Police psychological assessment
what every Australian force tests, and why honesty wins

Every Australian police force checks whether you're psychologically suited to the job before it offers you a place. The job exposes officers to violence, trauma and conflict, and it gives them powers and a firearm. Forces want evidence that you can cope with that, and that you'll use those powers fairly.

Two kinds of testing often get lumped together. Cognitive tests measure reasoning ability and have scores. Psychological assessment looks at personality, behaviour and mental health, usually through questionnaires and sometimes an interview. This guide is about the second. For reasoning tests, see our entrance exam guides for SA, Tasmania, the NT and the AFP.

The detail each force publishes varies a lot. Queensland and Victoria explain their process at length; NT and SA say very little. This table summarises what's on the official record as at 9 October 2026.

The format changes from force to force. The advice doesn't: answer as you really are.

Most questionnaires fall into two groups. Knowing which you're facing helps you understand why the questions feel the way they do.

Questions are usually statements you rate from strongly disagree to strongly agree, or true/false. Some are deliberately similar to each other, worded differently. That's how the instrument checks consistency, and it's one reason rehearsed answers fall apart.

Four forces describe an interview with a psychologist. In NSW you may be asked to see an NSW Police psychologist to clarify your results. Queensland may invite you to a follow-up with a QPS occupational psychologist. In Victoria some applicants have a one-on-one with a registered psychologist, which it calls common practice. The AFP's assessment includes a face-to-face interview with an external provider.

1. 1

   Your background

   Victoria says its semi-structured interview covers employment, family, mental health and past experiences. The AFP says it asks about upbringing, schooling, work and mental-health history.

2. 2

   Clarifying your questionnaire

   Psychologists often follow up on answers that stood out. Explain honestly; an interview is a chance to give context.

3. 3

   How you handle things

   Expect to describe real situations: conflict, pressure, setbacks. Victoria says a common reason for failing is not giving enough detail, or saying what you did but not how.

4. 4

   Your motivation

   Why policing, why now, and what you know about the reality of the job.

Being invited to an interview isn't a bad sign. Victoria and Queensland both describe it as a normal step for some applicants. Prepare real examples the way you would for a panel; our AI mock interview is good practice for explaining the "how", not just the "what".

The AFP is the most explicit. It says its psychological assessment looks at teamwork, emotional self-control, conflict resolution, decision-making under stress and the ability to understand other people's behaviour. WA says its evaluation covers personality, psychological state and background risks. Tasmania's PAI screens for psychopathology.

None of this requires a perfect personality. Forces employ thousands of officers with every kind of temperament. What they screen out is risk: someone likely to lose control, struggle badly with trauma without support, or misuse authority.

Every force that discusses faking says the same thing. Queensland says its assessments contain scales that measure whether you may be adjusting responses to appear more favourable. WA says the tests are designed to identify applicants who impression-manage, and that this produces an invalid result. Victoria says there's no benefit in trying to beat the test, which will generally indicate if it's happening.

The consequences are real. Queensland's re-sit form lists inconsistent or random answers, carelessness, and answers chosen to give an unrealistic impression as causes of uninterpretable results. Its consent form says you may then need further assessment or have to wait up to 12 months before re-sitting.

An invalid result can cost you a year. An honest one with a few rough edges usually costs you nothing.

This is where applicants worry most, and where forces differ most. Having a history of mental illness is not automatically disqualifying in most forces, but several set stability or medication-free periods. These are the published rules we found.

Disclose your history honestly. Forces check medical records and may contact your treating practitioners; Victoria's Medical Advisory Unit says it may ask them for more information. Non-disclosure that comes to light later is far more damaging than the history itself. Our medical requirements guide covers the physical side.

NSW says no preparation is required, and in one sense that's right: there's nothing to memorise. But you can prepare yourself, and forces offer specific advice.

1. 1

   Understand the job

   Victoria suggests talking to people already in the role. Know what shift work, trauma exposure and public scrutiny actually involve, so your answers come from a realistic picture.

2. 2

   Write down why you want it

   Another Victorian suggestion. A clear, honest motivation helps in the interview and keeps you steady through a long process.

3. 3

   Prepare real examples

   Have specific stories about conflict, pressure, mistakes and teamwork, and be ready to explain how you handled them, not just what happened.

4. 4

   Sit it when you're well

   Queensland is reported to advise doing the tests when you feel well. Don't sit them after a night shift or during a crisis; reschedule if you can.

5. 5

   Read every word

   Victoria advises looking up words you don't understand and finishing each assessment in one sitting.

What doesn't help: buying 'answer keys', practising personality tests until you know the 'right' answers, or asking friends how they answered. These questionnaires measure you, so the only useful preparation is being rested, honest and clear about yourself.

More forces now let you sit questionnaires remotely. Tasmania's are online with a webcam and random photographs. Victoria's evaluation is online. Queensland is reported to run supervised sessions in Brisbane or Townsville, or online with remote video supervision. The AFP's 25-minute personality questionnaire is part of its online testing.

If you have a condition that affects reading or concentration, such as dyslexia, ask the recruiting team about reasonable adjustments before the day.

Being found psychologically unsuitable isn't a diagnosis. Victoria says plainly that not passing does not mean a judgement has been made on your mental health. It means that, at that point, the force wasn't satisfied you met its standard for the role.

If you're unsuccessful, ask what you can, then use the time well: get support if you need it, build experience in a people-facing job, and reapply when the waiting period ends. Some applicants also look at forces with different standards; our force-finder quiz compares all eight.

Recruitment can take six months to a year, and psychological screening asks personal questions. It's normal to find it stressful, especially if it brings up past experiences. Look after yourself first; an application can wait.

Once you're in, every force runs its own wellbeing and psychology services for officers. The screening at entry is one part of a career-long focus on mental health, not a one-off judgement. For the rest of the joining process, start with your force's overview: NSW Police, Victoria Police, QPS, WA Police, SAPOL, Tasmania Police, NT Police, AFP.