The Australian Association of Graduate Employers (AAGE), the peak body for the early careers industry, is pleased to announce the publication of the 2026 Top Intern Programs lists at startmycareer.com.au. Now in their thirteenth year, the rankings serve as the authoritative guide for those seeking employers that provide exceptional internship experiences, helping them make well-informed decisions about their career opportunities.
The organisations listed as a Top Intern Program are those that offered the most positive experiences for interns, based solely on intern feedback. The rankings are derived entirely from responses collected in the annual AAGE Intern Survey, which gathered responses from July 2025 to February 2026. More than 2,500 interns from 113 different organisations participated, providing valuable insights into their internship experiences.
The AAGE commissioned McCrindle to administer the survey where students anonymously rated their internship employer across 15 different criteria including:
- Induction and training
- Content of work
- Ability to work on different projects or in different areas of the organisation
- Quality of supervision provided by management
- Amount of responsibility
- Access to senior management
- Feedback on performance
- Social life
- Organisation's culture and values.
The subsequent analysis provides a comprehensive assessment of each employer's performance across the broad range of criteria. The individual responses from interns at a particular employer are combined and used to determine an overall average rating for that organisation. The overall average ratings are then compared and ranked, subject to a minimum response rate. The Top Intern Programs have been ranked in one of three lists of 20 based on their intake size, enabling improved comparability and usability. A total of 60 employers are featured across these three lists. The employers with the highest overall average rating are shown at startmycareer.com.au/Top-Intern-Programs.
For further information please contact Shanan Green, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Association of Graduate Employers, shanan@aage.com.au.
