What not to put on a resume in Australia or New Zealand: your photo, your date of birth or age, your passport or national ID number, your full home address, and personal details such as marital status, children, religion or health. Two kinds of official advice point the same way. Scam warnings say these details can be misused if your CV lands with the wrong person, and discrimination law says an employer should not be choosing on most of them anyway. Leave them off and use the space for skills, results and how to reach you.
This guide is for job seekers of every nationality applying to employers in Australia and New Zealand, whether you are already there or applying from overseas.
Two reasons to keep personal details off your CV
Reason 1: your CV travels further than you think
Once you send a CV, you cannot control who opens it next. Scamwatch, the Australian Government's scam advice service, advises never sending your passport or identity documents to an employer or recruitment firm unless you are certain they are genuine, and being careful about putting your physical address or date of birth in your resume. Its full list of warning signs is on the Scamwatch jobs and employment scams page.
Scamwatch also says not to trust a job ad just because it appears on a trusted platform or website, because scammers post fake ads too. A fake ad that collects CVs is collecting whatever you put on them. The less identity information a CV carries, the less a scammer can do with it.
Reason 2: most personal details should not affect the decision
Under the Fair Work Act, an employer can't take adverse action against an employee or a prospective employee for discriminatory reasons. Prospective employee means you, the applicant. Fair Work lists the protected attributes on its protection from discrimination page: race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, family or carer's responsibilities, pregnancy, religion, political opinion, national extraction, social origin, breastfeeding, gender identity, intersex status and experiencing family and domestic violence.
The Australian Human Rights Commission adds that a job ad may only mention personal characteristics such as age, sex or race if they are genuine requirements of the job. Fair Work says visa holders and migrant workers have the same workplace rights as all other employees, including protection from discrimination. If a detail should not decide who gets the job, there is little reason to volunteer it on page one.
What the New Zealand Government's careers service says
Tahatū Career Navigator, the New Zealand Government careers service run by the Tertiary Education Commission, gives the plainest advice. On its page about using AI to create a CV or cover letter, it says it is usually best not to add a photo or your age and date of birth.
The same page says recruiters can often spot an AI-generated CV, and AI results must be checked for errors and exaggerated claims. Many templates and AI tools add a photo box or a date of birth line by default: delete them before you export.
The personal details checklist: keep, cut or change
Go through your CV line by line. "Cut" does not mean secret forever: some details are needed after an offer.
| Detail | On your CV? | Why, and what to do instead |
|---|---|---|
| Photo | Cut | Tahatū says it is usually best not to add one. It shows race, age and sex, which are protected attributes in Australia. |
| Date of birth or age | Cut | Scamwatch says be careful about putting it on a resume; Tahatū says usually leave it off. Age is a protected attribute. |
| Passport, national ID or driver licence number | Cut | Identity numbers help a scammer pose as you. Send identity documents only once you are certain the employer is genuine. |
| Full street address | Change | Write the city and country only, for example "Manila, Philippines" or "Perth, WA". |
| Marital status, children, pregnancy | Cut | All protected attributes under the Fair Work Act. None of them show you can do the job. |
| Religion or political views | Cut | Protected attributes, unrelated to your skills. |
| Health, disability, sick leave taken | Cut | The Human Rights Commission says questions about past sick leave or health unrelated to the job may be unlawful. Do not answer them in advance. |
| Tax file number or IRD number | Cut | These are tax identifiers, not skills. They are paperwork for after you are hired. |
| Bank account details | Cut | New Zealand's National Cyber Security Centre says a genuine employer won't need them until you have accepted a job. |
| Name, phone, email, city | Keep | The employer needs these to contact you. Use one professional email address. |
| Work rights or visa need | Keep, one line | A short line such as "Seeking employer sponsorship" or "Full work rights in New Zealand" saves the employer a question. |
| Referees | Keep or change | Tahatū says include at least 2 if the ad asks for them, otherwise write "Referees available on request". |
For the rest of the document (length, layout, order of sections), our main guide on how to write a CV for Australia and New Zealand covers each point in turn.
Nationality and age: the habits from home
In many countries a CV with a photo, birth date and marital status is normal. You also do not need a "Nationality" line: your work history already says "Site Supervisor, Lagos, Nigeria" or "Electrician, Kochi, India", and the work rights line answers the visa question.
Age shows up in quieter ways too, such as jobs going back decades or a school leaving year. The Queensland Government advises a resume of 1-3 pages depending on how long you have been in the workforce, and Tahatū suggests 2 pages if you can, so older roles can shrink to one line each.
What to put in the space instead
Removing personal details frees up the top of your first page, the part a busy reader actually sees. Fill it with:
- A short summary: your occupation, experience and the job you want.
- Your licences, tickets and qualifications, with the issuing country.
- Two or three recent results in the ad's own words (Tahatū advises tailoring your CV to each job ad's keywords).
- Your contact details and work rights line.
If you want employers to see proof of your experience without packing your CV with documents, an optional, verified Talent Tabloid profile lets employers check your experience and can help your application stand out.
How to clean up your CV before you send it
- Search the file for numbers. Delete any passport, ID, licence, tax or bank number.
- Remove the photo and personal block, including lines the template added.
- Shorten your address to city and country (plus the state in Australia).
- Add one work rights line. Say whether you hold work rights or seek employer sponsorship.
- Check your referees. Name them only if the ad asks.
- Re-read anything AI wrote for errors, exaggerated claims and personal details that crept back in.
- Save it as a PDF with your name in the file name, then run through our job application checklist before you apply.
If you would rather start from a clean layout, Build AI CV can help you put together a plain CV without a photo or personal block. Check its draft the same way you would check any AI output.
Ready to use it? Browse current administration jobs or roles like this account manager job in Sydney, and read each listing's own requirements before you apply.
When an employer asks for personal details anyway
Identity documents before an offer
A request for your passport scan, bank details or a payment before an interview is a warning sign. Scamwatch also lists unexpected contact on WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram, a quick hiring process with no interview, and a "recruitment fee" before starting. If the offer pays you for simple online tasks and then asks you to top up an account, read our warning on how a task scam works.
If you have already sent documents to someone you now doubt, Scamwatch says IDCARE, Australia and New Zealand's national identity and cyber support service, can help you make a free plan on 1800 595 160.
Questions in the interview
The Human Rights Commission gives the example that if an interviewer asks whether a candidate has children and relies on the answer to refuse the job, the candidate could complain of discrimination based on parental status. Our guide to illegal interview questions in Australia covers how to answer politely and steer back to the job.
Checks after an offer
Some details are needed once a genuine offer exists, for example identity documents for a police check. An AFP National Police Certificate application needs identity documents worth at least 100 points in total, and you apply for it yourself. Our guide to the national police check for a job explains the process. That is the right point to share identity information: after an offer, with an employer you have checked, through an official process.
Common mistakes with personal details on a CV
- Keeping the photo because "everyone at home does it". Official advice in New Zealand says usually leave it out, and in Australia it puts protected attributes in front of the reader.
- Using a template that adds a personal section. Many do. Check the exported PDF, not just the editor.
- Putting the passport number on to "prove" you are ready to travel. A work rights line does that job without handing over an identity number.
- Sending identity scans with the first email. Scamwatch says send them only once you are certain the employer is genuine.
- Explaining health history or sick leave in advance. There is no need to raise what an employer may not lawfully ask.
Frequently asked questions
Should I put a photo on my CV in Australia?
Usually no. New Zealand's Tahatū says it is usually best not to add a photo, and in Australia a photo shows protected attributes such as race, age and sex. Add a photo only if a job ad clearly asks for one.
Do I need my date of birth on my resume?
No. Scamwatch says be careful about putting your date of birth in your resume, and Tahatū says it is usually best to leave out your age and date of birth. Age is also a protected attribute under the Fair Work Act.
Should I include my passport number when applying from overseas?
No. Scamwatch advises never sending your passport or identity documents unless you are certain the employer or recruitment firm is genuine. A short line about your work rights or your need for sponsorship gives the employer what it needs at this stage.
Can an employer ask about my marital status or children?
Marital status and family or carer's responsibilities are protected attributes under the Fair Work Act. The Human Rights Commission says a candidate refused a job because of their answer about children could complain of discrimination based on parental status.
What personal details should I keep on my CV?
Your name, phone number, one professional email address, your city and country, and a one-line work rights statement. Add referees only if the ad asks for them; otherwise write "Referees available on request".
Key takeaways
- Leave off your photo, date of birth, age, identity numbers and full address.
- Protected attributes such as marital status, children, religion and health do not belong on a CV.
- Keep your name, phone, email, city and a one-line work rights statement.
- Send identity documents only to employers you have confirmed are genuine, usually after an offer.
- Check AI and template drafts for personal blocks before you export the PDF.
