Australia is home to your future workforce.
We are a diverse and egalitarian society. It creates a talent pool with a breadth of experience and perspectives.
We have an excellent education system, quality research institutions driving cutting-edge thinking, and specialised training services. Our greatest asset is our people.
Here, you can choose your workers from a pool of highly skilled, digital-savvy, culturally sensitive and multilingual talent.
A magnet for global talent
Highly skilled and talented people want to work in Australia. Global rankings show we are one of the world’s most desirable places to work. This is because of our quality job opportunities, future prospects, quality of life and inclusiveness (OECD Indicators of Talent Attractiveness, 2023).
- Highly educated workers rank us as the 4th most desirable working location in the world (OECD Indicators of Talent Attractiveness, 2023).
- We rank 1st as the most desired working location in our region and 3rd globally (Boston Consulting Group, Decoding Global Talent, 2023).
Australia’s highly educated workforce
Our world-leading educational institutions create a pipeline of new talent and ideas.
- We are equal 1st in the OECD for the highest average number of years of education per person (OECD Better Life Index 2023).
- We rank 2nd in the OECD for education overall, based on participation and performance (OECD Better Life Index 2023).
- 48% of Australia’s workforce aged 15 to 74 years has a tertiary qualification (Australian Bureau of Statistics, Education and Work, 2022).
- Australia ranks 2nd in our region and 9th globally for talent competitiveness (INSEAD Global Talent Competitive Index 2022).
- Australia invests in education, ranking 4th in the OECD for the share of our capital expenditure on tertiary education (OECD, Education GPS, 2022).
Diversity of ideas
Australia’s cultural diversity is one of our greatest assets. Our economy is strengthened by the different perspectives, knowledge, language skills, and networks of our diverse workforce. Knowledge of overseas markets helps Australian businesses to expand.
We owe our accomplishments as a nation to the contributions of more than 300 different ancestries – from the First Australians to the newest arrivals.
- Around 29% of our population was born overseas (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2022). Australia has the 2nd highest proportion of our population born overseas in the OECD (OECD data, 2023).
- Almost one quarter of people in Australia use a language other than English at home (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2022). The most common languages are Mandarin, Arabic, Vietnamese, Cantonese, and Punjabi.
- Australia’s population-wide support for multiculturalism is high and growing. Almost 9 in 10 Australians agree that immigrants are good for Australia (Scanlon Institute, Mapping Social Cohesion, 2022).
- Australia welcomes those who have migrated here. More than 8 in 10 Australians have two or more people in their “close circle of friends” who come from national, ethnic, or religious backgrounds different to their own (Scanlon Institute. Mapping Social Cohesion, 2022).
Supporting women’s economic participation
In Australia, we believe strongly in equality of opportunity for all.
We’ve got a long history of being progressive on women’s rights – Australia was the first country in the modern world to give women the right to vote and stand for election to a national Parliament. Today, the Australian Government is committed to gender equality and is working towards increasing the number of women in visible leadership and decision-making positions.
- The World Bank ranks us 2nd in our region and in the top 20 globally in its Women, Business and the Law 2023 report. The index measures laws that affect women’s economic opportunity.
- We’re 3rd in our region for overall gender parity (World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2023).
- Equal 1st in the world for gender parity amongst professional and technical workers.
- Equal 1st in the world for gender parity in enrolment in tertiary education.
Australia offers a number of grants and incentives specifically targeting women:
- The Office for Women administers the Women’s Leadership and Development Program to fund and deliver a range of projects for Australian women. This includes the Future Female Entrepreneurs Program (FFEP), an innovative entrepreneurship program. It is free to all young women in Australia between the ages of 10 and 24 years.
- The Boosting Female Founders Initiative offers grants between $25,000 and $480,000 for start-ups founded by women to expand into domestic and global markets.
- The SheDares initiative offers a free online learning experience that equips women to pivot into the tech industry. It’s also connecting talented women from overseas with exciting opportunities in Australia’s fast-growing tech sector.
- You can search for other government grants and programs across Australia in the Grants and programs finder.
Support to relocate
Australia offers support for high-value businesses and entrepreneurs to expand to Australia.
Austrade is here to smooth the way for anyone who meets our eligibility criteria through tailored advice on relocating, premium visas and tax and regulatory guidance. We can connect you to valuable government, industry, and professional networks.
No worries, we’re happy!
Australia is the 2nd happiest country in our region (World Happiness Report, 2023). We enjoy economic and social freedom, we have trust in our government and we value equality. We have the world's 2nd highest median wealth per adult (Global Wealth Report 2023, Credit Suisse). We’re 7th overall for the OECD’s Better Life Index and 1st in our region. Our great lifestyle and positive spirit are the reasons why global companies who want to relocate employees and families into the Asia-Pacific region choose Australia.