Australian resumes follow conventions that differ from the US and UK. Getting them right matters — most Australian employers screen applications through an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) before a person ever reads them. This guide covers the 2026 standard.
How long should an Australian resume be?
Two to three pages for most professionals — not the one-page US norm. Recent graduates may use two; senior professionals three. Quality and relevance beat brevity.
Required sections, in order
- Contact details — full name, Australian phone (04XX XXX XXX), email, city + state, LinkedIn. No full street address.
- Professional summary — three to five lines tailored to the role.
- Key skills — matched to the job ad's keywords.
- Work experience — reverse chronological, with quantified achievements.
- Education — qualification, institution, year.
- Referees — at least two, with full contact details. Not "available on request".
Format and fonts
Use A4 (not US Letter), an ATS-safe font (Calibri, Arial, or Garamond, 10–12pt), and a single-column layout. Avoid tables, text boxes, columns, and graphics — they break ATS parsing.
Australian English
Use Australian spelling throughout: organise, optimise, licence, programme, colour, centre, analyse. American spelling signals a CV not tailored to the local market.
Work rights
If you're an international applicant, include a work-rights statement (e.g. "Australian Citizen", "Permanent Resident", "Temporary Skill Shortage Visa (482)").
Want to check whether your CV passes the ATS? Run a free ATS score check, or build an ATS-optimised resume from scratch.