Qantas in the 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.

This tradition continued as Australia dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. Qantas operated more than 100 international repatriation flights on behalf of the Federal Government to bring Australians home from various hotspots, including Wuhan. These flights were flown by crew who volunteered for these missions. 

With COVID-related border closures rendering most flights commercially unviable, Qantas and Jetstar also operated domestic flights on behalf of the government. These maintained critical transport links for people and for goods – including essential medical supplies. 

While the COVID-19 crisis is compelling the Qantas Group to restructure much of its business, one thing that won’t change is our commitment to the community. We will be smaller for a period of time, but we’ll continue to serve regional communities and support tourism, to champion diversity and reconciliation, and to promote the best of Australia to the world.

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, and our own extensive marketing and media strategy. 

We know there is significant pent up demand for travel and we’re ready to help regions that rely so heavily on tourism by encouraging people to visit when the time is right.

Qantas is dedicated to creating work and training opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, incorporating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses into our supply chain, and telling the stories of the First Australians. We’re proud to be a member of the Elevate RAP community. 

As a founding member of Supply Nation — which connects Australian companies and government with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses — we continued to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suppliers with a total FY20 spend of $3 million. We participated in the Supply Nation and Business Council of Australia initiative 'Raising the Bar' and announced our commitment to procure three percent of our annual contestable spend from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suppliers by the end of FY24.

The Qantas Group has long-standing partnerships with organisations that have a positive impact on the community.

While most of our direct support and assistance has been suspended as we recover from the COVID-19 crisis, we continue to have a close relationship with many of our long-term partners, across sports, arts, environment, and community.

For almost 30 years, Qantas customers have raised money for UNICEF through the Change for Good initiative. In 2019 we reached the milestone of $36 million raised.

Qantas, alongside many other Australian companies, engages on a number of social issues from gender diversity and LGBTQI inclusion to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander reconciliation. 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. In 2019, we were proud to join with 13 other Elevate RAP organisations to share our support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart and its proposed reforms of voice, treaty and truth. 

We are proud to have a long-standing relationship with Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, supporting the LGBTQI+ and community, playing an active role as a leading Australian organisation that supports equality. In 2023 in conjunction with Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, we partnered with Sydney WorldPride.

Drought and bushfire devastated many regional communities during FY20, prompting the Group to develop several specific initiatives to help:  

• Delivered more than $3 million of support during early 2020 in the wake of the tragic Black Summer bushfire season. Made up of a $1 million cash donation to the Red Cross, additional cash donations through employee and customers donations, and the remainder in-kind support, moving firefighters and equipment around the country.
• Introduced The Qantas Regional Grants program. Twenty grants were distributed across the country to a number of local community initiatives and larger charitable organisations. The program plans to offer a total of $5 million in grants over five years to Australian-based not-for-profit community groups, individuals, charities, projects and organisations that are seeking funding to provide a direct service or benefit to regional Australia.

In August 2019, Qantas announced a $10 million investment to further reduce fares for residents of 16 regional cities through its discounted fares program. This is on top of existing discounts and is aimed at making last-minute travel more affordable in towns that are particularly remote or have a high concentration of resources industry traffic.  

In January 2020, the Qantas Group Pilot Academy was officially opened in Toowoomba, Queensland. With the capacity to train up to 250 pilots a year, it is part of a long term strategy to ensure a pipeline of talent for aviation in the region. 

Qantas acknowledges the many passionate employees who support community organisations outside of Qantas through various programs including an employee grant giving program, workplace giving and partnerships including FlyPinkOpens external site in a new window, QCCTOpens external site in a new window and PathfindersOpens external site in a new window.

At Qantas, we’re committed to inspiring a positive change in our communities.

We proudly support numerous regional and national organisations alongside various community-based and charity. Our mission is to align with organisations that share similar values, goals and aspirations.

To be considered for sponsorship or partnership, complete one of the forms below. We’ll assess your application and respond to you as soon as possible.

• CommunityOpens external site in a new window (including Sports, Reconciliation, Not for Profit/Charity, Fundraising, Community, History)
• Arts and CultureOpens external site in a new window
• OtherOpens external site in a new window

Thank you for considering Qantas as a potential sponsor or partner.

If you'd like to learn more about the Qantas Group's approach to sustainability, refer to our Qantas Group Corporate Site.