Tasmania Police promotion
how to qualify, apply and what it pays

Tasmania Police's promotional pathway is short: Constable, Sergeant, Inspector, Commander, Assistant Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner. Forces such as SA Police add Senior Constable, Senior Sergeant and Chief Inspector rungs. Tasmania doesn't have them as pay scales.

You'll still see the title Senior Constable. Under the Police Award, 'Senior Constable' and 'qualified Senior Constable' are gazetted titles, and each one gives you one accelerated increment within the Constable scale. So the title moves you up the Constable levels faster rather than onto a new salary scale.

Because Tasmania has fewer ranks, much of your pay growth happens inside a rank. The table shows every level from the current award table, with the scheduled rise beside it. Both columns come from Police Award No. 2 of 2026.

How you move through the levels

Constables start at Level 1 after the trainee course and reach Level 2 after 12 months, subject to probation and a satisfactory assessment. Levels 3 to 12 then come on each anniversary. If you gained an approved bachelor degree by independent study before appointment, you can go to Level 3 after probation.

The top two Constable levels are gated by study. Level 13(i) needs 12 months on Level 12 plus either the Sergeant Professional Development Program or an approved tertiary qualification. Level 13(ii) needs both. Sergeant Levels 6(i) and 6(ii), and Inspector Level 4(ii), are gated the same way.

Promotion is governed by Division 3 of Part 2 of the Police Service Act 2003. It sets out who can be promoted, who decides and what 'merit' means. The rules are short and worth reading in full, because they're what a review board will apply if you challenge a decision.

1. 1

   Qualify

   s 16, s 18(2)

   Under section 18(2), a non-commissioned officer is qualified for promotion once they've passed, or been accredited with, the examinations and other assessments the Commissioner determines. A Qualification and Accreditation Committee of at least three people runs the courses, exams and accreditations (section 16).

2. 2

   Apply in writing

   s 18(1)

   A qualified officer applies by written notice to the Commissioner, and can withdraw the application the same way (section 18(1) and (6)).

3. 3

   Selection committee recommends

   s 17

   The Commissioner may set up Promotion Selection Committees of at least three people to make recommendations on promotions (section 17).

4. 4

   Commissioner decides, or recommends

   s 18(3)-(5)

   The Commissioner can promote a qualified officer to any rank below Inspector. For Inspector, the Commissioner recommends to the Minister. The Commissioner may take your conduct into account (section 18(3)-(5)).

5. 5

   Published in the Gazette

   s 19-20

   The intended promotion is published in the Police Gazette (section 19). If nobody seeks review, it takes effect 15 days after publication (section 20).

Merit means your capacity to do the job, judged on knowledge, skills, qualifications and experience, plus your potential to develop further. (Police Service Act 2003, s 21)

Tasmania Police says all its study and promotion opportunities, from Trainee Constable to Inspector, form part of an undergraduate or postgraduate University of Tasmania program. In 2016 it described the continuum like this: recruits gain an Associate Degree, officers complete the Bachelor of Social Science (Police Studies) as they qualify for Sergeant, and those heading for Inspector can take Professional Honours in Police Studies.

The qualifying programs are the PQAP and the Sergeant and Inspector Professional Development Programs, and the award ties pay levels to the last two. Their current syllabus, exam dates and pass marks aren't on the public recruitment site.

What officers describe

In February 2026 The Examiner reported on three newly promoted Launceston sergeants. They described screening exams with high pass marks, then an academy course in two parts (management and operational), final assessments, and a panel of senior officers that also included someone from another government agency. Two of the three had failed their first attempt and reapplied. They had served about 10 to 16 years. This is a newspaper account, not an official process document.

Once you're qualified, you're free to apply for promotion positions. Tasmania Police describes all its promotion processes as merit-based. In practice, that means a written application, an assessment of your record and a panel. The Examiner's account suggests qualified officers then wait in an eligibility pool for vacancies.

Section 81 makes it an offence to make a statement you know is false or misleading in a promotion application, or to leave out something that makes it misleading, and the Commissioner can also take disciplinary action. Keep every claim accurate and provable.

Tasmania gives unsuccessful applicants a real remedy. The Police Review Board is a five-member body appointed by the Minister after consulting the Commissioner and the Police Association of Tasmania. It hears reviews of promotions up to and including Inspector.

Your promotion isn't fully secure on day one. Section 33 makes the promotion of a non-commissioned officer subject to probation of up to 12 months, as the Commissioner decides. For commissioned officers, the Governor sets it. At the end, the promotion is confirmed or not.

These are base salaries from the current award table. The after-tax column is our calculation with 2026-27 ATO rates for a single person with no HELP debt or deductions.

The jump into Sergeant is small if you're already at the top of the Constable scale, because Levels 13(i) and 13(ii) overlap the bottom of the Sergeant scale. The real gain comes over time, as Sergeant increments climb to $125,625. An approved degree starts you at Sergeant Level 2 ($111,506) instead of Level 1.

On base salary alone, Inspector looks like a large rise: +$44,401 from the top of the Sergeant scale. But two things change when you're commissioned. The shift and penalty allowance (28% of normal salary on a 24-hour roster) is for Constables and Sergeants, and so is double-time overtime. Inspectors get an after-hours supervision allowance of $2,053 a year instead.

A Sergeant on a non-24-hour rotating roster gets 21% of normal salary instead, which narrows the gap less. Either way, if you work regular overtime as a Sergeant, an Inspector role can pay less in practice for the first years. That doesn't make it the wrong move, but it's worth pricing honestly.

If you're a Sergeant or Inspector elsewhere and thinking of moving to Tasmania, know this before you apply. Experienced officers join through the 12-week Accelerated Training Program, and rank doesn't transfer. Pay reflects up to 12 years' prior service, capped at Constable Level 12.

Sergeants and commissioned officers from other forces are paid Constable Level 11 during the program and probation. To get back to Sergeant, you qualify and compete like any Tasmanian member. Our guide to joining Tasmania Police covers the program in detail.

The Examiner's sergeants were candid that the process is hard and that failing once is normal. Preparation that starts a year out makes the difference.

See how other jurisdictions compare in our guides to SA Police, NT Police and AFP promotion, or check overtime rules in our overtime and penalty rates guide.