Entry Requirements | Police Members

Good Character and Reputation

Victoria Police as an employer has no tolerance for illicit or illegal drug use by an employee either in their work or private life. All applicants will be subject to random drug testing during the recruitment process.

Victoria Police conducts extensive background checks on Police Officer applicants during the selection process.
Your previous history will be continually checked and assessed. Failure to declare information may result in automatic cancellation of your application.

A copy of the Prior Offence History guidelines can be downloaded here. Prior Offence History Guidelines.

If you have any prior convictions, cautions, diversions, good behaviour bonds or excessive driving offences, then it is advisable that you submit a Voluntary Disclosure Form (VDF) prior to submitting an application to find out whether your prior history is likely to disqualify you from being considered for the role.

All offences, including those that were committed as a juvenile must be disclosed in your application.

Download the Voluntary Disclosure Form (VDF) here.

If you have any contact with police during the selection process, you must inform the Recruiting Services Branch immediately via e-mail: recruitingservices@police.vic.gov.au.

Education

If you are under 21 years of age, you must have completed your Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) or equivalent (Senior Level Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) is accepted).

If you are 21 or older, you are not required to have completed a VCE or equivalent to be eligible to apply.

There are no pre-requisite subjects and no Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR) requirements.

Citizenship

The Victoria Police Act 2013 stipulates that you must be an Australian Citizen or hold Australian permanent residency to join Victoria Police.

New Zealand Citizens are required to have a Special Category Visa and be residing in Australia to submit an application.

On application to Victoria Police, you are obliged to provide proof of citizenship, permanent residency or special category visa status.

Fitness

As a Police Officer, you will be required to maintain a healthy level of cardio fitness and physical strength in order to meet the physical requirements of the job.

As part of the recruitment process, you will be required to undertake a fitness test and once employed with Victoria Police you will be required to undertake regular fitness testing.

Therefore, it is important to establish an ongoing schedule of exercise to maintain your fitness whilst undertaking the application process and while you are employed by Victoria Police.

Please note: the following video does not contain the swimming component required.

Click here to see what's involved in the fitness testing.

Download a copy of the Fitness Test Prep Guide.

Licence

To apply for a Police Officer position you must have an Australian driver’s licence.

A probationary licence is acceptable.
A manual or automatic driver's licence is permitted.

First Aid

As a Police Officer, you will be required to have a current First Aid certificate whilst undertaking your training and while you are deployed in the field.

Therefore, prior to induction, applicants must have obtained a Level 1 First Aid Certificate with CPR.

This certificate needs to be valid at the time of training and for a further 12 months after the completion of your training.

Renewal of the CPR component of the First Aid Certificate will be required on a cyclical basis.

All costs associated with obtaining First Aid Certification will be incurred by the applicant.

Medical

As a Police Officer, you will be required to meet the minimum medical requirements in order to safely and effectively perform the role.

As part of your application, you will be required to undertake a medical evaluation. This will include a self-assessment, an examination by a GP, a review of your hearing by an Audiologist or Audiometrist and your vision by an Ophthalmologist or Optometrist.

You may also be requested to provide specialist reports depending on your medical history.

If you have any concerns regarding your eligibility based on a medical condition, please consult the medical guidelines in the first instance and if your question is still unanswered, please complete the Preliminary Medical Enquiry Form.
A copy of the medical FAQs can be found here.

Failure to completely disclose information will result in the cancellation of your application.

Communication

As a Police Officer, you will be expected to communicate clearly, effectively and professionally and negotiate confidently.

One of the fundamental skills a Police Officer requires is the ability to communicate effectively. It is critical that our members have the ability to give and receive verbal information in sometimes stressful situations. If an applicant is identified during the process as having a possible issue in this area, they are given the opportunity to participate in a process to assess their level of verbal communication skills in the context of operational suitability and safety.

Your communication skills, verbal and written, will be assessed at various stages of the recruitment process.

Applicants who are deemed not competent are advised to expose themselves to as many situations as possible which will develop their communication skills to a level that will see them succeed in any subsequent attempt at the recruiting process.

Associations

During the selection process you will be asked to declare associations. An inappropriate association is an association with a person or organisation suspected of, or known to be engaged in, or have a history of, unlawful activity. These associations will reflect on community perceptions of your integrity and ability to use authority with integrity. They may also put you in a position where associates attempt to ask you to forgo your duty or otherwise compromise your integrity as an employee of Victoria Police.

It is important that Victoria Police are aware of any association or potential conflict of interest which may compromise you or reflect adversely on the organisation. These could be family, friends, members of recreational clubs or other people you associate with. During the application you will be required to declare these. In some cases a management plan may be put in place, in others the association should be terminated. Failure to disclose any information in the applicant process may result in your application not proceeding or subject you to termination of employment.