity is core to how we build strong teams and deliver complex projects. Our workforce reflects the reality of a modern Australia – bringing together people with different backgrounds, perspectives and experiences across gender, culture, age, ability and career pathways. Diverse teams think differently, communicate better and make sharper decisions, leading to stronger delivery and more resilient outcomes for our clients.

Female representation

We’re committed to building a more inclusive workforce – one where women have clear, supported pathways into both trade and professional roles.

At present, 10% of our apprentices are women – more than double the national average. Over the past year, female applicant rates have grown from 12% to 22%, a shift we attribute to deliberate changes aimed at broadening access and challenging outdated perceptions of the trades.

Beyond site-based roles, women are increasingly represented across our broader workforce – from estimating, safety and operations, to HR, talent and finance – with an increase of women in leadership roles.

Progress is shaped by practical development opportunities, visible leadership pathways, and a culture that backs capability over stereotype. We’re proud of the progress so far – and we’re working hard to keep that momentum going.

Indigenous engagement

PHE Group’s in-house Talent Acquisition Team works closely with delivery leads to identify, onboard, and deploy individuals who are technically capable and culturally aligned.

While capability comes first, our inclusive application process allows candidates to voluntarily identify as Indigenous and/or Torres Strait Islander. This approach has led to a year-on-year in Indigenous employment, with self-identified applicants increasing from 2.4% to 3.4% this year.

We’re working to expand this further by using more inclusive job ad language, targeting regional areas, and partnering with Indigenous employment providers ahead of our 2025 apprentice intake.

Global talent

PHE Group takes a strategic approach to workforce diversity – recruiting globally to strengthen capability across regional and remote infrastructure projects. We attract skilled professionals from Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania, bringing technical expertise and fresh perspectives to complex project delivery.

A clear example is Lead HV Protection Engineer Kenneth Villanueva, whose international experience has strengthened our in-house capability and mentoring culture – helping to build depth where local skills are limited.

To support global hires, we offer relocation assistance, structured onboarding, peer mentoring and formal sponsorship under subclass 482 and 494 visas. For us, global talent isn’t a box to tick – it’s part of how we build better teams and deliver better outcomes.

Neurodiverse affirmative

PHE Group celebrates different ways of thinking and working. We recognise that neurodivergent individuals bring valuable strengths – including systems thinking, pattern recognition and attention to detail – particularly in technical roles.

Our recruitment and onboarding processes are flexible where needed, creating space for individuals to succeed in ways that work for them. It’s a practical, strengths-based approach that helps build stronger, more capable teams.