AFP Protective Service Officer
pay, training and how to get in

AFP Protective Service Officers are sworn members of the Australian Federal Police whose job is protection, not investigation. The AFP's role page lists the places PSOs protect: major airports, Parliament House in Canberra, Department of Defence sites across Australia and ANSTO, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation. PSOs are sworn officers and carry a firearm.

When it launched a PSO recruitment drive in December 2023, the AFP described PSOs as providing "an armed first-response capability" and highlighted knowing your shifts a year in advance. PSOs hold Use of Force certification, which is why they receive the same Use of Force allowance as AFP police, and the work is rostered shift work.

The AFP's PSO role page says it's currently recruiting in Canberra, Perth, Exmouth, Geraldton and Pine Gap, and its remote PSO page also mentions Alice Springs. Applications for locations that aren't a priority are put on hold, so where you're willing to work matters as much as how well you perform in selection.

PSOs and police go through the same eligibility rules, online tests, fitness test, health standards and vetting. The difference is the job you're selected for, the length of training and where you start on the pay scale.

If you want to investigate crime, police airports or do community policing in Canberra, apply for a police role. If you want shorter training, a protective security career and access to the highest-paid remote postings, the PSO role makes sense. Either way, read our full guide to joining the AFP.

PSO pay comes from Attachment A of the AFP Enterprise Agreement 2024-2027, which covers police, PSOs and unsworn staff on one scale. A new PSO starts at Band 2.1: $64,754 base, and stays there for at least 12 months, including training.

Once you work a rostered operations pattern, two additions apply. The 22% Core Composite replaces shift, weekend and public holiday penalties, and counts as salary for super. The Use of Force allowance is $3,500 a year if your certification is current. Together they turn $64,754 into the $82,499.88 the AFP advertises.

Shift extras sit on top: a night shift allowance of $9.88 an hour between midnight and 6am, and $5.01 an hour for weekend daytime hours. Overtime is paid at double the base hourly rate. Employer super is 15.4% of ordinary time earnings, which at Band 2.1 with the composite is about $12,166 a year by our calculation.

At remote Defence sites the AFP pays a Remote Defence Capability Payment and a Remote Localities Allowance on top of the standard package. These aren't enterprise agreement clauses: the Commissioner sets them, and the AFP publishes them on its PSO remote locations page.

On the Exmouth or Pine Gap package, take-home pay is about $3,977 a fortnight by our calculation. The agreement says the Remote Localities Allowance doesn't count as salary for super; the AFP doesn't say how the Remote Defence Capability Payment is treated, so ask before you rely on it for super.

A first-year PSO at Pine Gap is on a bigger package than a Band 5 AFP constable's base of $111,861.

What the money is paying for

Exmouth is a small town on the North West Cape of WA, and Pine Gap is a joint Defence facility near Alice Springs. You'll be a long way from family, with limited housing, health and schooling options and a hot climate. Before applying for a remote role, ask the AFP about housing, rotation length and leave travel, which we couldn't find published.

From 1 July 2025 the PSO broadband was expanded from Bands 2 to 3 to the full Bands 2 to 5, plus a Team Leader and Sergeant broadband at Bands 6 and 7. That's a big change: an experienced PSO's base ceiling moved from $87,836 at Band 3.5 to $111,861 at Band 5.3, and team leaders can now reach $132,185.

1. 1

   Band 2.1 for at least 12 months

   $64,754 to $75,233

   Including your 15 weeks of training. You then move up the Band 2 points with satisfactory performance.

2. 2

   Soft barrier into Band 3

   From $78,291

   PSOs move from 2.5 to 3.2 at the soft barrier, provided performance, the development agreement and Use of Force certification are current.

3. 3

   Firm barriers at Bands 4 and 5

   Up to $111,861

   Each needs you to meet published assessment criteria. Every broadband move needs a current performance agreement, a 'fulfilled' rating and current Use of Force certification.

4. 4

   Team Leader or Sergeant, Bands 6 to 7

   $111,861 to $132,185

   Entry is by merit selection into an advertised role.

The agreement's last scheduled rise is 2.7% from 9 December 2026, taking Band 2.1 to $66,502, and the Use of Force allowance also rises to $4,000 a year on that date. The agreement nominally expires on 9 December 2027. Follow bargaining on our AFP pay deal tracker, and see every band in the AFP salary guide.

The AFP applies the same basic eligibility rules to PSOs as to police. The ones that rule out the most people are citizenship (permanent residents can't apply), the swim certificate and the health standards.

There's no upper age limit, but you must pass the health assessment. If you've had vision correction surgery, wait at least three months before your medical. If a past mental-health matter worries you, read the AFP's health assessment standards closely and see our guide to the police psychological assessment.

The process is the same one police applicants follow. The PSO role page says it can be as quick as 6 months but is often up to 9 months; the AFP's application process page says often up to 12 months. Steps may run in parallel or in a different order, and the AFP's own pages count them slightly differently.

1. 1

   Sworn Officer eligibility tool

   Step 1

   Self-assessment against the entry requirements. For PSO applicants: Run it before anything else: it screens out the hard barriers, such as citizenship and the health standards.

2. 2

   Online application

   Step 2

   Submit a CV and choose role and location. For PSO applicants: Pick Protective Service Officer as the role and, if you can, a priority location. The AFP says applications for non-priority roles and locations are put on hold.

3. 3

   Online testing (SHL)

   Step 3

   Deductive reasoning, inductive reasoning, personality and calculation; 14 days to complete; maximum 3 attempts with 12 months between. For PSO applicants: PSO applicants sit three of the SHL components, according to the AFP's testing factsheet. You get 14 days, three attempts in total and 12 months between attempts, so practise reasoning under time pressure first.

4. 4

   Entry Physical Competency Assessment (EPCA)

   Step 4

   Plank, push-ups and beep test. For PSO applicants: One beep test attempt with a maximum of two warnings. Train the plank and push-ups as well; PSOs sit exactly the same EPCA as police applicants.

5. 5

   Employment Suitability Questionnaire and traffic history

   Step 5

   Character and driving history checks. For PSO applicants: List every address, job, overseas trip and traffic matter for at least 10 years before you start, so your answers match what vetting later finds.

6. 6

   Health assessment

   Step 6

   Medical and psychological assessment by an external provider. For PSO applicants: Check the BMI, vision, hearing and mental-health standards in the AFP's health assessment standards before you apply, and gather records for any past condition.

7. 7

   Assessment centre (online)

   Step 7

   Group exercise, analysis task and a behavioural (STAR) interview. For PSO applicants: A group exercise, an analysis task and a behavioural interview. Prepare STAR stories on calm judgement, following procedure, teamwork and handling conflict.

8. 8

   Security clearance and vetting

   Step 8

   At least 10 years of history reviewed, partner checked, fingerprints taken. An existing AGSVA clearance may speed this up. For PSO applicants: Expect partner checks and fingerprints. Disclose debts and overseas links honestly; hiding them is what causes problems.

9. 9

   Merit pool and course offer

   Step 9

   Suitable candidates enter a merit pool for course offers. Steps may run at the same time or in a different order (the factsheet places fitness after the assessment centre). The AFP says the process takes 6-9 months on role pages and 'often up to 12 months' on the process page. For PSO applicants: The merit pool isn't an offer. Keep your fitness and paperwork current while you wait for a course.

The assessment centre interview is behavioural, so prepare examples rather than opinions. Our AFP interview guide has likely questions.

SHL online tests

The AFP's online tests are run by SHL. The testing factsheet says police applicants sit four components and PSO applicants three, from deductive reasoning, inductive reasoning, personality and calculation; it doesn't say exactly which component PSOs skip. You get 14 days to complete them, a maximum of three attempts and 12 months between attempts. Our AFP entrance exam guide covers each test type.

Entry Physical Competency Assessment

Beep test level 6.5 is moderate by Australian police standards, but you only get one attempt. The AFP publishes a free pre-course fitness program; use it, and practise with our beep test audio. Check yourself against the standard with the police fitness test checker.

Every PSO recruit goes through AFP personnel security vetting. The AFP says it reviews at least 10 years of your history, checks your partner and takes your fingerprints. An existing Australian Government (AGSVA) clearance may speed it up. The recruit pages don't state the clearance level PSOs must reach.

Vetting is looking for vulnerabilities, such as unmanaged debt, undisclosed foreign contacts or dishonesty, not for a perfect life. Honest disclosure with an explanation is far safer than an omission vetting finds itself. Our guide to police background and integrity checks explains what every force looks at.

PSO recruits complete 15 weeks of training towards the POL41225 Certificate IV in Protective Services, then have a dedicated mentor for their first six months in the job. The AFP's new recruits page says training is at the AFP College in Canberra or the Pinkenba Training Centre in Brisbane, while the College page says there are no other training facilities, so confirm the location when you get an offer.

Recruits at the College get a free ensuite single room, main meals, a mobile phone and a laptop, and travel to and from the College is paid. The composite isn't paid while you're in training, according to the AFP's careers table. More on College life is in our AFP College guide.

PSO work is shift work at fixed sites. The composite exists because the AFP expects you to work nights, weekends and public holidays in a 24-hour roster. Protective security rewards patience, attention to detail and following procedure exactly, so think honestly about whether that suits you.

If what you really want is general policing, compare the PSO route with joining a state force: NT Police and WA Police both recruit heavily for regional work, and Victoria's PSO role has a built-in route to police. Our guide to police custody officer jobs covers another non-police route into policing.