"We have to win the first one. That's what the series is about, the first test," Jones told British media.
"There are two tests to go after that but the first is going to set up one side to win the series and you want to be the side that wins the series.
"We want to win the first test and if we do that we put ourselves in positions to do all sorts of things and that's our target."
England, who warmed up for the series with a 27-13 win over Wales at Twickenham last month, have only beaten their hosts on Australian soil three times, most recently in Sydney in 2010.
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"We don't have any excuses," Jones said.
"We've come here to put our best foot forward and, if we're good enough, we're going to win. If it's not good enough, we'll go back home and we'll learn."
(Reporting by Ian Rodricks in Bengaluru; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
