In recognition of the education, training and aptitude of emergency service workers, paramedics and firefighters who have worked anywhere in Australia, New Zealand or the United Kingdom will be exempt from the exam if they’ve been employed in the past five years.
The exemption does not apply to volunteers.
A range of other applicants, including those with favourable VCE results or working in specified public service roles, will also be fast-tracked by similar exemptions.
Australian Defence Force personnel who have served full-time in the past five years, all Victoria Police employees and Victorian Public Service employees working elsewhere at Grade 3 or higher are included.
Applicants who attained an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank of 65 or above and a minimum VCE study score of 25 in English in the past five years will also be exempt from the entrance exam.
Furthermore, applicants qualified with a bachelor degree in arts, science, humanities, business or law from the past five years, including in New Zealand and the United Kingdom, will also be immune.
Students enrolled in their final university year of a criminology bachelor'’s degree or similar at a university in Australia, New Zealand or the United Kingdom are also on the list.
Victoria Police said 490 university-qualified applicants had benefited from the existing bachelor degree exemption since it was introduced in 2023.
The streamlined recruitment process aims to fill more than 1000 vacancies in the state.
It places exam thresholds in line with those for protective services officers, to allow for a more holistic assessment of applicants.
“These changes mean quality applicants will no longer be held up with unnecessary obstacles to start their policing journey,” Acting Chief Commissioner Rick Nugent said.
“That translates to more recruits starting their training sooner and more rapid support for the front line.“
Applicants will still need to pass eight components of the test, including literacy, writing, verbal skills, numeracy and more.
Those who have successfully passed academic entry requirements for other police forces in Australia will also not be made to sit Victoria Police’s entrance exam.
To further speed up recruitments, Victoria Police is removing the need for most potential recruits to have one-on-one psychologist appointments.
It says it has reviewed its psychological testing and is confident it can identify issues without everyone needing one-on-one testing.
The option will still be available as required.
“There’s no doubt policing can be a tough job and it takes a special person to do it,” Acting Chief Commissioner Nugent said.
“We want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to attract those people and back the hard-working police making a difference out in the community each and every day.
“That translates to more recruits starting their training sooner and more rapid support for the front line.”
More changes are expected as Victoria Police continues a review of its recruitment process.
Double squads have returned to the Victoria Police Academy in Glen Waverley for the first time since February last year.
Three double squad intakes, with 44 recruits in each, are planned.
The first started training last month.
∎ For more information about Victoria Police’s recruitment process, go to police.vic.gov.au/police-recruitment-process.
