Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander police pathways
every dedicated program, force by force

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can join any Australian police force through the standard recruitment process. Alongside that, several forces run dedicated programs. They fall into three broad groups, and it helps to know which is which before you apply.

The NT's Aboriginal Community Police Officer is the only dedicated sworn role we found. Preparation programs, such as Queensland's First Nations Recruit Preparation Pathway and IPROWD in NSW, help you through selection into standard recruit training. Liaison officers build links between police and communities, and most are not sworn police.

This table lists every dedicated program and role we found, by force. The sections below explain each one.

Aboriginal Community Police Officers (ACPOs) are uniformed, sworn officers of the NT Police Force. They liaise with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and enforce NT law. The role is open only to applicants of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent.

Training is 24 weeks, full time and paid, at the NT Police College (Peter McAulay Centre) in Berrimah, followed by 12 months' probation. Graduates receive a Certificate III in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Community Policing. ACPOs received a 5% structural pay rise in year one of the 2025 agreement.

For comparison, an NT Constable in their first year earns $87,005 base. The NT also offers recruits relocation help of up to $20,000 and either barracks, departmental housing or a housing allowance. See our NT police salary guide for every rank.

Aboriginal Liaison Officers

The NT also employs Aboriginal Liaison Officers (ALOs), a separate unsworn role. ALOs help police communicate with communities, help people use police services and support officers to police in a culturally appropriate way. An NT Police media release says ALO Squad 12 trained for 18 days in November 2024. We didn't find a published pay rate for ALOs.

From ACPO to constable

NT Police says it supports ACPOs who want to become constables. Historically, ACPOs could rise to Senior ACPO but had to wait for a transition squad, or resign and apply as a recruit, to go further. In June 2025, 17 ACPOs graduated into the constable stream alongside Constable Squad 158, which local media described as the first transition squad of its kind.

The ACPO role is a career in its own right, and in the NT it can also be a route to becoming a constable.

Read our guide to joining NT Police for the constable process, fitness test and postings.

WA Police's Aboriginal Pathways page lists four routes for Aboriginal people: police officer (28 weeks' paid training), Aboriginal Cadet, Custody Support Officer and Community Liaison Officer. It also describes an Aboriginal Employment Network, the Aboriginal Affairs Division, yarning circles at the Academy and a "Yarning App" for messages in Aboriginal languages.

The Aboriginal Police Liaison Officer (APLO) stream is set out in the WA Police Force Industrial Agreement 2024, with three classifications. These are the rates from 1 July 2026.

WA's current recruiting uses the title Community Liaison Officer (CLO): a non-frontline role building engagement between police, Aboriginal communities and stakeholders. Job adverts say applicants must be of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. We couldn't confirm whether CLOs are paid on the APLO scale. The Aboriginal Cadet Program is for people aged 17 to 25 on a 12-month contract that can be extended. See the WA joining guide.

IPROWD (Indigenous Police Recruitment Our Way Delivery) is run by TAFE NSW with NSW Police and the AFP. It prepares Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to apply for policing, and the AFP's information says it's open to people from any state or territory.

To apply, you need to be of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent, identify as such and be accepted or known by your community, be 18 or over at the start, hold or be able to get a driver licence, and pass police screening with no serious criminal or driving history. The course includes visits to the NSW Police Academy in Goulburn and the AFP College. ABSTUDY Away from Base can help cover costs for the flexible sites.

NSW Police also employs Aboriginal Community Liaison Officers (ACLOs), based in about 40 stations including Bourke, Moree, Redfern and Wilcannia. They advise police on Aboriginal issues and build partnerships. NSW Police describes an Aboriginal Employment and Engagement Team and an Aboriginal Employees Network in each region. See the NSW joining guide.

First Nations Recruit Preparation Pathway

This is a 6-week, full-time course at the QPS Academy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants, confirmed with a Confirmation of Aboriginality form. You can apply from 17.5 and must be 18 to 59 when it starts. Successful participants go straight into the next mainstream recruit intake. Applicants who don't pass the entrance test, panel interview or fitness test can still continue through this stream, but must then pass every assessment to the recruit standard.

First Nations Pathways to Policing

QPS, the Australian Border Force and the AFP also run a 24-week course at TAFE Queensland's Cairns campus, leading to a Certificate III in Vocational and Study Pathways for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander People. It can lead to appointment as a Police Liaison Officer.

Police Liaison Officers

Queensland's PLOs are unsworn QPS employees without law enforcement powers. The program began in 1988 with two officers in Townsville and Cairns. First Nations PLO adverts list the role at AO4 grade and state that being Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander is a genuine occupational requirement; training involves 2 weeks away from home with costs paid. See the Queensland joining guide.

Victoria Police

Victoria's 2024-25 annual report lists 17 Aboriginal Community Liaison Officer positions at 30 June 2025. ACLOs are public servants, not police, and the program came from recommendation 231 of the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. Victoria also has 275 Police Aboriginal Liaison Officers (PALOs), who are sworn officers. The report says 94% of police, PSOs and PCOs have completed Aboriginal cultural awareness training.

We didn't find a Victoria Police pre-recruitment program solely for Aboriginal applicants. A Diversity Recruitment Program with Jesuit Social Services and Victoria University runs for 15 weeks and is open to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and culturally diverse applicants.

South Australia Police

SAPOL's Community Constables provide specialist policing support to First Nations communities. Search summaries of SAPOL's page show pay from $86,126, six weeks' annual leave and paid training. SA Parliament heard in September 2024 that there were 46 community constable positions (16 metropolitan, 30 regional, 9 in the APY Lands), with 25 First Nations employees serving as community constables. The latest round closed on 11 September 2026, according to a job advert.

Australian Federal Police

First Nations Pathway Program: 12 months in Canberra from February in three non-policing rotations at Band 2.1, with a guaranteed job at the end and relocation help (requires NV1; not a sworn pathway). The program runs in Canberra, pays AFP Band 2.1 plus super, and needs Australian citizenship, the APS definition of First Nations heritage and the ability to get an NV1 clearance. Applications usually open in late April or May. The AFP also partners in IPROWD: 18 weeks full-time or 24 weeks flexible, preparing First Nations people from any state or territory to apply to the AFP or NSWPF.

ACT Policing has First Nations Liaison Officers in its Community Engagement Team, who attend the Galambany Circle Sentencing Court. We couldn't confirm whether these roles are sworn. See how to join the AFP.

Tasmania Police

Tasmania has a State Aboriginal Liaison Coordinator and a network of Aboriginal Liaison Officers. We found no dedicated Aboriginal recruitment pathway, and its Aboriginal Strategic Plan (2014–2022), which listed recruitment as a focus, doesn't appear to have been replaced publicly. Ask Tasmania Police Recruiting about support for First Nations applicants.

Several agreements include leave for cultural and ceremonial obligations. These come straight from the agreements and awards.

The right pathway depends on what you want to do. Sworn roles carry full police powers and the responsibilities that come with them. Liaison roles focus on relationships and communication, without the arrest powers and frontline demands.

Preparation programs such as IPROWD and Queensland's First Nations pathway are worth considering even if you'd meet the standard requirements, because they build confidence with the entrance test, fitness and interview in a supportive group.

Whichever pathway you choose, the core preparation is similar to standard recruitment.

1. 1

   Pick a pathway

   Decide between a sworn role, a preparation program or a liaison role, and check its next opening date.

2. 2

   Get your documents ready

   Confirmation of Aboriginality, licence, first aid and swimming certificates where needed, and school or trade records.

3. 3

   Start fitness training

   Most pathways include the force's fitness test. Build up to the beep test level with a margin.

4. 4

   Practise the tests

   Cognitive and literacy tests are part of most programs. Practise timed reasoning and writing.

5. 5

   Prepare for the interview

   Think of examples from your community, work and family life that show communication and integrity.

Check the other entry requirements in our eligibility guide, and see the fitness test guide for every force's standard.