Not to bring any bad vibes but I would just like to share my experience in job-hunting here.
I am an ECE who shifted to IT back there in the Phil, about 5 years in semicon and 4 years in IT as Test Analyst.
Coming here (Sydney), I mostly applied for IT positions (Tester, Test Analyst) and unfortunately for about 50 applications (direct and agencies), no one entertained me for any interview (agencies do but I never reached a client interview). You might say I was too picky and that I should have applied for more advertised positions but no I was not. I tailor-fitted my CV to every vacant position that was advertised. You might say, maybe I don't have enough qualifications; maybe true but there were positions where I felt that I met all of the requirements. I have experience in both Waterfall and Agile SDLC, Manual and Automated Testing.
However, through a lot of prayers and some luck I managed to land 2 interviews. I have a workmate back there in the Phil who immigrated here before me and he recommended me to his boss. Luckily, a project that I did in the past is needed in their current company and so I had a strong chance of landing the job. The other interview was because I got referred by someone from an extended family. One of these applications is in the final stages already so I must say I am blessed. This, by the way, is after 1.5 months of applying.
If you happen to read the experiences of our kababayans in philippines.com.au, they shared the same experience. I also noticed a trend that when someone gets here in AU, they tend to lie-low in the forums (mostly philippines.com.au) when compared to how active they were before coming here 🙂>- . So I guess, we are having the same experience in job-hunting.
In conclusion, as per my experience applying as a Test Analyst, I must say that one would be extremely lucky if he/she happens to land an employer interview after an online application. What worked for me was that I got referred by people I know or worked with from the past. But maybe, it would depend on your specialty like that of sohc who is a SysAd and who is so blessed in his job-hunting. Maybe, it also depends on what state you are in. But I must say job-hunting here is tough and one must be ready and patient when coming here.