Australian résumé format: no photo, clear work rights and two referees

How Australian résumés differ from CVs elsewhere: what to leave out, why stating your work rights matters, how long it should be, how to handle referees and key selection criteria, and which template to choose.

Australians use "résumé" and "CV" almost interchangeably, but the document recruiters expect has some firm conventions, and some of them are the opposite of what's normal in Germany, India or the Gulf.

What to leave out

Australian recruiters work under strong anti-discrimination norms. Including personal details that aren't relevant to the job can look out of place, and some recruiters prefer not to see them at all. Leave out:

• a photo
• date of birth and age
• marital status and children
• religion
• gender, nationality and health information, unless the role specifically asks for something

That's why every Australian template in the JobPLT CV Builder has no photo slot and no date-of-birth field.

What to put in: your work rights

The one personal detail Australian recruiters do want is whether you can legally work in Australia. Many filter applications on it before reading anything else. State it under your name, for example:

• Australian Citizen
• Australian Permanent Resident
• New Zealand Citizen
• Skills in Demand / TSS (subclass 482) visa, sponsorship required
• Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa, full work rights until 2027

Be specific and honest; it saves both sides time. In the builder, the work-rights field sits with your contact details and offers these common options.

Structure

A typical order:

1. Name, contact details and work rights
2. Career Summary: three or four lines tailored to the role
3. Key Skills: mirror the skills in the job ad, because recruiters scan for them
4. Employment History: reverse chronological, with responsibilities and measurable achievements
5. Education & Qualifications
6. Licences & Certifications: including industry tickets such as a white card or RSA where relevant
7. Volunteering & Interests (optional, valued more in Australia than in many countries)
8. Referees

Length: two to three pages is normal

Unlike the one-page rule you'll hear in the US, two to three pages is perfectly normal in Australia for experienced candidates. Use the space to show achievements, not to repeat duties. Graduates should aim for one to two.

Referees

Australian résumés traditionally end with two referees, usually recent managers, with their name, title, company, phone and email. Always ask them first. If you'd rather share their details later, write "Referees available on request". The builder has a switch for exactly that.

Applying for government jobs: key selection criteria

Australian Public Service (APS) and state government roles often ask you to address key selection criteria or capabilities, sometimes in a separate statement. The Government (APS) template uses the headings these panels expect, Career Overview and Key Capabilities, so you can align your résumé with the criteria in the job description.

Spelling and style

Use Australian spelling (organisation, analyse, programme for events). Dates are usually written as Feb 2020 – Present. Keep a confident but plain tone; overselling reads badly in Australia.

Which template should you use?

• Classic Résumé: clean and conventional, for most roles
• Modern Two-Column: skills and qualifications in a sidebar
• Government (APS): for public-sector applications
• Graduate: education first, then skills, part-time work and volunteering
• Executive: a bold header and career highlights for senior roles

Moving from another country?

If you already have a CV in another format, open it in the builder and use Copy for… → Australia. Your experience and education come across, and the copy drops the photo and personal details that don't belong on an Australian résumé.

Create your Australian résumé or find jobs in Sydney, Melbourne and beyond.