Career situations
How to list contract and freelance work on your resume
Label and group contracts, agency assignments and freelance work so the reader sees continuity.
Contract, temporary, agency and freelance work are common in Australia, especially in IT, government, construction and professional services. A resume full of short roles can look unsettled unless it is laid out so the reader sees a pattern rather than a list of departures.
Know which kind of work it was
Describe the arrangement accurately. The Fair Work Ombudsman's independent contractors page explains that contractors provide services to a business rather than being employed by it, usually negotiate their own fees and can work for more than one client. Its casual employees page explains that a casual employee has no firm advance commitment to ongoing work.
| Arrangement | How to list it | Example heading line |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed-term contract with one employer | Like a job, with "(Contract)" after the title | Business Analyst (Contract), Example Health, Sydney NSW · Jan – Dec 2025 |
| Several assignments through one agency | Agency as the employer, assignments as sub-entries | Temporary Administration Officer, Example Recruitment · Mar 2024 – Jun 2025 |
| Independent contractor or freelancer (ABN) | Your business name or "Freelance", then key clients or projects | Freelance UX Designer, Example Studio (sole trader) · 2022 – present |
| Casual employment | Like a job; "Casual" is optional | Retail Assistant (Casual), Example Stores · Feb 2023 – present |
| Contract extended or converted to permanent | One entry, note the change | Project Officer, Example Council · Contract Jul 2024, permanent from Jan 2025 |
Group short assignments
If you completed several short placements through the same agency, list the agency once with the full date range, then two or three of the most relevant assignments as bullets. This shows continuous work and keeps the resume to a sensible length.
Freelance work: show clients and outcomes
For freelance or consulting work, name the client where you are allowed to. If you cannot, describe the client by type and size: "a national retailer with 200 stores". Then give results, as you would for any role.
A worked example
Fictional applicant Ben Carter is an IT project contractor applying for a permanent role. His experience section starts:
Project Manager (Contract), Example Department, Canberra ACT · Feb 2025 – Aug 2026
- Led the move of 1,200 staff to a new case management system across three sites.
- Kept the project within its approved budget and delivered two months after an initial delay caused by vendor changes.
Project Coordinator (Contract), through Example Recruitment · Jan 2022 – Dec 2024
- Example Bank (Jan 2022 – Jun 2023): coordinated testing for a payments platform upgrade.
- Example Insurance (Jul 2023 – Dec 2024): ran the project office for a 40-person claims system program.
Two clear headings cover nearly five years of work.
Explaining contracts in an application
If you are moving from contracting to a permanent role, one sentence in your cover letter is enough: "I have worked on fixed-term contracts for the past four years and I am now looking for a permanent role where I can see projects through after delivery." See our Australian cover letter format guide.
Questions about contract work on a resume
Do lots of short contracts look like job hopping?
Not when they are labelled as contracts. Recruiters in contract-heavy fields understand fixed terms. The label is what prevents the misunderstanding.
Should I give the reason each contract ended?
Not on the resume. If asked, "the contract finished as planned" is a complete answer.
Can I name clients from freelance work covered by confidentiality?
Follow your agreement. Describe the client by industry and size instead, and keep results general enough not to identify them.
My resume is now too long. What can I cut?
Summarise older contracts in one line each and keep detail for the last five years. See how long a resume should be.
OfferUnderway
Tailor each application quickly
Keep all your contracts in one record and choose the most relevant for each job.
See multiple resumes explained