Brendan Moyle, a Kamilaroi/Gomeroi man, resigned from his role as leader of the ACT Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs (OATSIA) in November 2025. His resignation followed a health incident in August 2025, diagnosed as extreme anxiety.
Moyle attributed his health incident directly to his work experience.
Leader Resigns Amid Cultural Safety Concerns
During his two-year tenure, Moyle consistently documented a severe lack of cultural safety and excessive cultural load within the ACT public service (ACTPS). "Cultural load" is defined as the unpaid work Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals undertake to educate others on First Nations issues, including racism.
Moyle stated that the Community Services Directorate, a primary branch of the ACTPS, disregarded his warnings about the significant mental health risks faced by Indigenous employees. He reported that staff presented with "suicidal ideations" and signs of "extreme high stress."
Internal government documents from November 2023 indicated that Indigenous staff in the directorate felt "broken" and "exhausted" by their workplace, describing the system as "designed to fracture and destroy the spirit." Moyle observed that despite these alarms, the workplace culture continued to decline, severely impacting Indigenous staff welfare, including his own. He also expressed concerns about the disparity in life expectancy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Documented Struggles and Unresolved Issues
An extensive collection of internal communications, obtained through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests by Independent MLA Thomas Emerson, documented Moyle's and OATSIA's attempts to address staff safety, particularly within the Community Services Directorate. This directorate serves the ACT's Indigenous population.
Moyle indicated that their requests received "little to no resolution" and that OATSIA became a "dumping ground" for issues that should have been managed by other departments.
Moyle attributed the challenging working conditions for Indigenous employees to a "lack of accountability." He cited specific commitments made in the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Agreement 2019-28, which include fostering a society where First Nations peoples are "valued, respected, and experience a life free of racism and systemic discrimination." The ACT government became the first jurisdiction to require senior public servants to demonstrate their work towards addressing inequality for First Nations people, with new legislation in July requiring executives to promote cultural safety.
A September 2025 brief from Moyle to the Community Services Directorate stated that "cultural knowledge and technical advice and expertise is often diminished and ignored" and that multiple requests had gone unresolved. He reported increasing instances of "physical, mental and psychosocial stress" among OATSIA staff. Moyle further suggested that ACT government ministers might not be fully informed due to reliance on condensed briefing packs.
Government Response and Disturbing Survey Results
In a statement, ACT Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Suzanne Orr, affirmed that the government treats concerns about cultural safety, workplace discrimination, and psychosocial wellbeing with "the highest level of seriousness." She acknowledged the impact of cultural load and unsafe environments. A Health and Community Services Directorate spokesperson confirmed that briefs from senior executives regarding cultural safety were "considered carefully" and that actions were taken, with work ongoing for organizational and structural changes. The spokesperson denied awareness of any intentionally wrong or misleading briefs or misconduct by public servants.
A September 2025 survey of the ACT public service, involving over 13,000 respondents, revealed deeply concerning statistics. The survey found that 41 percent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees did not feel culturally safe in the workplace. Additionally, 14 percent reported experiencing discrimination in the preceding 12 months. Public Service Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith described these results as "very distressing" but noted they were consistent with feedback received.
Moyle advocated for a board of inquiry into the treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and cultural safety within the ACT Public Service, emphasizing the critical need for public accountability.