How to Put References on an Australian Resume

A referee is a person who can confirm how you actually work — usually a recent manager or supervisor — and on an Australian resume you either list two referees or write the single line Referees available on request. Both are normal. Neither needs to be sorted before you apply.

That freedom matters, because the referees line is where people new to Australia freeze. The work history is real, but the managers who know it are in another country, in another timezone, and the panic sets in: I don't know a single person here who can vouch for me. The honest answer is that Australian employers expect exactly that, and an Australian resume has a normal, low-stress way to handle it.

This guide covers how many referees to list, what to write for each, and — the part that unlocks the whole worry — who legitimately counts as a referee when your network is still overseas.

Do you put references on an Australian resume?

The references section is the short block at the end of an Australian resume that either names your referees or offers the referees on request. Australian employers expect the section, but rarely need full contact details printed on the page before an interview.

So the real question is not whether to include references — the answer is yes — but how much to show. Two approaches are both standard in Australia:

1. List two referees in full, with names and phone numbers, ready for an employer to call
2. Write Referees available on request and hand the details over once an employer asks

The first suits anyone whose referees are already briefed and happy to be called. The second keeps the page short and protects a referee's privacy until a real conversation starts. For most casual and entry-level jobs in Australia, either version is completely acceptable, and neither version reads as a red flag.

How many referees to list, and who they should be

A referee is a professional contact who has seen your work firsthand — a manager, a supervisor, a team leader or a shift runner. The Australian convention is two referees, and three at most; more than three names adds length without adding weight.

Two rules decide who belongs on the list. First, a referee should be someone who managed or worked closely with you, not a friend and not a family member — a character reference from a relative carries almost no weight with an Australian employer, and can look like padding. Second, always ask the person first. A referee caught cold by a recruiter's call, unsure who you even are, does more damage than listing no referee at all.

For a first job in Australia, one solid work referee plus one who can speak to your reliability — a volunteer coordinator, a course tutor — is a stronger pair than three vague names.

'Referees available on request' — why the line is fine

Referees available on request is a standard Australian resume line that tells an employer referees exist and will be shared the moment an interview is real. The line is not a dodge, and Australian recruiters read the line dozens of times a week without blinking.

For someone new to the country, the line is the pressure valve. You do not need two Australian referees lined up before you send a single application. You send the resume with the line, keep applying, and only when an employer shows real interest do you make the calls to confirm your referees are ready.

The line also protects the people vouching for you. A referee's phone number sitting on a public job board, attached to every application, invites cold calls and spam. Available on request keeps a referee's details private until a genuine employer, for example a hiring manager at the interview stage, actually needs the details.

Not sure your resume reads cleanly to scanning software? Run the check — A$4.99 — and see what an employer's system picks up.

What to write for each referee

A referee entry is a four-line block: the referee's name, the job title, the working relationship to you, and a current phone number. Email is optional; a live phone number is what an Australian recruiter actually uses first.

Here is the copy-paste format:

• Jane Smith — Shift Supervisor, Coles Southport — direct manager, 2023–2024 · 04xx xxx xxx
• Ahmed Khan — Volunteer Coordinator, Red Cross Brisbane — supervised weekend shifts · 04xx xxx xxx

Three details do the heavy lifting. First, the job title, so the employer knows the referee has standing to comment. Second, the relationship — direct manager, supervised weekend shifts — so a recruiter knows the referee saw the work up close. Third, a working Australian phone number, because a referee no one can reach is the same as no referee.

Give each referee a heads-up before any interview, so the call is expected, not a surprise, and confirm the phone number still works.

No Australian referees yet? Who counts

A legitimate referee is a person who has genuinely supervised or worked alongside you — and the person does not have to be in Australia. An overseas manager, reachable by email or phone, is a valid referee, and many Australian employers accept overseas referees without a second thought.

When the whole work history is overseas, these people all count as real referees:

1. A former manager or supervisor from a job back home, named with the country
2. A trial-shift supervisor from a day's work at a cafe, warehouse or farm here
3. A volunteer coordinator — through organisations like Red Cross or a local op-shop
4. A course tutor, TAFE trainer or English-class teacher who saw you show up and work
5. A sports coach or team captain who can speak to reliability and teamwork

One local touchpoint helps most. A single Australian referee — even from a trial shift or a volunteer Saturday — reassures an employer far more than three names from overseas.

Referee mistakes that quietly cost callbacks

The most damaging referee mistake is a name the employer cannot reach — an old number, a manager who has moved on, a person who was never actually asked. A referee who fumbles the call, or never picks up, turns a strong application into a doubt.

Four mistakes come up again and again:

1. Listing someone without asking. A referee surprised by the call may decline to comment, which reads worse than silence
2. Using family or friends. A character reference from a cousin carries almost no weight with an Australian employer
3. Stale contact details. A dead phone number quietly kills the reference before a word is spoken
4. Printing referees on every application. Public job boards expose a referee's number to spam; available on request is safer

Fixing all four is free and takes one afternoon. Message each referee, confirm the phone number, agree on what the referee will say, and the referees line goes from a risk to a quiet strength.

Referees vs references — the wording Australians use

A referee is the person who vouches for you; a reference is what the referee actually says or writes. Australian job ads and resumes use referee for the human contact, so a resume line that reads References: available on request is better written as Referees available on request.

The difference is small, but the wording signals local fluency. An overseas applicant who writes references on the contact line is understood, yet a recruiter clocks the phrasing as slightly foreign — the same quiet tell as a photo or a date of birth on the page. Matching the Australian word is a one-second fix.

For a written reference — a signed letter from a former employer — the letter is a bonus, not a requirement. Most Australian hiring runs on a phone call to a referee, not a letter, so a missing reference letter never blocks an application. Keep any letters ready, and offer the letters only when an employer asks.

Put the referees line together

A finished referees section is a single honest line or two briefed contacts — never a wall of half-remembered names. For most people new to Australia, the line below does the whole job:

Referees: available on request

That single line is enough to apply today. Behind the line, line up two people who have agreed to take the call: one who saw your work (a manager, here or overseas) and one who speaks to your reliability (a coordinator, tutor or coach). Confirm both phone numbers before any interview.

For the rest of the resume — the format, the work-rights line, where tickets go — start with the Australian resume guide, and if the worry is a thin local history, read no Australian experience next.

If building the whole page by hand feels like too much, the builder lays out the referees section in the correct Australian format for you — answer a few questions and see about half of it free.