Australia is one of the most multicultural nations in the world. Yet if you have moved here from another country and tried to find work, you may have felt that the job market wasn’t quite as welcoming as you expected. I have lived that exact journey.
As part of my Master of Human Resource Management at Griffith University, I researched the specific challenges that Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) professionals face during the recruitment and selection process in Australia.
What does CALD mean?
CALD stands for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse, a term used in Australia to describe people from backgrounds other than English-speaking conventional culture. It includes a wide range of factors: ethnicity, language, religion, cultural practices, and more.
Diversity itself is a broad concept. Loden and Rosener (1990) define diversity in the workplace by differentiating between two dimensions: primary characteristics such as age, ethnicity, gender, physical abilities, race, and sexual orientation, and secondary characteristics including education, geographic location, income level, marital status, military experience, parental status, religious beliefs, and work experience. When we talk about discrimination in hiring, it can operate across any of these dimensions and often in combination.
Strong laws, but still a tough market
Australia’s equal opportunity framework is genuinely robust. The Racial Discrimination Act 1975 and the Fair Work Act 2009 provide legal protection against discrimination based on cultural or linguistic background. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) legislation requires that hiring decisions be based on merit and job-related skills.
But here’s the reality: legislation sets boundaries, yet organisations still retain the freedom to choose who they hire (Farndale et al., 2018). And while explicit racism is less common today, bias in hiring often operates in subtle, harder-to-prove ways, with serious consequences for the people on the receiving end (Combs et al., 2018).
1. Your overseas experience may be undervalued
Employers sometimes question whether international experience is applicable locally, even when skills are directly transferable (Baker et al., 2021). This is particularly challenging for professionals from countries where vocational training is highly regarded (for example Germany and Switzerland). While attitudes are evolving, Australia still places significant weight on university degrees over other qualifications in the hiring process (Farndale et al., 2018), and this is especially relevant in corporate and professional roles.
2. Linguistic racism
Research has identified a growing phenomenon called linguistic racism, discrimination based on someone’s language background (Tankosić & Dovchin, 2023). This can become particularly pronounced during job interviews, where speaking reveals that a candidate’s first language isn’t English. Even when language proficiency is not actually an issue, accents and communication styles can lead to bias. Studies show that accents can unconsciously affect how interviewers perceive a candidate’s intelligence and capability, with non-native accents sometimes framed as “imperfect” English, disadvantaging candidates regardless of their actual competence (Souza et al., 2016).
3. Stereotypes based on cultural or religious background
Assumptions about cultural background can influence hiring decisions in ways candidates never hear about, including assumptions about work ethic or workplace compatibility (Stone, 2013). Visible religious practices such as attire, dietary restrictions, or observing holidays can also be misread as incompatible with the workplace environment.
4. The intersectionality factor
Discrimination rarely operates along just one dimension. Pullen et al. (2021) describe intersectionality as the way multiple personal attributes can combine to multiply disadvantage – being a woman from a non-English-speaking background, for example, or a person of colour with an international qualification.
5. Visa status factor
Even before skills and experience are assessed, visa requirements can shut doors. The cost, paperwork, and justification required to sponsor a migrant worker often discourages employers (particularly smaller businesses) from considering international candidates at all. This is why many new migrants start with student or working holiday visas to build local experience and improve their chances of sponsorship down the line. High-demand roles in shortage occupations are generally exempt from this.
How to overcome these barriers
Understanding that these barriers exist is the first step. The second is knowing how to navigate them, and that’s where having the right support makes all the difference.
I have been in your shoes. I moved to Australia as an international, built my career here and learned what works and what doesn’t. That lived experience, combined with a decade in HR and recruitment on the other side of the hiring table, gives me a perspective that’s hard to find elsewhere and puts me in a position to help you.
The good news is that these barriers, while real, can be overcome. There are strategies, tools, and ways of addressing your job search and presenting yourself that can genuinely shift the outcome. If you are an international professional navigating the Australian job market, let’s talk. Book a free 15-minute consultation here and let’s explore what’s possible for you.
References
Australian HR Institute (2023, February 23).The state of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Australian Workplaces. DEI-Report-2023.pdf (ahri.com.au)
Becca Carnahan & Christopher Moore (2023, June 16). Actively Addressing Unconscious Bias in Recruiting. Harvard Business School Online’s Business Insights Blog, Actively Addressing Unconscious Bias in Recruiting – Recruiting – Harvard Business School (hbs.edu)
Baker, S., Due, C., & Rose, M. (2021). Transitions from education to employment for culturally and linguistically diverse migrants and refugees in settlement contexts: what do we know? Studies in Continuing Education, 43(1), 1–15.
Combs, G., Haq, R., Klarsfeld, A., Susaeta, L., & Suarez, E. (2018). “Chapter 16 Comparative perspectives on diversity and equality: the challenges of gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, and religion”. In Handbook of Research on Comparative Human Resource Management. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Compton, Robert; Morrissey, William J & Nankervis , Alan R (2009) Effective recruitment and selection practices. 5th Ed. North Ryde, N. S. W. : CCH Australia. Ch. 10. Legislation and legal issues affecting recruitment, pp. 153-181.
Farndale, E., Nikandrou, I., & Panayotopoulou, L. (2018). Chapter 7 Recruitment and selection in context. In Handbook of Research on Comparative Human Resource Management. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Pellecchia, R. (2019). Diversity and inclusion: corporate communications advances the practice. Journal of Business Strategy, 40(6), 16–22.
Phillips, J. M., & Gully, S. M. (2015). Strategic staffing (3rd global). Pearson Education.
Pullen, A., Rhodes, C., McEwen, C., & Liu, H. (2021). Radical politics, intersectionality and leadership for diversity in organizations. Management Decision, 59(11), 2553–2566.
Souza, L. E. C., Pereira, C. R., Camino, L., Lima, T. J. S., & Torres, A. R. R. (2016). The legitimizing role of accent on discrimination against immigrants. European Journal of Social Psychology, 46(5), 609–620.
Stone, R. J. (2013). Managing human resources (4th ed.). John Wiley and Sons.
Tankosić, A., & Dovchin, S. (2023). (C)overt linguistic racism: Eastern-European background immigrant women in the Australian workplace. Ethnicities, 23(5), 726–757.
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