Q: I have a medical condition I wish to discuss prior to submitting an application. How do I do this?

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1 Q: How do I start the application process? A: Once you have confirmed your eligibility to join Victoria Police, take the Victoria Police Entrance Exam. See the Eligibility section under Can I join? for more information. Q: How long is the application process? A: At the moment, the application process is about four to five months. Q: Is there an age restriction? A: Yes, you must be at least 18 years of age to join Victoria Police. There is no upper age restriction. If you are 21 or older, you are eligible to submit an application under mature age entry. Q: I have a medical condition I wish to discuss prior to submitting an application. How do I do this? A: If you wish to check whether your particular medical condition will affect an application, fill in the Assessment of Medical Condition form, which is available in the Eligibility section under Can I join?. Q: I have a prior offence history I wish to discuss before submitting an application. How do I do this? A: If you wish to have your prior history assessed, fill out the Voluntary Disclosure Form, available in the Eligibility section under Can I join?. Q: What does the initial entrance exam comprise? A: The exam comprises five tests, all of which must be passed: spelling and comprehension, mathematics, reasoning ability, English skills, and writing. For more information, see the VETASSESS website for more information. Q: What happens if I fail the exam? A: If you fail any component of the exam, you may re sit that component. It is recommended that you wait three months before attempting to re sit a component, but you may attempt a re sit any time within 12 months of the first sitting. If you fail on a second attempt, you must wait 12 months from the date of the first sitting and you will be required to undertake the entire entrance exam again. An entrance exam preparation kit is available to assist candidates. See the VETASSESS website for more information. This kit contains useful information, including: tips to prepare for the exam, sample and practice questions, model responses, and suggestions for avoiding common mistakes. Some TAFEs offer preparatory courses that may assist candidates to prepare for the exam. The preparatory courses are not compulsory. Contact a TAFE directly for further information. 1

2 Q: How thorough do I have to be with my disclosure on the application form? A: We understand that you may have had issues or prior offences in your past, which you may think will impact your application. We advise applicants to disclose all previous history and allow Recruiting Services to make a thorough assessment. You are expected to disclose everything, as failure to disclose any previous issue or prior offence history will be looked upon unfavourably and your application may be cancelled. Q: How long does it take to conduct background checks? A: The timing for each application differs greatly depending on the type of checks necessary. It can take anywhere from two weeks to a number of months. As expected, Victoria Police must be very thorough and comprehensive in the background checking process and to ensure we find the most suitable applicants. Q: What medical conditions could preclude me from joining Victoria Police? A: Each application is assessed individually. If you think a medical condition may affect your capability to perform the role of a police member, fill in the form, available in the Eligibility section under Can I join?. Q: How soon will I be booked in for a fitness test? A: Be ready from the moment you begin! All applicants need to be physically ready and capable to pass the fitness test at the commencement of their application. You will be booked for a fitness test as soon as your background checks have been completed. Q: What is required of me at the fitness test? A: The fitness test includes: the Hand Grip test, Illinois Agility Run, and Multi stage Fitness (beep) Test (level 6 10). You must pass all these tests to successfully complete the fitness test. Applicants are also expected to complete the: 1.3 metre obstacle climb, 10 push ups on their toes, prone test, and 100 metre swimming test. For more information, see the physical and psychological testing section for more information. Q: What do I have to study to prepare for the selection panel? A: Victoria Police selection panel members will be looking for applicants who demonstrate behaviours consistent with our organisational values. You will be asked a series of behavioural based questions and your responses should include examples of your behaviours/experiences which illustrate your capacity in the following areas: Flexibility, Integrity, Support, Leadership, Respect, and Professionalism. Q: How long do I have to wait before being selected for a squad? A: Recruiting Services tries to provide applicants with a minimum six weeks notice prior to commencing in a squad. Squad selection and numbers depend on a number of factors. 2

3 Q: How long after my selection panel interview may I be selected? A: Applicants can be selected immediately after being found suitable at the final assessment conducted by managers, Recruiting Services. This assessment is conducted within a day of your selection panel interview. Q: Do I need to have a VCE certificate? A: You need Year 12 equivalent English functional literacy in order to perform your role as a police officer. If you are under 21 years of age, you must have passed the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) or equivalent (Senior Level Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) is accepted). There are no other pre requisite subjects and no Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank (ENTER) requirements. If you are 21 or older, you are eligible to submit an application under mature age entry. There is no upper age restriction. Q: Do I need to have a particular ENTER score? A: No. Just a pass. Q: Does Victoria Police offer further training/study opportunities? A: Training is ongoing for first two years as a probationary constable. Study leave is available post probationary stage. Further in house courses and training are available. Q: What is the education bonus point? A: Applicants are awarded one bonus point for providing proof of a completed Bachelor Degree or higher in any field. Q: Is there a height restriction? A: There is no minimum or maximum height requirement. Part of the medical assessment is a person's weight for height ratio, which is based upon the Body Mass Index (BMI). We understand that some applicants may have a higher BMI due to muscle mass. This can be tested at a Sum of Skin Folds test with KONEKT. Q: How fit do I have to be and do I have to maintain my fitness level? A: You must maintain the fitness level and will be retested twice a year once you are a serving member of Victoria Police. Q: Do I get paid while training at the Victoria Police Academy? A: Yes, recruits are paid a salary while in training, which is $37,237 per annum 3

4 Q: How much will I get paid when I graduate? A: After graduation, the starting salary for a constable is $51,156 per annum. In addition, there are shift penalties and overtime payments available. Each year salary increments increase with Enterprise Bargaining agreement if members qualify under their Professional Development Assessment. Q: Will I pay tax? A: Yes, as per current taxation levels Q: What are my leave entitlements once I leave the Academy? A: Unfortunately you cannot take leave during training unless it s leave allocated by the Education Department. You will accrue leave pro rata while in training at the Academy. Q: Can I train part time? A: No. To archive the high standards required of Victoria Police, it is mandatory to dedicate yourself full time to your studies at the Academy. Q: Can I work part time? A: Yes. Part time applications can be made to the divisional manager after the two year probationary period. This decision will be made based on operational requirements of your work area. Q: What kind of shifts will I be expected to work? A: Victoria Police provides a 24 hour, seven day a week service, therefore as a constable you will be required to work a variety of shifts associated with particular duties and locations. This includes weekends, night shifts and public holidays. The arrangement for ordinary hours of work is described in the Victoria Police Workplace Agreement The ordinary hours of work for full time members is 80 hours per fortnight arranged within various shifts to suit service delivery needs. Intrusive hours (0100 hours to 0700 hours) and unsociable hours (1800 to 0100 Monday to Friday and 0700 to 0100 hours Saturday and Sunday) attract shift allowances for each of these hours worked. Q: Is there any flexibility afforded regarding a work roster? A: Yes, depending on operational requirements. Reasonable requests for flexibility will be considered in light of the operational requirements of the workplace in question. Q: What are the days and hours of training? A: Monday to Thursday 7:30am 4pm and Friday 7am 3pm. You may be expected to work some evenings and weekends. 4

5 Q: Can I go home on weekends while in training? A: Yes, we encourage recruits to have a healthy work life balance while in the Academy. Study at the Academy is challenging and you ll need the support of your friends and family and will want to see them after a long week. Q: Do I need to be in Victoria to apply to join Victoria Police? A: No. Entrance exams can be sat at a number of locations nationally. You will need to come to Victoria for the fitness test, psychological test and panel interview. Q: Can I complete some of the selection process whilst overseas? A: You must be available to attend a fitness test and then the panel interview in Victoria as part of the selection process. The Victoria Police Entrance exams can be sat at a number of locations nationally. Q: Do I need to be an Australian Citizen to apply to join Victoria Police? A: Police Regulations Act stipulates that you must be an Australian Citizen or at least hold permanent residency to be eligible to submit an application to join Victoria Police. Q: I am a New Zealand Citizen with a Special Category Visa. Can I submit an application to join Victoria Police? A: New Zealand citizens are usually granted a Special Category Visa to live and work in Australia. If you have arrived in Australia on a Special Category visa between 1994 and 2001, you meet the residency requirements. This visa is not sufficient to gaining employment as a sworn member of the crown in Victoria for anyone that arrived in Australia outside those dates. In that case, you will need to contact the Department of Immigration to arrange a formal permanent residency visa prior to submitting an application to join Victoria Police. Q: Do I get a choice in where I get posted? A: Probationary constables will most likely be placed at a metropolitan station (usually a 24 hour station). There is no guarantee of a placement close to an individual s residential address, or one serviced by public transport. Your placement location may also change during the probationary period. You must also be prepared to be posted anywhere within the state of Victoria at the Chief Commissioner s discretion. Q: What is the likelihood of being sent a country location? A: To secure a country location, there must be a vacancy in existence at the station that you can apply for. If there is no position available at the time, you may place your name on a waiting list. Depending on the location, it may take a considerable time to be selected 5

6 Q: Will the fact that I have a family and/or mortgage be taken into account when determining my posting? A: Victoria Police recognises the need for work life balance but all decisions regarding postings are made on operational requirements. You must be prepared to be posted anywhere within the state of Victoria at the Chief Commissioner s discretion. Q: How often will I need to move postings? A: Your name will go into a balloting process once you complete the probationary stage (two years) at which time you will be posted to another location. You may stay at this location for as long as you wish. Q: Can I go straight to a specialised position? A: No. You will need to gain considerable service in general duties. This is usually a two to four year period. Entry into specialised positions is very competitive and you will need to compete for a position. Q: What is Victoria Police s stance on tattoos? A: Victoria Police expects their employee to portray a professional image. Subjective assessment will be made on place, style and type of tattoo that cannot be covered by a normal uniform. Q: Does Victoria Police hold Academy Open days? A: There are no Open Days planned in the near future. We are however holding a series of Recruitment Information Sessions during 2010 commencing on the 14 and 21 July at the Victoria Police Academy with regional sessions planned in August. Q: Can I transfer to Victoria Police from another policing organisation? A: There are no lateral transfers available to police members from other jurisdictions; however upon successful completion of the recruitment process, applicants may be eligible for recognition of prior policing service (RPPS). If eligible for RPPS, previous skills and experience will be assessed in order to identify any skill gap training that may be offered. At the completion of this assessment applicants may be offered a reduced period of training at the Victoria Police Academy which usually amounts to eight weeks. Alternatively, or should the application not be assessed for skill gap training, applicants will be required to complete the entire training course of 100 days at the Victoria Police Academy. Q: Will I have to go to the Academy for training? A: Yes, if you are found suitable for a shortened training course, you will complete a minimum of eight weeks training. Some applicants with Prior Policing Service will need to complete the entire course of 23 weeks at the Academy, dependant on their prior skills / learning / background. 6

7 Q: Will you recognise my prior police service? A: Victoria Police does recognise prior policing experience and will assess the requirement for length of training and remuneration. Q: Will you recognise my prior military service? A: No. Victoria Police only recognises prior policing service. 7