Key points:
- The share of Australian job postings that mentioned relaxed dress standards reached 0.41% in the June quarter, up considerably in recent years.
- Employers in the ACT and Queensland are the most likely to spruik their casual dress policies.
- The insurance category is the most likely to mention casual dress standards, ahead of legal, accounting and data & analytics.
While thongs, gym gear and shorts might still be off-limits (unless you’re working from home), many Australian workplaces have loosened their dress codes in recent years, favouring casual or smart-casual attire over the traditional suit-and-tie.
For employers, dress policies can send a clear message to job seekers about company culture and work environment, often crucial for standing out in a competitive job market.
Indeed job postings data reveals that relaxed dress codes are becoming more common across Australia. These trends are also observed nationally, regionally and across most occupational categories. Though initially triggered by the pandemic, these generational shifts within the workplace may lead to more persistent change.
Dressing down is increasingly popular among Australian employers
In the June quarter 2025, 0.41% of Australian job postings mentioned relaxed dress standards in their job descriptions, using terms such as ‘casual dress’, ‘smart casual’ or ‘dress for your day’. Aside from a short-lived dip last year, mentions have generally trended upwards over the past seven years.
Although that figure might seem low, many employers — particularly in healthcare, retail and the trades — require uniforms or enforce strict dress codes, limiting the scope for individual expression.
While the pandemic likely triggered the initial shift in workplace dress standards, broader social and cultural changes have sustained it, including:
- Remote work — Blurred the line between the home and the workplace, and enabled flexible dress standards (dress up for meetings with clients or key stakeholders and dress down otherwise).
- Millennials and Generation Z — The two largest generations in Australia have different style preferences and expectations, and many are now in positions of power or influence.
- Tech sector culture — Often resistant to traditional office norms, which may have influenced other industries, helping to normalise relaxed dress. Dressed-down tech entrepreneurs perhaps severed the link between clothing and professionalism.
Casual dress mentions are around 3.2 times more common in high-remote occupations — those where ‘remote work’ or ‘work from home’ is referenced in more than 20% of occupation postings — than in medium-remote occupations (remote share between 10 to 20%). Casual dress policies are exceedingly rare in low-remote occupations.
Queensland and the ACT lead the way
While the federal government and the Australian Public Service aren’t renowned for being trendy or relaxed, many employers in the ACT are seemingly happy to defy the capital’s reputation.
In the June quarter, 0.9% of ACT job postings mention casual dress in their job descriptions — well above any other state or territory. Queensland ranked second at 0.5% of postings, fitting given the Sunshine State’s easygoing reputation. New South Wales also posted a 0.5% share.
At the other end of the scale, employers in the Northern Territory were the least likely to spruik their casual dress policies. In fact, in the June quarter, there wasn’t a single employer mentioning casual dress. Though to be fair, in that case, it’s so hot and humid that casual attire perhaps goes without saying (anyone wearing a suit-and-tie up north has quickly come to regret their decision and paid a hefty dry cleaning bill for their troubles).
Insurance, legal and accounting most likely occupations to have casual dress policies
Insurance stands out for its relaxed dress standards. In the June quarter, 11.6% of insurance postings referred to casual dress — about 8 percentage points higher than any other occupation group. Insurance is one of Australia’s smallest occupational categories, with the national trend driven by a handful of larger employers that favour casual dress policies.
Interestingly, casual dress appears more common in what might be considered traditionally conservative or stuffy jobs, such as those in legal (3.6% of postings), accounting (2.9%) and banking & finance (1.8%). This may reflect a recent cultural shift in these sectors.
Less surprising was the prominence of tech occupations such as data & analytics (1.9%), IT systems & solutions (1.1% and IT infrastructure, operations & support (0.9%). In these areas, casual dress may be so entrenched in industry culture that it no longer needs to be stated in job advertisements.
Conclusion
The pandemic reshaped how Australians work, impacting expectations not only about where and how we work, but also about what we wear.
Indeed data shows a growing share of employers promoting lower dress standards. This is observed nationally, regionally, across different occupations, and globally. Attitudes are more relaxed and less conservative or formal, potentially reflecting the growing influence of Millennials and Gen Z in the workplace.
As these younger generations find themselves in positions of power or influence, workplaces will increasingly reflect their values. Consequently, while the pandemic may have triggered the shift to more relaxed dress standards, generational differences may prove to be why these trends persist, even if employers successfully convince workers to return to the office.
Methodology
We identify job postings as referencing casual dress if they include general phrases such as ‘casual dress’, ‘smart casual’ or ‘dress for your day’. Twenty-six unique keywords / phrases were used to isolate casual dress job postings.
The classification of occupations into low-, middle- or high-remote was based on the occupation group’s remote posting share in 2024. High-remote includes occupations where the remote posting share exceeded 20%, while low-remote are those where the share is below 10%.
The analysis of population generations defines each generation as follows:
- Silent generation: 1928 – 1945
- Baby boomers: 1946 – 1964
- Generation X: 1965 – 1979
- Millennials: 1980 – 1994
- Generation Z: 1995 – 2009
