Working in Australia

Living > Living in Australia > Working in Australia

The Australian workplace generally offers a healthy balance between work and life, along with a friendly atmosphere, making it a highly desirable place to be employed

The pull of sunshine, surf and the world beyond your door can be very alluring. Luckily, Australia's job market is incredibly buoyant following a jobs boom that has reshaped the labour market. Businesses are expanding, the resources and construction boom continues and candidate attraction and retention remain a focal point. A shortage of skilled professionals has created a multitude of opportunities for experienced and eager candidates, giving foreigners the opportunity to secure a skilled workers visa and move to Australia. While skills shortages exist across the board for experienced specialists, there are particular hotspots of demand. International employment and recruitment services company Hays produces the Hays Quarterly Forecast, which details the state of the current recruitment market across Australia. The first forecast for 2007 reveals the following hotspots:

• Accountancy and finance (commerce and industry): finance managers, auditors with financial services experience, financial accountants with experience in a large corporations, business analysts with an FMCG background, qualified and operational accountants and payroll candidates.
• Accountancy and finance (professional practice): auditors, middle management staff, senior management, insolvency specialists, and tax and business services specialists.
• Architecture: CAD technicians, registered architects, interior designers, urban designers and documentors.
• Banking: credit analysts, business banking offices, senior corporate, commercial and business banking candidates, and banking support staff. Financial planners, paraplanners, dealers assistants, client services and customer service staff are also currently in strong demand.
• Construction: senior estimators, contract administrators, project managers, experienced and reliable forepersons, and quantity surveyors.
• Engineering: In general, engineers are presented with excellent employment prospects across a wide variety of Australian markets in the long term. In particular demand are mid-level to senior management consultants; civil and structural engineers; electrical engineers; designers; fire safety, mechanical and electrical design engineers; surveyors; environmental engineers; and scientists.
• Facilities management: project managers, facility managers with a trade background, and building managers and supervisors.
• Human resources: Human resources specialists, plus EHS and OHS candidates.
• Information technology: .NET developers, project mangers, ICT professionals and business analysts.
• Legal: mid-level lawyers in corporate, banking and financial services. In private practice, competition lawyers are in high demand, while there's a general shortage at the mid level across all disciplines. Energy and Resources lawyers are in particular demand in Queensland and Western Australia.
• Office support: receptionists and administrators; personal and executive assistants (particularly for the legal industry); medical secretaries and office managers are in demand.
• Procurement: contract managers, procurement managers, planning/forecasting analysis, vendor managers and category managers.
• Property: licensed practising valuers, commercial client-side project managers, property managers, lease administrators and senior valuers.
• Sales and marketing: Business development managers across all industries and experienced salespeople in the industrial and manufacturing industries in particular.
• Resources and mining: project managers, contracts administrators and managers; plus project controllers and study managers.

There are many advantages to working in Australia. Australian office and working life is similar to the UK, with the exception that some Australian workplaces are more relaxed in terms of working hours. UK nationals often comment on the general friendliness of working for businesses, while the Australian work/life balance is highly sought after all around the globe, with people believing they gain the ultimate lifestyle by working in Australia.

However, if you live in London, the chances are that you've worked with an Aussie at some point in your career to date, and consequently you may be aware that Australians are regarded highly for their hard-working ethic. This means that while there may be more flexibility regarding hours worked and work/life balance in Australian offices, a strong work ethic is expected by most employers.

Preparing for work

Before relocating to Australia, it's worth knowing what Australian employers look for in UK candidates. While they look for similar qualities at interview as in the UK, such as good communication skills, smart presentation and, above all, someone who will fit into their existing team and business culture, you need to do your research before committing to a move.

Each country has its own legislation, laws and market trends you need to be aware of. For example, feedback from employers interviewing UK accountants arriving in Australia for the first time shows that many are unable to demonstrate a knowledge of Australian taxation and relevant laws.

Many professional bodies also offer training or assistance in this area. For example, before emigrating, accountants can complete a conversion paper that will enable them to be recognised as a CPA (Certified Practising Accountants). This will help put them on a more equal footing with their Australian candidates.

Despite taking these preparatory steps, entering the local market can be challenging without work local experience. As a result, many UK candidates find it far easier to enter the local job market through contract roles. A successful temporary assignment gives you local experience while validating your skills and experience and demonstrating to local employers your ability and potential.

You should also be prepared for a settling-in process as you orientate yourself to the Australian culture. UK candidates often report surprise at small things, like bank charges for such services as ATM withdrawals, while rental accommodation is generally unfurnished, which is very different from the UK system. People obviously don't expect their life to be the same after an international relocation, but the small changes can be the most surprising.

Work visas

Of course, you need a visa to be eligible to work in Australia. There are several visa types available, which are dependent upon your skill set. You should visit www.immi.gov.au for full details, but for a general overview, the easiest option for those under the age of 31 is the 12-month working holiday visa. It costs approximately £150 and takes a period of approximately two weeks to process. However, this visa has some work restrictions, which mean you can only work for a period of six months with one employer, and then you must change employers.

The skilled migration visa is another popular option but it does exclude a high number of candidates as it operates via a points system for eligibility, based on the skill shortage list produced by the Australian government, and it works in line with the immigration department and DIMIA. This can be a lengthy process, taking anywhere between 12 to 18 months to process.

The other common visa option is the 457 Employer Business Sponsor, and this involves an Australian employer sponsoring an applicant to work for their business for a four-year period. This visa is highly sought after but, generally, Australian employers only go down this path for those areas where there are acute skill shortages, such as internal and eternal audit, SOX specialists, construction and property specialists and lawyers.