Entry requirements

Applicants can apply at 17.5 years of age, provided they turn 18 before starting the Recruit Training Course. 

Tasmania Police conducts extensive background checks on police officer applicants during the selection process. Your previous history will be continually checked and assessed. Failure to declare information may result in automatic cancellation of your application. 

All offences committed by you as a youth must also be disclosed. 

Applicants should read the Tasmania Police Prior History Offence Guidelines  prior to submitting their application. These guidelines will give applicants an understanding of the eligibility regarding previous offences that may have been committed. 

Tasmania Police also monitors various social media sites to ensure potential applicants meet community expectations. 

Any referees provided will be contacted. 

If you have any adverse contact with police (e.g. charged with an offence, or issued an infringement notice) during the selection process, you must inform Recruiting Services immediately. 

If you left school after the year 2020 Tasmania Police educational entry requirements are that you have completed year 12 or a Certificate III.  This aligns with the Department for Education, Children and Young People’s leaving school requirements.

Those that finished school before this time are required to have completed year 10 with a pass mark (C grade) in Maths and English, or equivalent.  Tasmania Police accepts Certificate II in General Education for Adults as an alternative to year 10.

There are no other pre-requisite subjects and no Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) requirements.

Please contact Tasmania Police Recruiting if you seek further clarification on your academic eligibility.

You must be either an Australian or New Zealand Citizen or have permanent Australian resident status.   Eligible VISA subsclasses include 189 and 190.

As a police officer, you will be required to maintain a healthy level of cardio fitness and physical strength to meet the physical requirements of the job. As part of the recruitment process, you will be required to undertake fitness evaluation/testing.  

Therefore, it is important to establish an ongoing schedule of exercise to maintain your fitness whilst undertaking the application process and after you are employed by Tasmania Police. 

The physical testing is conducted early in the selection continuum and an inability to reach the minimum standards will result in an early removal from the selection process. 

For more information, see Fitness and Psychometric Testing. 

To join Tasmania Police, you must have a current Australian drivers licence (provisional licences are accepted). 

If you have an interstate licence it will need to be changed to a Tasmanian licence before commencing your training. 

If you have an overseas licence, it must be converted to an Australian drivers licence before you submit an application. 

Once employed as a police officer, you may be required to drive vehicles with both automatic and manual transmission. 

If you have previously held an interstate licence, you will need to supply a copy of your ‘Driving Offence History’ which can be obtained from the relevant licencing body (Department of Transport and Main Roads, or similar). 

To meet our minimum standards, it is preferred applicants have no driving offences recorded against their licence. All traffic offences and any identified issues with driving behaviour will be considered and may result in an application being rejected. Serious driving offences will generally result in an application being rejected. 

A case-by-case assessment however will be made re eligibility/suitability depending on the Traffic Infringement Notice offence, amount received, and circumstances involved. 

Prior to selection on a recruit course, applicants must have a current First Aid Certificate and a swimming certification from either Royal Life Saving Australia or AUSTSWIM. Applicants are responsible for obtaining these qualifications. You do not require these qualifications to submit an expression of interest to join Tasmania Police. 

The minimum First Aid requirement for applicants are the following units of competency: 

• HLTAID009 Provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation 
• HLTAID010 Provide basic emergency life support 
• HLTAID011 Provide first aid 

• These may vary depending on Service Provider or State of residence. Should clarification be required, applicants should contact Recruiting Services. 
• The swimming certification form can be downloaded here. 

Policing is a unique profession which demands a high degree of physical and mental fitness to manage the challenging parts of the job. 

Tasmania Police needs to ensure applicants are inherently suited to a career in policing and will not be put at undue risk of harm (physical or mental), if employed as a police officer. 

Applicants need to prove they meet the inherent requirements needed to be a police officer, as per the Tasmania Police Physical Health Standards for Police Applicants. 

Applicants must disclose all medical conditions and symptoms to ensure a full suitability assessment can be made. 

These standards are very similar to other Australian police jurisdictions and the Australian Defence Force. 

If you require advice about the psychological standards, please contact us. 

If you are successful at the interview stage, you will be given a medical assessment package to take to your General Practitioner (GP) to complete. 

This package will assess your current health, as well as previous surgery and medical conditions. 

As part of this medical assessment, you will also need to have your hearing tested by an audiologist, and your eyesight tested by an optometrist. 

You may also be requested to provide specialist reports depending on your medical history. 

Medical checks and any associated costs are the responsibility of the applicant and are not facilitated by Tasmania Police. 

Failure to disclose information will result in the withdrawal of your application. 

As a police officer you will be expected to communicate clearly, effectively and in a professional manner. Applicants will be assessed on this at varying stages throughout the selection process. 

Tasmania Police needs to be aware of any association or potential conflict of interest which may compromise you or reflect adversely on our organisation. 

An inappropriate association is any association with a person or organisation suspected (or known by you) of either being engaged in unlawful activity or with previous history of engaging in unlawful activity. 

These associations will reflect on community perceptions of your integrity and ability to use authority with integrity. They may also put you in a position where associates attempt to ask you to forgo your duty or otherwise compromise your integrity as an employee of Tasmania Police. 

These associates could be family, friends, members of recreational clubs or other people you associate with. 

You will be required to declare these during the application process. Failure to disclose information may result in the withdrawal of your application.