Top 5 Resume Formatting Mistakes That Break Australian ATS Parsing

You’ve spent hours perfecting your bullet points, tailoring your professional summary, and highlighting your best achievements. But if your resume format breaks the Applicant Tracking System (ATS), human recruiters might never see your hard work.

In the Australian job market of 2026, most mid-to-large companies and recruitment agencies use software like PageUp, LiveHire, or Greenhouse to parse and filter incoming applications. These systems are highly effective at reading clean text, but they can easily get confused by complex formatting.

Here are the top five formatting mistakes that disrupt ATS parsing—and how to fix them so your resume makes it to the recruiter's desk.

1. Using Complex Tables and Columns

While two-column layouts and tables might look visually appealing to a human, they are a nightmare for an ATS. Most older and even some modern ATS parsers read text strictly from left to right, top to bottom. If you use a table to present your skills or a two-column design to fit more information, the ATS will mash the text together, creating a jumbled, unreadable mess.

The Fix: Stick to a single-column layout. Use standard bullet points to list your skills and achievements linearly. If you want a visually distinct section, use simple spacing and clear headings rather than structural columns.

2. Relying on Headers and Footers for Contact Information

It’s common practice to put your name, phone number, and email address in the header or footer of a Word document to save space. However, many ATS algorithms are programmed to skip headers and footers entirely when extracting text. If your contact details are trapped up there, your parsed profile might be created without a way for the employer to reach you.

The Fix: Place your contact information at the very top of the main body of the document. Ensure your email address and LinkedIn URL are clearly visible in the standard text flow.

3. Using Unconventional Section Titles

An ATS relies on standard keywords to categorise the information in your resume into the correct database fields (e.g., matching your past jobs to the "Work Experience" field). If you use creative but non-standard section headings like "Professional Journey," "My Career Story," or "What I Bring to the Table," the ATS might not recognise it, dumping your valuable experience into an unassigned data block.

The Fix: Stick to the classics. Use standard, universally recognised headings like "Work Experience," "Education," "Skills," and "Professional Summary."

4. Including Images, Graphics, and Charts

You might be tempted to include a pie chart of your skills or a sleek graphic representing your proficiency in various software. ATS parsers cannot "read" images. To the software, a chart is just a blank space. Any text or information embedded in a graphic will be completely lost.

The Fix: Describe your skills using text and quantify your achievements with numbers and percentages in your bullet points. If you are applying for a creative role in design, submit an ATS-friendly text resume and provide a link to your online portfolio for the visual flair.

5. Saving in the Wrong File Format

Even if your formatting is pristine, submitting your resume in an unsupported file type can lead to instant rejection or parsing failure. While PDFs are generally great for preserving layout and are accepted by most modern systems, some older ATS platforms in Australia still struggle to parse them correctly, preferring Microsoft Word documents (.docx).

The Fix: Always read the job application instructions carefully. If the system specifically requests a .doc or .docx file, provide it. If both are accepted or if no preference is stated, a clean, text-based PDF is usually the safest bet to ensure your formatting doesn't shift across different devices.