Is there a NSW Police entrance exam?
No written one. That surprises a lot of people, because most guides assume every force has an exam.
The NSW Police Force application process doesn't include a separate written entrance exam: no literacy paper, no numeracy test, no report-writing task like Victoria's or Queensland's. Our NSW force data records the assessment as: NSW does not list a separate written entrance exam. Academic entry is an ATAR of 50+ or equivalent, assessed by WSU; a fee-free UPPAP preparation program is available for those below the academic entry level.
Written exam
None
no fee, no pass mark, no re-sit
Academic standard
ATAR 50
or equivalent, judged by WSU
Psychometric testing
Stage 4
with fitness and medical
Two things replace the exam. First, because NSW recruits study the Associate Degree in Applied Policing (ADAP), Western Sydney University checks you're academically ready for it. Second, NSW Police runs psychometric testing at Stage 4. Many prep sites still sell "NSW Police entrance exam" packs. Treat those as general reasoning practice, not as a copy of a NSW test, because there's no NSW written test to copy.
What NSW assesses instead of an exam
Academic suitability
- Who runs it
- Western Sydney University
- What it checks
- ATAR 50+ or an equivalent qualification or experience
- Can you prepare?
- Yes: qualify through a Certificate III or higher, a bridging course or UPPAP
Psychometric testing (Stage 4)
- Who runs it
- NSW Police Force (provider not published)
- What it checks
- Psychological suitability; may include a psychologist interview
- Can you prepare?
- Reasoning parts, yes. Personality parts, only by answering honestly
Physical Capacity Tests (Stage 4)
- Who runs it
- NSW Police Force
- What it checks
- Grip, plank, jump, push-ups, agility and beep test
- Can you prepare?
- Yes, with a training plan
Medical (Stage 4)
- Who runs it
- NSW Police Force
- What it checks
- Health and fitness for duty
- Can you prepare?
- Get any issues documented early
Interview (Stage 5)
- Who runs it
- NSW Police Force
- What it checks
- Listed as 'only if needed'
- Can you prepare?
- Yes: prepare examples anyway
| Assessment | Who runs it | What it checks | Can you prepare? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academic suitability | Western Sydney University | ATAR 50+ or an equivalent qualification or experience | Yes: qualify through a Certificate III or higher, a bridging course or UPPAP |
| Psychometric testing (Stage 4) | NSW Police Force (provider not published) | Psychological suitability; may include a psychologist interview | Reasoning parts, yes. Personality parts, only by answering honestly |
| Physical Capacity Tests (Stage 4) | NSW Police Force | Grip, plank, jump, push-ups, agility and beep test | Yes, with a training plan |
| Medical (Stage 4) | NSW Police Force | Health and fitness for duty | Get any issues documented early |
| Interview (Stage 5) | NSW Police Force | Listed as 'only if needed' | Yes: prepare examples anyway |
From the NSW Police Force application process and WSU's ADAP course page, read 9 October 2026.
WSU's course page puts it neatly: academic suitability is assessed by the university, while professional suitability (your physical health and ability, mental health and criminal record) is assessed solely by NSW Police against its own standards. You need both, and you apply to both organisations separately.
Academic entry: ATAR 50 or equivalent, and the UPPAP route
Western Sydney University requires a Year 12 HSC with a minimum ATAR of 50, or an equivalent. That is a lower bar than Victoria (ATAR 65 for an exam exemption) or Queensland (ATAR 80), and it isn't the only route.
WSU accepts as equivalent
- ✓ An AQF Certificate III or Certificate IV
- ✓ A diploma or advanced diploma
- ✓ A bachelor degree or higher
- ✓ Bridging or preparatory courses
- ✓ Vocational experience
- ✓ Alternative qualifications or employment experience, supported by a statement of service
If you don't meet any of these, WSU offers the Undergraduate Preparation Program in Applied Policing (UPPAP), a fee-free enabling course designed to build academic confidence. WSU says that completing UPPAP while keeping your police suitability guarantees admission to the ADAP. Its course page doesn't state UPPAP's length or intake dates, so ask WSU before you plan around it.
Citizenship check
NSW Police says New Zealand citizens on a 444 visa can apply, but WSU says the ADAP is only open to Australian citizens or permanent residents. If you're a New Zealander, confirm with both before you start.
Psychometric testing at Stage 4
Stage 4 combines the Physical Capacity Tests, psychometric testing and a medical. NSW Police says the psychometric testing may be followed by an interview with a psychologist. On the pages we read, it doesn't publish the test provider, the sections, the timing or any pass mark, and we won't guess at them.
What we can describe is how psychometric batteries generally work. They usually have two kinds of content: reasoning questions with right and wrong answers, and personality or psychological questionnaires that have no right answers but are checked for consistency and honesty.
Reasoning items: practice helps
- ✓Timed number, word and pattern problems
- ✓Speed and accuracy improve with familiar question types
- ✓Our practice tool and the sets on this page train these skills
Personality items: practice doesn't
- ✕Questions are often repeated in different words to check consistency
- ✕'Faking good' tends to be spotted and can invalidate your result
- ✕Answer as you actually are, not as you think a police officer should be
The best preparation for a personality questionnaire is a good night's sleep and honest answers. The best preparation for reasoning is timed practice.
If you're called for a psychologist interview, expect questions that follow up your questionnaire answers and your history. Be consistent with what you wrote in your application. Our AI mock interview helps you practise talking about real examples clearly.
Where the assessments fit in the NSW process
Here is the full sequence as NSW Police publishes it. Academic eligibility is part of the first check, and psychometric testing comes at Stage 4, after your documents, qualifications and Professional Suitability Application.
- 1
Eligibility check
Confirm you meet the age, citizenship, licence and education requirements.
- 2
Stage 1: pre-application documents
Documents certified by a Justice of the Peace.
- 3
Stage 2: qualifications
Aquatic Rescue Sequence certificate (valid 5 years) and first aid.
- 4
Stage 3: Professional Suitability Application
Lodged via iworkfor. You are assigned a case manager; background and reference checks and fingerprints follow.
- 5
Stage 4: physical, psychometric and medical
Physical Capacity Tests, psychometric testing (possibly a psychologist interview) and a medical.
- 6
Stage 5: interview
Only if needed.
- 7
Stage 6: final checking
Final checks before an offer.
- 8
Stage 7: offer into the ADAP
Offer into the Associate Degree in Applied Policing. A separate application to Western Sydney University is needed.
- 9
ADAP Session 1: online study
16 weeks of distance/online study (unpaid), including a residential at the Academy and a 2-week station placement.
- 10
ADAP Session 2: Academy
16 weeks full-time at the NSW Police Academy, Goulburn, paid as temporary administrative staff.
- 11
Probationary Constable
12 months as a Probationary Constable plus 3 online part-time sessions; confirmed as Constable after probation.
The academy itself is a university course. Associate Degree in Applied Policing (ADAP) with Western Sydney University: Session 1 is 16 weeks online (unpaid), Session 2 is 16 weeks full-time at Goulburn, then 12 months as a Probationary Constable with 3 online part-time sessions. For the full application walkthrough, see our guide to becoming a police officer in NSW, and for the fitness standards, the NSW Police fitness test guide.
What the NSW entry assessments cost
There's no exam fee, which saves you the $284 Victorian applicants pay. The costs NSW Police lists come from other stages:
NSW out-of-pocket costs
No exam fee listed. Out-of-pocket costs: medical $555.50 initial exam plus any specialist fees; Aquatic Rescue Sequence $10; first aid and pocket mask from $79.
The Physical Capacity Tests are the stage most applicants underestimate. These are the standards NSW Police publishes:
Handgrip strength
- Standard
- 30 kg each hand
- Attempts
- 2 attempts
Prone bridge
- Standard
- 90 seconds
- Attempts
- 1 attempt
Vertical jump
- Standard
- 30 cm or more
- Attempts
- 2 attempts
Push-ups
- Standard
- 25
- Attempts
- 1 attempt
Illinois agility run
- Standard
- 20 seconds or less
- Attempts
- 2 attempts
Multi-stage fitness test (beep test)
- Standard
- Level 7.1
- Attempts
- 1 attempt
| Test | Standard | Attempts |
|---|---|---|
| Handgrip strength | 30 kg each hand | 2 attempts |
| Prone bridge | 90 seconds | 1 attempt |
| Vertical jump | 30 cm or more | 2 attempts |
| Push-ups | 25 | 1 attempt |
| Illinois agility run | 20 seconds or less | 2 attempts |
| Multi-stage fitness test (beep test) | Level 7.1 | 1 attempt |
From the NSW Police Force fitness page, as recorded in our force data. A separate NSW Police page for transferring officers lists 35 kg grip strength; check the current standard when you're invited.
Practice: numerical and verbal reasoning
NSW doesn't publish its psychometric test content. These are original general reasoning questions, not NSW test items.
Reasoning practice is worth doing for three reasons: psychometric batteries often include reasoning items, the ADAP is a university course with assessed written work, and analytical skill matters on the job. Try these timed, about a minute each.
A highway patrol records 1,240 speeding detections in a month. 15% were more than 20 km/h over the limit. How many detections was that?
- A 124
- B 168
- C 186
- D 210
Show the answer and working
Answer: C, 186
10% of 1,240 is 124, and 5% is half that, 62. So 15% = 124 + 62 = 186. Building percentages from 10% and 5% chunks is quicker and safer than long multiplication when there's no calculator.
All officers on the night roster must complete fatigue training. Sam has completed fatigue training. Which statement must be true?
- A Sam is on the night roster.
- B Sam is not on the night roster.
- C Sam may or may not be on the night roster.
- D Sam must work nights.
Show the answer and working
Answer: C
The rule says night-roster officers must have the training. It doesn't say only night-roster officers do it. So having the training tells you nothing certain about Sam's roster. Picking A is a classic logic error called affirming the consequent.
Exam habit: Turn 'all A are B' around in your head. It never means 'all B are A'.
Practice: logic and patterns
What comes next? 3, 7, 15, 31, …
- A 47
- B 62
- C 63
- D 64
Show the answer and working
Answer: C, 63
Each number is double the one before, plus 1: 3 × 2 + 1 = 7, 7 × 2 + 1 = 15, 15 × 2 + 1 = 31, so 31 × 2 + 1 = 63. Another way to see it: the gaps are 4, 8, 16, so the next gap is 32, and 31 + 32 = 63.
Four new constables (Ali, Ben, Cara and Dee) are posted to Parramatta, Penrith, Liverpool and Blacktown, one each. Ali isn't at Penrith or Liverpool. Ben is at Blacktown. Cara isn't at Parramatta or Liverpool. Where is Dee?
- A Parramatta
- B Penrith
- C Liverpool
- D Blacktown
Show the answer and working
Answer: C, Liverpool
Ben is at Blacktown. Ali can't be at Penrith, Liverpool or Blacktown, so Ali is at Parramatta. Cara can't be at Parramatta or Liverpool, and Blacktown is taken, so Cara is at Penrith. That leaves Liverpool for Dee.
Exam habit: Fix the certain facts first, then eliminate. A quick grid on scrap paper saves re-reading the clues.
For more of these, the free entrance exam practice tool generates a new set every day in numeracy, verbal and logical reasoning.
Practice: judgement and university study skills
Two more skills matter in NSW: the judgement that psychological assessment and any interview probe, and the reading and summarising that the ADAP's university study demands.
During ADAP Session 1, a fellow student asks to copy your answers for an online assessment because they're behind on work. What's the most appropriate response?
- A Let them copy just this once, since they're under pressure.
- B Decline, explain it's academic misconduct, and suggest they ask the unit coordinator for an extension.
- C Ignore the message.
- D Report them to the Academy straight away without saying anything to them.
Show the answer and working
Answer: B
B is honest, helps the person through the proper channel, and protects both of you. A is misconduct for both students. C avoids the problem. D may become right if they persist or copy from someone else, but going straight to a report without first declining and redirecting skips a proportionate step.
Exam habit: The best option is usually honest, proportionate and uses the proper channel.
Practice passage (original)
Body-worn cameras record what an officer sees and hears. Supporters say footage improves evidence and accountability. Critics point to privacy concerns, especially inside people's homes, and to the cost of storing large amounts of video. Some studies report fewer complaints after cameras are introduced, but results vary between police services.
Which sentence best summarises the passage?
- A Body-worn cameras reduce complaints against police.
- B Body-worn cameras may improve evidence and accountability, but raise privacy and cost concerns, and evidence on complaints is mixed.
- C Body-worn cameras are too expensive to use.
- D Body-worn cameras should not be used inside homes.
Show the answer and working
Answer: B
A good summary covers every main point without adding opinions. B includes both sides and the mixed evidence. A overstates the evidence ('results vary'). C and D each pick one concern and turn it into a conclusion the passage doesn't reach.
A 4-week preparation plan for NSW applicants
With no written exam, your four weeks should cover reasoning, fitness and your own story, in roughly equal measure.
- 1
Week 1: check eligibility and baseline
45 min a dayConfirm your academic route with WSU (ATAR, certificate, degree or UPPAP). Do one reasoning set a day untimed. Test yourself against each Physical Capacity Test standard.
- 2
Week 2: reasoning and fitness
60 min a dayTimed reasoning sets, about a minute a question. Start a beep test and push-up progression. Write down eight real examples from work, study or sport that show integrity, teamwork and judgement.
- 3
Week 3: speed and stamina
60 min a dayRaise the difficulty of reasoning sets. Practise reading a short article and writing a three-sentence summary, which trains ADAP study skills. Keep fitness training on alternate days.
- 4
Week 4: rehearse and rest
45 min a day, then restOne mixed reasoning set a day, an interview practice session, and a full fitness test rehearsal mid-week. Sleep well before Stage 4: tired people answer questionnaires inconsistently.
Free reasoning practice, every day
A fresh set of original numeracy, verbal, logical and situational judgement questions with worked explanations. Entrance Exam Prep ($39.99, 180 days) adds up to 40 sets a day. Not affiliated with NSW Police or WSU.
Training for the Physical Capacity Tests? The beep test audio and the fitness test checker are free.
Results, retakes and reapplying
Because there's no written exam, there's no exam re-sit to plan for. NSW Police doesn't publish a retake rule for psychometric testing on the pages we read, so if you're found unsuitable at Stage 4, ask your case manager what, if anything, you can do and when you can reapply.
The Physical Capacity Tests are different: each test has a set number of attempts on the day (two for grip, jump and agility, one for the plank, push-ups and beep test). Arrive warmed up and confident you can pass with a margin.
Applying to another force as well?
If you also apply to Victoria or Queensland, you'll face a full ACER exam there. Meeting a police academic entry requirement in another state can support an exemption from Victoria's exam. See police entrance exams in Australia for every force side by side, and the Victoria Police exam guide for that test.
Once you're through, Probationary Constables earn $92,576 a year including the 11.5% loading, from 1 July 2026 under the NSW award. See the NSW Police pay scale for every step after that.
Free email alerts
Hear first if NSW Police changes its entry assessments
NSW moved its degree from Charles Sturt to Western Sydney University and could change academic entry or testing again. We track the application stages, ATAR rules and UPPAP intakes and email you when anything changes for NSW applicants.
- ✓Changes to academic entry, UPPAP and psychometric testing
- ✓New original reasoning practice questions
Frequently asked questions
Does NSW Police have an entrance exam?
Not a separate written one. The NSW Police Force application process lists no written entrance exam. Academic suitability for the Associate Degree in Applied Policing is assessed by Western Sydney University instead, and you sit psychometric testing at Stage 4 of the application, alongside the Physical Capacity Tests and a medical.
What ATAR do you need for NSW Police?
An ATAR of 50 or more, or an equivalent. Western Sydney University accepts alternatives including an AQF Certificate III or IV, a diploma, a degree, bridging or preparatory courses, and in some cases employment experience supported by a statement of service. If you fall short, the fee-free UPPAP course is designed to get you there.
What is UPPAP?
The Undergraduate Preparation Program in Applied Policing, a fee-free enabling course run by Western Sydney University for applicants who don't meet the academic entry level. WSU says completing it, while keeping your police suitability, guarantees admission to the Associate Degree in Applied Policing. WSU's course page doesn't state its length; ask WSU directly.
What is the NSW Police psychometric test?
It's part of Stage 4 of the application, and it may be followed by an interview with a psychologist. NSW Police doesn't publish the provider, the sections or a pass mark on the pages we read. Psychometric batteries usually combine reasoning items with personality questionnaires, so answer honestly and practise reasoning under time pressure.
Do I have to pay for a NSW Police entrance test?
No exam fee is listed. Your out-of-pocket costs come from other stages: NSW Police lists the medical at $555.50 for the initial exam plus any specialist fees, $10 for the Aquatic Rescue Sequence, and from $79 for first aid and a pocket mask.
Can I study for the NSW Police psychometric test?
Partly. Reasoning questions reward practice with timing and question types. Personality questionnaires don't: they look for consistent, honest answers, and trying to guess the 'right' personality usually backfires. Spend your effort on reasoning practice, sleep and honest self-reflection about your own examples.
If I passed another state's police exam, does it count in NSW?
NSW doesn't use a written exam, so there's nothing to transfer. Your academic eligibility is judged by WSU against the ATAR-50-or-equivalent standard, and a degree or other qualification can meet it. Note that Victoria Police can exempt you from its own exam if you met a police academic entry requirement in another state.
How long is NSW Police training?
The Associate Degree in Applied Policing: Session 1 is 16 weeks online (unpaid), Session 2 is 16 weeks full-time at the NSW Police Academy in Goulburn (paid), then 12 months as a Probationary Constable with three part-time online sessions.
Evidence
Sources and how we checked them
Every figure on this page comes from the sources below, read on 9 October 2026. Pay rates and rules change when new agreements are made, so check the source for the date you're reading this. Where we couldn't confirm something from an official source, the page says so instead of guessing. Spotted an error? Read our corrections policy.
- NSW Police Force recruitment: Application process — no separate written exam; Stage 4 psychometric testing
- Western Sydney University: Associate Degree in Applied Policing — academic suitability, UPPAP; read 9 October 2026
- NSW Police Force recruitment: Application costs — medical, swim and first aid costs
- NSW Police Force recruitment: Fitness (Physical Capacity Tests) — Physical Capacity Tests
Related guides
Joining the police
More in this series
General information, not advice. This guide explains published rules and rates. It doesn't consider your personal circumstances and isn't financial, legal, tax or credit advice. Confirm anything you rely on with your force, your police association, the ATO or a licensed professional.