A 60-year-old Australian aid worker was reported on Friday to have been kidnapped in Afghanistan by a group of armed men. 

Katherine Jane Wilson, from Perth in Western Australia, was seized by gunmen wearing military uniforms at her office in Jalalabad near the Pakistan border on Thursday morning, broadcaster ABC reported.

Afghanistan's Pajhwok news agency first reported on Thursday that police were investigating the kidnapping of a female NGO employee earlier in the day.

Wilson had previously worked for the Danish Committee for Aid to Refugees, but is thought to be now working for an independent aid group.

Her father Brian Wilson, 91, told the ABC that the family was very worried.

"But I presume she's a hostage, and that they'll do their best to keep her alive and not harm her, simply because they want to have something or other in return and it's not very good having a dead hostage," he said.

"Jane, do your level best, come back safe and sound," he said.

Wilson said his daughter had been working in the region for more than 20 years with charities related to women's rights and water security.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said in a radio interview the government was working to ensure her safe recovery.

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