WA Police entrance exam
there isn't one now: here's what replaced it

WA Police's published entry-level process runs in three stages, and none of them is a written test. Our WA force data records it like this: The current WA process lists no separate written aptitude or cognitive entrance exam, and the FAQ says there is no standardised aptitude test score. The older 'WA Police Entrance Assessment' is not referenced on the current recruiting site. The FAQs go further: you don't need any qualifications to apply, and every application is assessed on individual merit.

That doesn't mean thinking skills aren't assessed. One of WA's six selection criteria is "analytical, comprehension and problem solving skills", and the panel scores it. You're simply assessed through your examples and answers rather than a timed paper.

Older guides and prep sites describe a written "WA Police Entrance Assessment". The current Let's Join Forces recruiting site doesn't mention it, and the published process has no written test. WA Police hasn't published why or when it changed, so we won't guess at dates.

Here's the process as WA Police publishes it. The assessments take about three to four months, and you only move to the next stage if you pass the one before.

1. 1

   Online application

   With ID, licence history and photos of visible tattoos and piercings.

2. 2

   Stage 1: initial assessments

   Integrity check, tattoo review, psychological evaluation and the Physical Performance Evaluation (PPE).

3. 3

   Stage 2: panel interview

   Assesses teamwork, drive and integrity, analytical and problem solving, adaptability and judgement, and communication; followed by a holistic review panel.

4. 4

   Stage 3: final assessments

   Health and medical (P58 standard), vision, full background and integrity check, fingerprints and DNA, and a bankruptcy check. Final-stage costs (first aid, medical, vision, bankruptcy check, fingerprints/DNA) are reimbursed.

5. 5

   Selection pool

   Placement is not guaranteed; you must confirm your physical ability before recruit school. The 3 stages take about 3-4 months.

For eligibility and the full application walkthrough, see our guide to joining WA Police. Eligibility is short: 17 years and 6 months or older to apply, Australian or New Zealand citizen or Australian permanent resident, a manual or automatic C class licence (provisional is fine) and a current first aid certificate, which can be completed within 90 days of applying.

WA Police describes its psychological tests as assessments of "everything from your personality, psychological state and background risks". It stresses that you must answer honestly, because the tests are designed to identify applicants who manage their impressions, and that produces an invalid result.

In WA's psychological evaluation, the way to fail is to try to look perfect.

WA doesn't publish the provider or format, and there's no study guide for personality testing. If you want to practise something, practise talking honestly and clearly about your strengths, your mistakes and what you learned from them, which is also what the panel wants.

If you pass Stage 1, you're invited to a panel interview that assesses your suitability. WA Police lists the selection criteria you're assessed against and its four core values: duty, teamwork, integrity and care. This table is where the "exam" really happens in WA.

WA's own advice is to research the role, talk to serving officers if you can, prepare specific examples from your life and work, and know the core values. Panels aren't expecting perfection, it says, but they are expecting thoughtful, concise, honest answers. Practise them out loud with the AI mock interview and read our WA Police interview guide.

Questions like these are a warm-up for the panel's scenario questions. Better still, turn each one into a real example from your life: when did you face a clash like this, and what did you do?

The PPE sits in Stage 1 alongside the psychological evaluation, and it's the stage where WA applicants most often need to prepare. These are the minimum standards:

WA runs a free "Fit for Duty" programme on its recruiting site. Our beep test audio lets you practise the shuttle run at home, and the WA Police fitness test guide covers every component.

1. 1

   Week 1: baseline

   45 min a day

   Test yourself against every PPE standard. Write down eight to ten real examples, at least one for each selection criterion. Do one comprehension or reasoning set a day.

2. 2

   Week 2: fitness and examples

   60 min a day

   Train for your weakest PPE test every other day. Turn each example into a STAR answer: situation, task, action, result. Keep up daily reasoning sets.

3. 3

   Week 3: say it out loud

   60 min a day

   Practise answers aloud, timed at two to three minutes. Ask someone to fire scenario questions at you. Research WA's regions, priorities and core values.

4. 4

   Week 4: rehearse and rest

   45 min a day, then rest

   Full PPE rehearsal mid-week, two mock interviews, and plenty of sleep before your psychological evaluation. Don't try to 'prepare' answers for it.

WA doesn't publish scores. Applicants who reach the review panel are assessed holistically on everything collected: prior work performance, traffic and criminal history, psychological suitability, physical ability and the selection criteria. If you're not progressed, WA Police says you'll be given an individual reapplication date, where applicable, and it encourages you to reapply.

If you pass, you go into a selection pool. Placement isn't guaranteed, and you'll need to confirm your physical ability again before a recruit school. Places aren't first in, first out: WA mixes each school by gender, age and background.

WA also reimburses several final-stage costs (first aid certificate, medical, vision assessment, bankruptcy check, and fingerprints and DNA) if you reach the final assessments, so keep your receipts.