NT Police fitness test
carry, plank, beep and swim

The Northern Territory Police Force (NTPF) runs one fitness assessment for several entry streams, and a separate swim. Which parts you do depends on the role you apply for, so check this first.

Being able to swim 100 m without interruption is also listed as a Constable eligibility requirement, so it isn't optional. For the main assessment, every applicant has the same standards: there are no separate male and female levels.

This table comes from our NT data file, which matches the NTPFES fitness assessment page. Each event is pass or fail against the criteria: there's no scoring above the minimum.

On 'position ready', you rise into a push-up position with feet no wider than shoulder width and a straight line from shoulders to heels. When you hear the tone, you lower until your upper arms are at 90 degrees, then press back up to locked elbows. Each push-up follows a 2-second cadence.

The test ends when you can't keep the cadence, when any part of your body other than your hands and feet touches the ground, or when staff see an unsafe movement. Ten reps at that tempo take 20 seconds, so it's a short test, but you can't rush and you can't rest.

How to train for it

NT asks for a 90-second hold. That matches NSW and Queensland and is longer than the 60 seconds asked by Victoria, Tasmania and the AFP. You set up lying down, adjust, and then 'raise up' on instruction. Timing starts once you're up. You hold a straight line from shoulders to heels, with elbows and forearms flat on the ground and hands palm down or clasped together.

NTPFES says anything outside the criteria ends the test, so there's no room to drop your hips for a few seconds and recover. Know exactly what a straight line feels like before test day.

1. 1

   Weeks 1-2: find your baseline

   Hold a strict plank to failure once and record it. Then do 4 holds at 60-70% of that time, 4 days a week.

2. 2

   Weeks 3-5: build the hold

   Add 5-10 seconds a week to each hold. Add side planks and dead bugs twice a week for trunk strength.

3. 3

   Weeks 6-7: go past 90

   One hold a week to 120 seconds, so 90 feels routine. Practise the 'raise up' start and have someone check your line.

4. 4

   Week 8: maintain

   Two short sessions of 3 x 60 seconds, then rest before the test.

Train the plank to two minutes. Then 90 seconds on the day is a margin, not a battle.

You carry a 20 kg weight in each hand over five 20 m intervals, 100 m in all. At the end of each 20 m you put the weights on the ground and pick them back up, and they can't stay down for more than 5 seconds. You walk, with an upright posture. There's no time limit.

The test ends if you can't hold the weights, if you wait too long at an interval, or if staff see unsafe technique. That means your grip, your lifting form and your trunk all matter. Bend your knees to pick up and put down the weights; don't round your back.

If you can't get to a gym, fill two bags or water containers to roughly 20 kg each and walk laps of your yard. The weights will be different from the test, but the grip and posture work transfers.

The aerobic test is the 20 m multi-stage fitness test to level 6.1. It starts after a 5-second pause. You must reach the 20 m line before the beep and must not leave before it. A foot on or over the line is enough, and you don't need to do a U-turn. If you miss a beep, you're given the chance to reach the other end and continue, but two consecutive misses end the test, and your result is the last level recorded.

Level 6.1 is the first shuttle of level 6: about 840 m of running in roughly 5:17, with shuttles at 11.0 km/h (6.55 s each). It's a moderate standard, but in Top End heat even moderate running is hard if you haven't trained in it.

Two runs a week will get most people there in six to eight weeks: intervals (6 to 8 x 400 m, 90 seconds' rest) and a steady 25 to 35 minute run. Practise the turns: touch the line with your foot and push off, no looping.

Constable and ARP applicants swim 100 m with a forward stroke: freestyle, breaststroke or butterfly. You start in the water. At the end of each length, in a 25 m or 50 m pool, you can push off the wall, but you must not touch the bottom or the sides of the pool during the swim. NTPFES doesn't publish a time limit.

Breaststroke is a perfectly acceptable choice if your freestyle breathing is shaky. The rule to rehearse is the wall: push off, but never hold the edge or stand up.

If you're weighing up more than one force, it helps to see where NT sits. Its beep test level is in the middle of the pack and its push-up count is modest. What sets it apart is strength endurance: a 90-second prone bridge, matched only by NSW and Queensland, and a loaded carry, which only WA and SA also test in some form.

In practice, that means an applicant who runs a lot but rarely lifts can pass the WA or AFP beep test comfortably and still fail NT on the carry or the plank. If you're applying to NT and another force, train for NT's events and you'll cover a lot of the others too. The gaps are the higher beep levels (NSW, and WA for men), NSW's 25 push-ups, the jump tests in NSW and Tasmania, and agility runs.

This plan covers all four events plus the swim in four sessions a week. If you can't yet jog for 20 minutes, add four weeks of run-walk before starting.

1. 1

   Weeks 1-2: baseline

   4 sessions

   Test every event, including a practice carry and a 100 m swim. Two runs a week. Push-ups and planks 3 times a week. One swim. One strength session: deadlifts, rows, carries.

2. 2

   Weeks 3-5: build

   4-5 sessions

   Intervals rise to 8 x 400 m. Cadence push-ups on your toes. Plank holds climb towards 90 seconds. Carries at test weight. Two swims a week if the swim is your weak point.

3. 3

   Week 6: deload and mock

   3 lighter sessions

   Halve volume. Do a mock assessment: push-ups, plank, carry, beep test, in that order if you can.

4. 4

   Week 7: sharpen

   4 sessions

   One full beep test to level 7. Plank to 120 seconds. Carry with exact 5-second pauses. A continuous 100 m swim.

5. 5

   Week 8: taper

   2 sessions + test

   Short, easy sessions early in the week, then rest 48 hours before the assessment.

If you'd rather have a plan built from your own numbers, equipment and test date, our paid AI Fitness Test Pass Plan costs $24.99 one-off for 180 days' access, and it asks about your swimming too. It's optional; the plan above covers the essentials.

NT Police can post you anywhere in the Territory, and much of your training and testing may happen in heat. That's general advice, not an NTPF rule, but it matters: hot, humid conditions raise your heart rate at the same running pace, which can cost you a level on the beep test.

If you're moving from a cooler state, allow a couple of weeks for your body to adjust before you expect your usual times. Our NT Police profile covers postings, relocation help and housing.

Fitness is the fourth of eight steps in the Constable process, after background checks and the cognitive assessment and before the panel interview.

Constable recruits train at the NT Police, Fire and Emergency Services College, Peter McAulay Centre, Berrimah (Darwin). Barracks/departmental accommodation or the housing allowance is also provided to recruits. The Constable course is 30 weeks (one NTPFES FAQ calls it a 32-week course). Pay during training: $74,619 a year for the first 4 months; $79,095 a year from 4 months to graduation. Allowances are not paid during training.

See our NT Police salary guide for pay after graduation, including allowances. For the cognitive test and the panel interview, our entrance exam practice and AI mock interview will help, and the $79.99 Recruit Prep Bundle combines both with the fitness plan.

Comparing forces? Read about the WA Police PPE, SAPOL's fit for duty circuit, the Tasmania Police test and the AFP EPCA.