The Standard Australian Résumé Format, Explained

In Australia, a résumé is typically two to three pages for most jobseekers, long enough to cover relevant experience in reasonable detail without padding it out with irrelevant history. Graduates or people early in their career may be closer to two pages, while people with extensive, directly relevant experience may run slightly longer. The expected page size is A4, not US Letter, so check this setting before you export or print.

• Two to three pages is the common range for most applicants
• A4 page size, not US Letter
• Margins and font sizes that keep the document easy to read when printed

If you are converting a résumé built overseas, check the page setup before anything else. Many document templates default to US Letter, which is slightly shorter and wider than A4, and printing or exporting without correcting this can shift your layout, push content onto an extra page, or crop margins unexpectedly.

The standard structure in Australia lists your most recent role first, working backwards through your history. This is called reverse chronological order, and it is what most employers and recruiters expect to see, since it lets them quickly understand your current situation and career trajectory.

Within each entry, list your title, the employer name, the location, and the dates you worked there, followed by a short description and a handful of bullet points covering your main duties and contributions.

If you have a gap in your work history, or moved between unrelated industries, reverse chronological order still works — you do not need to hide the gap, just describe what filled it honestly and briefly, such as study, caring responsibilities, or travel, and move on to the next entry.

Australian résumés generally do not include a photograph, date of birth, marital status, or similar personal details. This differs from the convention in some other countries, and including them can look unfamiliar to an Australian reader. Anti-discrimination considerations also mean many employers prefer not to receive this information at the application stage.

• Leave out a photo of yourself
• Leave out date of birth and age
• Leave out marital or family status
• Keep your name, phone number, email, and general location (suburb and state is enough)

Similarly, there is no need to state your nationality, religion, or health information on an Australian résumé. These details are not relevant to assessing your skills and experience, and leaving them off keeps the focus on your work history, where it belongs.

The common Australian convention is to write "Referees available on request" near the end of the résumé, rather than listing referee names, positions, and contact details on the document itself. This protects the privacy of people who have agreed to speak on your behalf and gives you the chance to notify them before a prospective employer makes contact.

If a job ad specifically asks you to include referee details, follow that instruction, but always confirm with your referees first that they are happy to be contacted and know which role you are applying for.

It is also worth preparing a short, separate referee sheet with full contact details and a note on how each referee knows you, so that it is ready to send quickly if an employer requests it later in the process, rather than needing to track details down under time pressure.

Use Australian English spelling throughout: "organise" rather than "organize", "colour" rather than "color", "centre" rather than "center". A résumé mixing US spelling can read as though it was copied from an overseas template without being checked.

• Run a spell check set to English (Australia), not English (US)
• Keep the tone plain and factual rather than heavily promotional
• Use consistent terminology for dates, for example "Jan 2022" throughout, not mixed formats

• Using US Letter page size by default in document software
• Including a photo, date of birth, or marital status out of habit
• Listing full referee contact details on the résumé without asking them first
• Mixing US and Australian spelling across different sections
• Writing work history in chronological rather than reverse chronological order

Work through this list to confirm your résumé follows the conventions Australian employers expect.

• Page size is set to A4
• Length is two to three pages, trimmed of irrelevant detail
• Work history is listed in reverse chronological order
• No photo, date of birth, or marital status included
• "Referees available on request" appears, unless the ad asks for details directly
• Spelling is set to English (Australia) throughout