Work In Australia

If you're a foreign national looking to work in Australia, you must apply for either a temporary or permanent visa. Australia only admits around 120,000 migrants per year on average, but you can increase your chances of success by agreeing to live in an underpopulated Australian territory. Another way to qualify is to get married or engaged to an Australian or New Zealand citizen.

If you get fired from your job while working on an Australian visa, you have options to stay in the country. For one, you can apply for temporary visa status, which will entitle you to remain for a period of up to two years. If you're seeking refuge from a humanitarian crisis, you may qualify for a humanitarian visa, although this, too, is generally a stopgap solution. Indeed, the Australian immigration service will likely seek to place you in a third country.

The Work Situation in Australia

Australian labor laws have come a long way since the early 1900s. Back then, Australia was very much a frontier land. The colonists and aboriginals fought wars which ultimately decimated the native population. In the wake of those wars, however, Australia reforged itself as a land of consensus, dominated by the rule of law and by respect of the rights of the downtrodden.

Australia's working-class today enjoys great health and social benefits. The culture celebrates hard work, and outback life is romanticized. Of course, labor advocates point to statistics which suggest that there is a growing disparity between the working-class poor and the urban middle class. However, other lifestyle indicators suggest that, on the whole, life for all Australian citizens has improved significantly over the past 10 years.