SA Police fitness test
the fit for duty circuit

Most Australian forces test fitness with separate events: a beep test, push-ups, a plank. South Australia Police (SAPOL) does something different. Its 'fit for duty' physical and agility test is one continuous, timed circuit that you complete while wearing a 10 kg vest.

The stations recreate the physical parts of an incident: running to it, carrying something heavy, getting over obstacles, going to ground and getting up, handling a firearm, then remembering who you saw. SAPOL says the test is challenging, and the same standard follows you through training.

There's no beep level to scrape past. The clock, the vest and your memory decide it.

This is SAPOL's published list, from our SA data file. SAPOL describes the stations in this order, but the pages we read don't confirm that this is the exact sequence of the course, or how far apart the stations are. Train every station in any order and you'll be ready either way.

The vest is the hidden difficulty. Ten kilograms changes how you run, how you balance and how quickly you can get up off the ground. People who train unloaded and then put the vest on for the first time on test day lose seconds at every station.

Buy or borrow a weighted vest of around 10 kg. Wear it for one session a week from week two, and two sessions a week in the last month. Start with walking and step-ups, then add running and get-downs as your trunk adapts.

The run (80 m)

Eighty metres is short, but it's run in a vest at the start of a circuit you have to finish. Go out at about 85% of a sprint. A flat-out start floods your legs with fatigue you'll feel on the step-ups. Practise accelerating smoothly over the first 10 m, then holding a fast, relaxed stride.

The carry (Run 25 m carrying two 15 kg weights)

You run 25 m holding a 15 kg weight in each hand. That's 30 kg on your grip and shoulders on top of the vest. Keep your shoulders back and down, arms long, and take quick, short steps. If the weights swing, slow slightly. Dropping one will cost far more time than a steady carry.

Crossing a slippery balance beam

SAPOL describes the beam as slippery. That's deliberate: you're tired, loaded and moving onto an unstable surface. Slow down to cross it. Look at the end of the beam, not your feet, and keep your arms out a little for balance. A fall or step off will almost certainly cost more than taking two extra seconds.

Practise on a kerb, a low park beam or a length of timber on the ground, first unloaded and then in the vest, and always straight after a hard effort, so you learn to balance with your heart rate up.

Climbing over a 1 m fence

A metre is about hip height for most adults. The fastest safe technique is a hand plant with a hip swing (a 'step-vault'): two hands on top, swing your legs over to one side, land on both feet. Don't dive over head first. If you're shorter or less confident, a hands-and-knee climb is slower but reliable.

1. 1

   Approach

   Slow your last two steps so you arrive balanced, not flying.

2. 2

   Plant

   Both hands on top of the fence, shoulder width apart, arms locked.

3. 3

   Swing

   Drive one knee up and swing both legs over to the side, keeping your hips close to the rail.

4. 4

   Land and go

   Land on both feet with soft knees, then push straight into the next station.

Step-ups (20)

Twenty step-ups in a vest is likely to be one of the longest stations on the course. SAPOL doesn't publish the step height. Train on a step or box of a standard gym height and alternate legs to share the load. Stand fully upright at the top of each rep; a half step may not count.

Get-downs (drop to the ground and stand up 5 times)

Dropping to the ground and standing up five times mimics going to ground with a person and getting back up. In a vest, the fastest method is a controlled drop to hands and knees, then chest down, then a push-up and a step through to standing. It's a burpee without the jump.

Trigger pulls (collect a training firearm and pull the trigger 13 times with each hand)

After the physical stations you collect a training firearm and pull the trigger 13 times with each hand: 26 pulls in all, done with a fatigued hand and a racing heart. This tests grip endurance and fine motor control under stress, and your non-dominant hand is usually the weak link.

Train it with a hand gripper: sets of 13 quick, full closes with each hand straight after a hard effort such as farmer's carries. Do it three times a week and always start with your weaker hand.

The memory recall (recall at least 3 of 5 physical characteristics given at the start)

At the start of the test you're given five physical characteristics to remember, such as gender or hair colour. After the circuit you must recall at least three. It sounds easy until you're gasping after two minutes in a vest.

SAPOL doesn't publish split times. The budget below is our own rough guide to how 150 seconds can be shared across the stations, so you can see where time is likely to go. Your splits will differ; the point is to practise the whole sequence and find where you're slow.

Once you can complete the whole circuit in a vest in training, time it every week and write the result down. A practice course doesn't need to be exact; a consistent course lets you see improvement.

This plan assumes three or four sessions a week and that you can jog for 20 minutes. SAPOL's own advice is to start a gradual cardiovascular program, so if you're starting from very little, give yourself four extra weeks of run-walk first.

1. 1

   Weeks 1-2: base and technique

   3 sessions

   Two runs a week (one 20-30 minute steady, one 6 x 200 m faster). Learn the fence vault and beam crossing unloaded. Farmer's carries and gripper work. Step-ups and get-downs unloaded.

2. 2

   Weeks 3-4: add the vest

   4 sessions

   One vest session a week: walk 400 m, then station practice (beam, step-ups, get-downs, fence). Keep the two runs. Carries go to 2 x 15 kg. Recall drill before every station practice.

3. 3

   Week 5: deload and first full circuit

   3 lighter sessions

   Halve your volume. Run one full mock circuit in the vest at the end of the week and time it. Note your slowest stations.

4. 4

   Weeks 6-7: speed and weak links

   4 sessions

   Two vest sessions a week. One full timed circuit, and one session of the two slowest stations done as 4 rounds. Faster run intervals: 8 x 100 m.

5. 5

   Week 8: taper

   2 sessions + test

   One short vest session early in the week, then easy movement and rest. No hard training in the 48 hours before the test.

If you'd like this built around your own times, equipment and test date, our paid AI Fitness Test Pass Plan costs $24.99 one-off for 180 days' access. It writes a week-by-week programme for your force's test and ranks your weakest events first. It's optional: the plan above and SAPOL's own program cover the essentials.

SAPOL lists seven steps. The fit for duty test comes late, after the written test, psychometric testing, interview and medical, so by the time you're doing it you've invested months.

International transition applicants follow a different, remote process that includes a Functional Capacity Assessment in their home country, according to our SA data. Check SAPOL's transition program pages if that's you.

If you're injured, tell the staff before you start. Doing a loaded circuit on an injured ankle or shoulder risks a much longer layoff than rescheduling.

The 2:30 standard isn't only for recruitment. SAPOL says cadets must also achieve it to graduate from Academy training and the Constable Development Program. Academy training is reported to be about six months (we've only seen that figure in a summary of SAPOL's training page, so check it), followed by graduation as a Probationary Constable within a 2.5-year Constable Development Program.

To prepare for the Academy itself, SAPOL offers a downloadable Core Strength and Stability Fitness Program. Keep training after you pass, because there's usually a gap between the test and your course start. See our SA Police salary guide for what you're paid during and after training, and the SA Police profile for country incentives.

Keep the rest of the process moving too: practise interview answers with our AI mock interview and the written stage with free entrance exam practice. The $79.99 Recruit Prep Bundle combines both with the fitness plan. Comparing forces? Read the WA Police PPE, the Tasmania Police test, the NT Police assessment and the AFP EPCA.