UK police to Australia
a month-by-month timeline and checklists

No force publishes an end-to-end timeline for UK officers, so we've built one from the stages each force does publish, plus Home Affairs' processing times. Where we've had to assume a length, such as your notice period and flights, we say so. Treat every total here as our estimate, not a promise from a force.

The spread comes almost entirely from the visa. WA tells applicants to expect 2 to 6 months for the 186. Home Affairs' own figures for labour agreement nominations are wider: half are decided in 50 days, but it takes 12 months to get to 90%. SAPOL and Queensland don't publish a visa estimate, so we've used Home Affairs' range for them.

Your notice goes in after the visa grant and a written offer, never before. Everything else on this page is built around that rule.

This page is the planning layer that sits on top of our force guides. For eligibility, pay and what each course covers, read UK police to WA Police, UK police to SAPOL and UK police to Queensland. The rest of the country, and why it isn't open yet, is in our main UK officers guide.

The NT, Tasmania, Victoria, NSW and the AFP don't sponsor UK officers, so a timeline for them starts with getting permanent residence some other way. That leaves three forces with labour agreements. Each runs a different order of events, and Queensland adds one big constraint: you must hold permanent residence before the academy starts.

The totals look wide because they are. If your visa lands at the fast end, SAPOL can be as quick as WA. If it lands at the slow end, any force can stretch past a year before you fly. That's why the rest of this page focuses on what you control: getting documents ready early, not letting results expire, and not resigning too soon.

WA says applications take 6 to 8 weeks to process, with the recruitment phase running anything from a few weeks to 4 months, and the visa taking 2 to 6 months. You can apply at 2 years 8 months' service, but WA won't nominate you for the visa until you have 3 years. Use the gap to collect documents.

1. 1

   Check the hard rules and order certificates

   Month 0

   Confirm age (under 55 at nomination), service, and that you're not British Transport Police, military police or a Special. Order your ACRO certificate now: it takes up to 30 working days.

2. 2

   Online application and service records

   Months 0–2

   Upload ID, licence history, birth certificate and photos of visible tattoos. WA asks for performance and service records and can request them from your force for you, which adds weeks.

3. 3

   Online testing and panel interview

   Months 1–4

   Stages run online, and WA says you shouldn't normally need to travel to WA. Passing puts you in a selection pool; squads are built for a mix of backgrounds, not first come, first served.

4. 4

   Nomination and visa lodgement

   Months 3–5

   WA nominates you (you need 3 years' service by now) and you lodge the 186 with your family. Book panel physician medicals straight away.

5. 5

   Visa grant

   Months 5–10

   WA quotes 2 to 6 months. Get your written offer, pay point and squad date before you do anything irreversible.

6. 6

   Notice, packing and flights

   Months 6–12

   At least one month's notice in England and Wales. WA expects you to start as soon as possible after the visa is approved, and doesn't provide accommodation during the course.

7. 7

   13-week course, then 6 months' probation

   Year 1–2

   Paid from day one at Joondalup. You're paid at the Constable year matching your service, for example $99,900 (4th year) or $102,263 (5th year) from 1 July 2026.

WA reimburses the main applicant's visa (currently valued at $6,140) plus $300. WA also says you can salary package eligible relocation costs; ask Police Recruiting which costs qualify before you book anything.

SAPOL says every stage can be done from the UK and that assessments take at least 8 weeks. Only after you pass are you invited to lodge the 186. The age cut-off, under 45 (44 years and 364 days), applies when you lodge and pay for the visa, so a 44-year-old has to move fast.

1. 1

   Health form, records and certificates

   Month 0

   Complete SAPOL's Statement of Personal Health and Circumstances, then gather your service, training, sickness and absence, and conduct records. Order your ACRO certificate in parallel.

2. 2

   Phone interview and aptitude testing

   Months 0–1

   A preliminary call, then online personality and aptitude tests (plus literacy for UK applicants). SAPOL says delays in testing slow the whole process.

3. 3

   Panel interview, psych, medical and FCA

   Months 1–3

   A video panel, psychological and medical checks, and a Functional Capacity Assessment run by an approved provider in your home country.

4. 4

   Invitation and visa lodgement

   Months 2–4

   SAPOL invites you to lodge the 186 under its labour agreement. You pay the charges up front. Book panel physician medicals immediately.

5. 5

   Visa grant and course place

   Months 4–16

   Home Affairs decides half of labour agreement 186s within 50 days and 90% within 12 months. SAPOL confirms your course place once the visa is approved.

6. 6

   Notice, move and sworn in on day 1

   After the grant

   You're sworn in and paid as a Probationary Constable ($83,398 from 1 January 2026) from the first day of the 15-week course at Taperoo.

7. 7

   Probation of 6, 9 or 12 months

   Year 1–2

   SAPOL sets the length from your credited service (100% of prior service, up to 7 years). Reimbursement of eligible costs happens on commencement.

SAPOL is the most generous on costs: eligible visa, assessment, pre-medical and police clearance costs are repaid for you and your dependants. But it's a reimbursement, so you need the cash first. For a family of four, that's $12,280 in visa charges alone.

QPS describes a 13-step process and says it takes about 10 weeks from application to a conditional offer. The catch is what comes next: you must be granted permanent residence before you start at the academy, so your PACE intake date depends on Home Affairs.

1. 1

   Check eligibility and apply

   Month 0

   3+ years' service including 24 months operational, and under 55 at visa application (QPS says under 54 when you apply). A UK passport covers the English requirement; a British National (Overseas) passport doesn't.

2. 2

   Testing, interview and checks

   Months 0–3

   QPS's assessments run to a conditional offer in about 10 weeks. Note how long each result lasts: medical and psych 12 months, fitness 6 months, interview 2 years.

3. 3

   Nomination and 186 lodgement

   Months 3–4

   Lodge with your family. Only the main applicant's visa is reimbursed, and only after recruit training, so budget for the rest.

4. 4

   PR granted, intake confirmed

   Months 5–15

   If the visa takes more than about 6 months, your fitness result may lapse. Keep training and ask QPS whether you'll need to re-test.

5. 5

   Notice, move and PACE

   After the grant

   PACE runs over 20 weeks at the QPS Academy (QPS described 18 weeks in October 2024). First Year Constable pay starts at $78,505 from 1 July 2026; your pay point is assessed case by case.

6. 6

   First-year program and the incentive

   Year 1–2

   A $20,000 incentive is paid in two $10,000 instalments: one at graduation and one after the first-year program. You also commit to 3 years in General Duties.

If you're at pay point 2.1 or above, QPS says you can move to Senior Constable after the 12-month first-year program. Qualifications don't lift the pay point. Our rank and service recognition guide compares how all three forces credit UK service.

Every force asks for proof of your service, and records that take weeks to arrive are a delay the forces themselves warn about. WA, for example, says it can request your service records for you, but that this can take several weeks. Start the list below the week you decide to apply, even before you submit anything.

Ask your force's HR team early for the sickness and conduct records in particular. If you've had a career break, work out your continuous service now: WA allows a break of no more than 18 months, and SAPOL counts only continuous active service in the last 5 years.

All three forces use the Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186), Labour Agreement stream. It's permanent from grant, it includes your family, and it gives you a 5-year travel facility. Home Affairs expects you to start with the nominating force within 6 months of entering Australia and to work for it for at least 2 years.

Only registered migration agents and lawyers can charge for immigration help. Your force's recruiting team will guide you through its nomination, and many officers don't need an agent at all, but if you do want one, check the OMARA register first. Our visa guide for police officers covers the 186 in more depth.

In England and Wales, Police Regulations 2003 reg 14 leaves the notice period to the Secretary of State's determination, which sets at least one month's written notice; forces such as Norfolk publish the same in their policies. Pension administrators recommend giving about 3 months, so your final pay and deferred pension are processed cleanly. Scotland and the PSNI set notice by their own determinations, and we haven't confirmed their periods.

With one month's notice and a course that starts soon after the grant, the window is tight. So have everything else ready before the grant arrives: documents packed, shipping quoted and the pension paperwork started. You can warn your line manager informally earlier if you trust them, but don't put your resignation in writing until you hold the grant. Police Pay UK explains notice periods and what resigning does to your pension.

Most UK officers moving to Australia keep a deferred UK police pension. Transfers out of unfunded public service schemes to arrangements offering flexible benefits are blocked by the Pension Schemes Act 2015, and Australian super funds are accumulation funds, so in practice a transfer is very unlikely (our reading; no official page says it outright). That makes the date you leave, and your scheme membership, the things to understand now.

Under the UK–Australia tax treaty, UK pensions paid to an Australian resident are taxable only in Australia. Read your UK police pension if you move to Australia, and use Police Pay UK's pension calculator and McCloud remedy calculator for your numbers. This is general information, not financial advice; speak to your administrator and a regulated adviser who knows both systems.

If you're bringing a cat or dog, start the paperwork at least 6 months before you fly, which usually means starting before you've even been offered a job. The UK is a Group 3 country under Australia's rules, and the rabies blood test sets a 180-day clock that can't be shortened.

1. 1

   Microchip and rabies vaccination

   7+ months out

   Microchip first, then the rabies vaccination, in that order. Keep the vaccination continuous, with boosters on time, until export.

2. 2

   Rabies blood test (RNATT)

   6+ months out

   After the vaccination, a vet takes a blood sample for the RNATT. Your pet must then stay in the UK for 180 days from the sample date.

3. 3

   Import permit

   3–6 months out

   Apply to the Department of Agriculture: $626 for the first animal and $299 for each additional one. Book a Mickleham quarantine place (reservation $282).

4. 4

   Flight to Melbourne and quarantine

   Arrival

   Pets arrive in Melbourne only. Quarantine at Mickleham is at least 10 days if a government vet verified your pet's identity, otherwise 30 days, at $56 a day plus a $1,132 importation charge.

For one pet, the government charges alone come to at least $2,600 with a 10-day stay, or $3,720 with 30 days, by our calculation from the department's fees. A second animal adds at least $2,273. Vet tests, pet transport and the onward flight to Perth or Adelaide are extra. Some breeds are banned outright, so check the list before you start.

For household goods, items you've owned and used for 12 months or more before you leave are duty and GST free when you declare them on form B534. Anything newer must be declared and may attract duty. Avoid buying new furniture or appliances to ship. Our practical first steps guide covers shipping and importing a car in detail.

The costs below are the ones with official prices. Flights, shipping, temporary accommodation and a rental bond depend on your family and route, so get quotes. Conversions from pounds use the RBA rate on 9 October 2026 and are illustrations only.

What you get back depends on the force. Here's the position for a couple with two children under 18, whose 186 charges total $12,280 ($6,140 + $3,070 + 2 × $1,535).

Two timing traps catch people out. The first is age: SAPOL's limit is under 45 at visa lodgement, so a 44-year-old needs to finish assessments quickly. The second is WA's service rule: you can apply at 2 years 8 months, but nomination waits until you reach 3 years.

Once you're in Australia, a longer clock starts. Citizenship needs 4 years' residence on a valid visa, including 12 months as a permanent resident, and some sensitive roles need citizenship for a security clearance. On a 186 you're a permanent resident from grant, so for most officers it's 4 years from arrival, subject to the absence limits.