Australian university graduates face markedly different employment outcomes depending on their field of study. According to the 2025 Graduate Outcomes Survey (GOS) released by the Department of Education in January 2026, the overall full-time employment rate for domestic bachelor degree graduates within four months of completing their course was 79.3%. Medicine, pharmacy, and rehabilitation topped the list at 92-97%, while creative arts and communications graduates recorded 52-62% full-time employment. Median starting salaries ranged from AUD 65,000 (pharmacy) to AUD 94,000 (dentistry). This article breaks down the data by field.
Top Fields: Medicine, Engineering, IT
Medicine graduates reported a 97.2% full-time employment rate within four months, the highest of any field. Median starting salary: AUD 83,000. Dentistry followed with a 95.6% employment rate and the highest median salary of AUD 94,000. Engineering graduates (all disciplines) recorded 87.1% employment with a median of AUD 72,000, rising to AUD 78,000 for mining engineering. IT graduates reported 81.5% employment with a median of AUD 68,000, with software engineering graduates at AUD 73,000. These four fields employ approximately 38% of all graduates but account for over 50% of total graduate earnings in the first year.
Mid-Range Fields: Business, Law, Education
Business and commerce graduates reported 76.3% full-time employment with a median salary of AUD 62,000, though outcomes varied widely by major: accounting (82%, AUD 61,000) and actuarial studies (91%, AUD 75,000) outperformed general business (72%, AUD 58,000). Law graduates recorded 78.5% employment; however, the GOS counts law graduates employed in any role, not only as practising lawyers — the actual rate of law graduates entering legal practice is approximately 55%. Education graduates (early childhood, primary, secondary) reported 83.4% employment with a median of AUD 71,000, and demand remains strong across all states.
Lower-Ranked Fields: Humanities, Arts, Science
Communications and journalism graduates reported 61.7% full-time employment with a median salary of AUD 55,000. Creative arts (visual arts, performing arts, music) recorded the lowest rate at 52.2% and a median of AUD 49,000. Science graduates (pure sciences — biology, chemistry, physics) reported 65.3% employment with a median of AUD 60,000; however, science graduates who completed a subsequent postgraduate qualification (Honours, Masters, PhD) saw employment rates rise to 78-85%. The message for science students is that the bachelor degree alone is often insufficient for career entry.
International Graduates: Additional Challenges
International students who complete Australian degrees and remain in Australia on post-study work visas (Subclass 485) face lower employment rates than their domestic counterparts. The 2025 GOS International survey reported a 62.8% full-time employment rate for international bachelor graduates, rising to 71.3% for Masters by coursework graduates. Key barriers include employer preference for permanent residency holders, English language expectations in client-facing roles, and limited local professional networks. However, international graduates in health, IT, and engineering fields report employment rates within 8-12 percentage points of domestic graduates — significantly better than business and arts.
What Employers Actually Look For
The National Employer Survey 2025 (released alongside the GOS) asked 3,200 Australian employers what they value in graduate hires. The top five attributes: communication skills (cited by 78% of employers), teamwork (71%), problem-solving (67%), relevant work experience (64%), and technical skills specific to the role (62%). Only 28% of employers cited the university’s prestige as a deciding factor. This data confirms that internships, part-time work in the field, and extra-curricular project experience substantially influence graduate employability, sometimes outweighing which university the degree came from.
FAQ
Q: Which Australian university has the best graduate employment rate? A: The GOS does not rank universities by employment rate, as outcomes are more strongly correlated with field of study than with institution. However, universities with strong co-op and internship programs (UTS, RMIT, Wollongong, QUT) tend to outperform on the “relevant work experience” employer criterion.
Q: What is the difference between GOS and QILT? A: GOS (Graduate Outcomes Survey) is a component of QILT (Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching). QILT also includes the Student Experience Survey and Employer Satisfaction Survey. All three are government-funded and published on the ComparED website.
Q: Are Masters graduates paid more than Bachelor graduates? A: On average, Masters by coursework graduates earn a median of AUD 82,000 versus AUD 68,000 for Bachelor graduates. However, most of this premium is explained by the fields that attract Masters students (engineering, IT, business) and their prior work experience, not the qualification level alone.
Q: How early should I start applying for graduate jobs? A: Graduate recruitment cycles in Australia begin in February-March each year for positions starting in January-February the following year. Penultimate-year students should apply for internships (which convert to graduate offers at a rate of approximately 60%).