Resume or CV?
Both. Workforce Australia, the government's employment service, says "resume", and the Australian Public Service Commission asks for "a CV or resume". SEEK notes that in Australia the two words are often used interchangeably, though a CV can mean a longer document for academic or research roles. For most jobs, write the short, focused kind.
How long should it be?
About two pages. Workforce Australia says a resume should be about two pages long, shorter or longer depending on your experience, and the government's Australian Jobs 2025 report advises keeping it to around one to two. Australian Public Service (APS) jobs are the exception: the APS Commission says most CVs for them run between two and six pages.
What goes at the top
Your phone number and a professional-sounding email address. Workforce Australia adds that you can include a link to a professional online profile, such as LinkedIn.
Photo, age and personal details
Leave out personal details an employer doesn't need. The APS Commission says there's no need to include your age, gender or marital status, and SEEK adds religion, nationality and date of birth to the list. On photos, only industry advice covers it: SEEK says you don't need one, except in fields like acting or modelling.
The law backs this up. Under the Fair Work Act, an employer can't take adverse action against a prospective employee for discriminatory reasons, and not hiring someone counts. The protected attributes include age, marital status, religion, national extraction and disability. The Australian Human Rights Commission tells employers not to seek irrelevant personal information from applicants.
Work rights and visas
Employers must check that you can legally work in Australia, according to the Department of Home Affairs. They usually do it through VEVO (Visa Entitlement Verification Online): they may ask you to email your current visa details from VEVO, or check VEVO themselves with your permission.
No official guide says your visa status has to go on your resume, so it's your call. Public service jobs are different: the APS Commission says it's generally expected that APS employees are Australian citizens, though agencies may employ non-citizens with the right work permits.
What goes in, and in what order
Workforce Australia lists these sections:
- Your personal details: name and contact details
- Your skills
- Your work experience, most recent job first, then working backwards
- Your education, qualifications and relevant licences
- Contact details for referees
It also recommends a personal summary, tailored for each role. If you have limited work experience, you can put your education before your employment history. SEEK adds that a separate career objective section is no longer necessary.
Referees
Include referees who know you and can confirm your experience, says Workforce Australia, and always get their permission before you list them. The APS Commission suggests noting any referee who shouldn't be contacted unless you're in contention for the job. SEEK says you can write "references available on request" instead, though the official guides don't mention it.
Gaps in your work history
Explain them. The APS Commission advises explaining any gaps in employment rather than leaving the reader to guess.
File type and keywords
Workforce Australia says to save your resume in a common format, like DOCX or PDF. Industry advice differs on which: SEEK's guide to applicant tracking systems (ATS), the software that screens applications, calls a .docx file often the safest choice and says to avoid graphics and tables, while its general resume guide says a PDF helps preserve your layout if no format is specified. If the ad names a format, use that one.
Workforce Australia also says to use the same keywords the employer uses in their job ad, and to check there are no spelling or grammar mistakes.
Cover letters
Workforce Australia says to always include a cover letter unless the job ad says not to, at three or four paragraphs that fit on one page. Not every employer reads one closely: SEEK's 2019 research found only 30% of employers would skip past a resume without a cover letter. Sending one is still the safe choice.
Public service jobs
Applying for an APS job takes more than a resume. The APS Commission says that most of the time your CV alone won't be enough: you'll usually also write a statement addressing selection criteria, or a short pitch. Many agencies now ask for just your CV and a one or two page document.
Selection criteria describe the qualities, skills, knowledge and qualifications the role needs. Workforce Australia says to answer them in a separate document from the rest of your application, and the APS Commission recommends the STAR model for your examples: the situation, your task, the action you took and the result. APS jobs are filled on merit, and an offer may depend on security and character clearances, which can include a police check.
How employers find and screen applicants
The government's Australian Jobs 2025 report found that over a quarter of employers used word of mouth to fill positions, and 64% of employers in capital cities and 55% in regional areas used job boards. Interviews were considered the most important step by 77% of employers. Some online applications also include screening questions, which Workforce Australia says are designed to filter out applicants who don't meet the minimum criteria.
How SmartCVs fits an Australian resume
Your SmartCVs profile has no place for a photo, date of birth or marital status, so no resume it makes includes them. Every resume downloads as PDF or Word, and you can record your work rights and licences under Other details if you want them on it.
For each job ad, SmartCVs shows which requirements your resume answers, then rewords it in the ad's own keywords without adding anything you haven't done, with a matching cover letter of three or four paragraphs. It doesn't write selection criteria statements. Start with the free CV check to see how an ATS reads yours.