Australian employers expect a resume that looks a little different from an American or Indian one: often two or three pages, with referees at the end, a clear line about your right to work, and no photo or date of birth. This guide covers the Australian resume format section by section, with an annotated outline, how to address key selection criteria for government roles, Australian spelling, how graduates show a WAM or GPA, and what to change if you are applying from overseas.
In Australia, "resume" and "CV" are both used for the same job-application document. Whichever word the ad uses, the expectations are broadly the same:
Most applications go through online job boards, employers' own careers pages and recruitment agencies, which handle a large share of contract, IT, finance and administrative roles. Public-sector jobs are advertised on government portals, covered further down.
Australian law protects job applicants from discrimination on the basis of age, sex, race, disability, marital status, religion and other attributes. Because employers are expected not to weigh those things, Australian resumes usually leave out anything that reveals them.
The photo is the habit most people moving from India, the Gulf or parts of Europe and Asia need to drop. On an Australian resume it usually adds nothing and takes space; the exceptions are acting, modelling and the occasional role where the ad asks for one. If your current CV is built on a resume template with a photo, switch to a layout without one before you apply.
Your suburb matters more than people expect. Recruiters use it to judge your commute and whether you are local. If you are moving, say so: "Relocating to Brisbane, March 2027" stops a recruiter assuming you are out of reach.
Many Australian job ads say applicants must have full working rights. If you are not a citizen, recruiters want to know your status before they spend time on your application, and a resume that says nothing about it is easy to set aside. Put one plain line in your header or directly under your summary:
Keep it factual and current. Employers can check a visa holder's work conditions online through the government's VEVO service, so never overstate your rights. If your visa has an end date, give it. If you have lodged a permanent residency application, you can say "PR application lodged", but don't imply a grant you don't have. Leave visa grant numbers and passport details off the page.
If you are applying from overseas, add your availability as well: "Available to start from 1 February 2027" or "Can relocate within four weeks of an offer". A recruiter filling a role this month needs to know you can actually start.
Here is the usual order for an experienced candidate. Students and recent graduates move Education up to sit straight after the profile.
Use plain headings like these. Many employers screen applications with an applicant tracking system, and standard headings help the software file each section in the right place; our guide to making an ATS-friendly resume explains why.
Reference checks are a normal step in Australian hiring, usually near the end, after interviews. Employers commonly phone or email two referees, and some send an online reference form. That is why a referees section sits at the end of most Australian resumes. You have two accepted options:
A listed referee looks like this:
Always ask before you list someone, tell them which role you have applied for, and choose people who saw your work closely. A manager carries more weight than a colleague, and a family friend carries almost none. If you are new to Australia, overseas referees are fine: give the international dialling code, mention the time zone, and include an email address, since an employer may find email easier than a late-night call.
Australian Public Service (APS) and state and local government roles, and many universities, hospitals and not-for-profits, assess you against criteria published with the job. You will find them in the position description or candidate information pack. Depending on the employer, the application asks for one of these:
Your resume goes in alongside, and it should back up every claim you make. The structure most commonly recommended is STAR: Situation, Task, Action, Result. For a criterion such as "demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities":
Follow the instructions to the letter. If the ad says 700 words, stay under 700, and reuse the criteria's wording so the panel can match your evidence to each point. APS jobs are advertised on APSJobs, and each state and territory runs its own jobs portal. Some agencies also ask for a short cover letter on top.
Write in Australian English. It is close to British spelling and generally uses -ise endings, but a few words catch people out:
Write dates as month and year, such as "Mar 2022 — Present". Australia writes full dates day first (14/10/2026), so numeric dates from an American template can confuse a reader. Use past tense for past roles and present tense for your current one.
If you have worked overseas, add the context an Australian reader lacks: "Sharma Textiles, Surat (garment exporter, 400 staff)". Job titles don't always travel either, since "Deputy Manager" can mean very different levels in different countries, so let the first bullet show your scope: team size, budget or region. The list of resume action verbs covers Australian and British spellings for the verbs you will use most.
If you are a student or recent graduate, education sits near the top, straight after your profile. Australian universities report results in different ways, so always show the scale:
Include your WAM or GPA when it helps you. Many graduate programs ask for a transcript anyway, so leaving it off rarely hides it. Add prizes, scholarships and Dean's List mentions; grade labels such as HD (High Distinction), D, Cr and P are widely understood.
Graduate programs at large employers and government agencies often recruit up to a year before the start date, so many students apply in their penultimate or final year. Show part-time work, internships, volunteering and student society roles: a casual job at a supermarket proves reliability and customer skills. The guide to a resume with no experience and the internship resume template show how to fill a page without a long work history.
If you already have a resume or CV from another country, upload it as a PDF, Word file or photo. The AI reads it and rebuilds it in a designed template, and then you adapt it for Australia:
Upload your resume and let AI rebuild it into a clean, ATS-friendly design — free to preview and download.
Try ResumeInk freeTwo to three pages is common for experienced candidates, and one to two pages for students and recent graduates. Make it as long as your relevant experience needs, and no longer.
Yes, either list two referees with their name, job title, organisation, phone and email, or write "Referees available on request". Ask each referee first and let them know when you apply.
Usually not. Australian resumes commonly leave off a photo, date of birth and marital status, and a photo is only expected for roles such as acting or modelling, or when the ad asks for one.
Add one line near your contact details, such as "Australian permanent resident" or "Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485), full work rights until June 2028". Keep it accurate, because employers can check your work rights before you start.
They are the skills and qualities a government or public-sector employer lists for a role, which you show you meet in a written statement, a one-page pitch or answers to targeted questions. Use specific examples, often structured with the STAR method, and stay within the word limit.