How to become a police officer in Victoria
the 2026 step-by-step guide

Victoria Police is short of officers and recruiting at a pace it hasn't managed in years. Police numbers fell to about 15,564 full-time equivalent in June 2026, the force reports more than 1,500 vacancies, and in May 2026 it doubled its intake to 1,300 recruits a year, with 52 starting every two weeks. Applications in 2025-26 hit 9,007, the highest since 2018-19.

Unlike NSW, Victoria pays you from your first day of training, has no ATAR or degree requirement and has no upper age limit. The trade-off is a longer list of hurdles: a paid entrance exam, a swim, two kinds of interview and several separate checks. The Victorian salary figures already include a 13% commuted penalty for weekend and shift work, so they compare fairly with NSW's loaded rates.

Victoria's entry rules are among the most open in the country. Meet these and you can apply.

Two items trip people up. The licence must be full or probationary (no learner permits), and you need 7 or fewer demerit points when you apply. And the first aid certificate has to be valid for 12 months after training, so time it close to induction rather than getting it the week you apply.

Not sure Victoria is the right force? Our which police force should I join quiz compares all eight on pay, super, fitness and location.

Victoria Police publishes its process as a sequence of stages. You must clear each before moving to the next, so a delay at one point holds up everything after it. Here is each step with what to expect and how to prepare.

1. 1

   Online application

   Day one

   Personal, employment and education details, plus prior offences and police dealings.
   How to prepare: Declare every prior offence and police dealing, including ones you think are irrelevant. The eligibility check that follows compares your answers with the records.

2. 2

   Eligibility checks

   Step 2

   Driving, criminal history and behavioural responses.
   How to prepare: Check your demerit points first: you need 7 or fewer at application. Fix any licence problem before you lodge.

3. 3

   Victoria Police Entrance Exam

   Step 3

   Numeracy, abstract reasoning, literacy and report writing; you must pass all parts. Fee $284; 3 months to sit. Exemptions for degree holders, ATAR 65+ with English 25+, ADF, paramedics/firefighters, VPS Grade 3+, final-year criminology students and others.
   How to prepare: Find out whether you're exempt before paying the fee. If not, do timed practice for all four parts, especially report writing, because you must pass every part.

4. 4

   Background checks

   Step 4

   Document pack and fingerprints at a local station (free).
   How to prepare: Book fingerprints at your local station as soon as you're asked; it's free and it's often the slowest part of this step.

5. 5

   Video interview

   Step 5

   Listed among the stages in a public summaries of the official site but not shown in the fetched recruitment page; not verified.
   How to prepare: Treat it as a real interview: quiet room, good light, and STAR answers kept to about two minutes.

6. 6

   Fitness test

   Step 6

   About 1.5 hours at the Academy, plus a 100 m swim in 4 minutes completed independently beforehand.
   How to prepare: Do the 100 m swim in 4 minutes on your own beforehand, then train to beat beep 5.01 comfortably. Push-ups must be on your toes.

7. 7

   Psychological testing

   Step 7

   Online; allow 30-40 minutes.
   How to prepare: Allow 30 to 40 minutes uninterrupted. Answer as yourself; consistency matters more than looking perfect.

8. 8

   Medical

   Step 8

   Hearing (audiologist), vision (optometrist or ophthalmologist), GP holistic assessment and 5-year history; the applicant pays.
   How to prepare: Book the audiologist, the optometrist and your GP together, and bring 5 years of medical history so you don't need a second visit.

9. 9

   Comprehensive checks

   Step 9

   Associations, social media and values.
   How to prepare: Review your public social media and think about any associations a vetting officer might ask you to explain.

10. 10

    Panel interview

    Step 10

    40-50 minutes at the Victoria Police Centre, 311 Spencer St, Docklands; behavioural and scenario questions.
    How to prepare: Prepare one fresh STAR example per competency and at least two scenario answers. The panel runs 40 to 50 minutes in Docklands.

11. 11

    Candidate pool

    Wait for an offer

    Wait for an invitation to the Academy. The whole process averages about 6 months (other official text: 6-9 months).
    How to prepare: Keep your first aid certificate current (HLTAID010 or HLTAID011) and keep training. You can be called with little notice.

The entrance exam is where Victoria checks the academic skills that other states test through an ATAR. Victoria Police points candidates to ACER for practice material, and you must pass all four parts. The fee is $284 and you have three months to sit it once invited.

Can you skip the exam?

You may be exempt if you hold a bachelor's degree, have an ATAR of 65 or more with an English study score of 25 or more, serve in the ADF, work as a paramedic or firefighter, are a VPS Grade 3 or above, or are a final-year criminology student, among others. Check before you pay.

Report writing is the part strong candidates most often under-prepare. Practise turning a jumble of facts into a clear, chronological account in plain English. Our Victoria Police entrance exam guide goes part by part, and the free entrance exam practice tool has timed sets and a marked written exercise.

The exam costs $284 and you must pass every part. Find out if you're exempt before you pay.

The test takes about 90 minutes at the academy. Victoria's standards are among the most achievable in Australia; the beep level of 5.01 compares with 7.01 in NSW.

"Achievable" doesn't mean "skip training". The 60-second prone bridge and the Illinois agility run in 20 seconds both need specific practice, and push-ups must be on your toes with full range. The swim must be done independently before the test, so find a pool and time yourself early. Our Victoria Police fitness test guide breaks each one down.

The panel interview is confirmed: 40 to 50 minutes at the Victoria Police Centre, 311 Spencer Street, Docklands, with behavioural and scenario questions. It comes near the end, after your checks, so by then the panel knows a lot about you.

Write out five or six stories from work, sport, study or family that show integrity, teamwork, communication, resilience and judgement. Rehearse them aloud until they're tight. Our Victoria Police interview guide has more sample questions.

Victoria spreads its suitability checks across five separate steps. None is a formality.

The medical is the one with a bill attached and the one most likely to slow you down. Book the three appointments in the same fortnight and take your records. If something needs a specialist report, get it organised early. The comprehensive check looks at who you associate with and what you've posted publicly, so review your accounts before you apply.

Recruits train at the Victoria Police Academy, 1 View Mount Road, Glen Waverley, in the Police Foundation Training Program. It was cut from 31 weeks to 25 in 2026 as part of the intake push.

Once sworn in you move to $84,060, about $2,563 a fortnight after 2026-27 tax. On top of salary, constables qualified in operational safety get the Operational Readiness Allowance ($2,644 a year for Constable point 1 from 1 June 2026), and general duties uniform members at stations also get the General Duties Allowance ($1,322). Both rise again on 1 June 2027.

Live-in accommodation is optional if you live more than 40 km away, at $529.50 a fortnight including meals. Our Victoria Police Academy guide covers the course content and daily routine.

Probation in Victoria is long: it runs to week 116 of training, which is two years and 13 weeks from your start, and finishes with the POL50124 Diploma of Policing. After that you progress through Constable to First Constable ($90,399 at point 3) and on to Senior Constable.

Country and remote stations

Victoria doesn't offer a large cash sign-on bonus for the country, and we found none in the data. What it does pay is listed below. A one-member station brings a significant allowance; living away from home and relocation are covered too.

For the full allowance list, see the Victoria Police salary guide.

If 25 weeks at the academy and two years of probation feel like a big first step, Victoria offers an alternative. Protective Services Officers are sworn Victoria Police employees who mainly protect the train network and key sites. The PSO process uses the same $284 exam and the same fitness standards, but the academy is 12 weeks and you're paid $77,508 from day one.

Pay for PSOs is set by the same enterprise agreement as police, so the Victoria Police salary guide lists every PSO pay point too.

Victoria has no lateral transfer between Australian police forces, which surprises many interstate officers. Instead it runs a recognition of prior service pathway.

For UK officers, the key barrier is residency: you must already be a citizen or permanent resident, because Victoria doesn't sponsor visas the way WA does. Election promises may change this; the Liberals have pledged $5,000 relocation for overseas recruits, a secondary report we haven't verified. If you need sponsorship now, compare WA and Queensland.

Victoria is one of the cheaper forces to join once you're past the exam fee, because you're paid from the first day of training.

1. 1

   Apply and pass eligibility checks

   Weeks

   Online application, then driving, criminal history and behavioural checks.

2. 2

   Entrance exam

   Up to 3 months

   You have 3 months to sit it after being invited, unless you're exempt.

3. 3

   Checks, fitness, psych, medical, panel

   About 6 months in total

   The longest phase. Victoria Police says the whole process averages about 6 months (other official text says 6 to 9).

4. 4

   Candidate pool and induction

   Varies

   With 52 recruits inducted every 2 weeks, waits in the pool should be shorter than in past years.

5. 5

   Academy and probation

   About 2 years 3 months

   Sworn in at week 12, academy to week 25, probation to week 116 with the Diploma of Policing.

Politics may change recruiting soon. Labor has pledged 1,500 extra police and a new academy in Wyndham ahead of the November 2026 state election, with fast-tracking for veterans and PSOs. Treat these as pledges, not policy.

Comparing states? See how to become a police officer in NSW, which requires an ATAR but has no exam fee.