Queensland force luring Victoria Police up north with large cash bonuses and incentives

Victoria Police members are increasingly being enticed to leave the state as the Queensland force offers cash bonuses and incentives for recruits to make the move up north.

The ranks of Victoria Police are under siege, with Queensland’s force revealing that their $20,000 cash bonus and relocation incentives are successfully luring recruits from down south.

New data released by the Queensland Police Service revealed that Victorians were among the most keen recruits after an advertising blitz for the sunshine state hit Melbourne in October.

It comes at a time when local police job vacancies continue to rise, hitting 1,086 in December, up from 1,026 in October and higher than in June.

In an exclusive statement to the Herald Sun, Queensland’s Assistant Commissioner Kevin Guteridge, of the People Capability Command, said Victorians were among the biggest cohort of recruits.

New data released by the Queensland Police Service revealed that Victorians were among the most keen recruits. Picture: Nadir Kinani

“Since launching the QPS’s recruiting campaign across greater Melbourne in October 2024, the PoliceRecruit.qld.gov.au website has observed a 28 per cent increase in Melbourne-based visitors compared to the previous period,” he said.

“More than 10 per cent of active Queensland police recruit applicants with previous policing experience note Victoria as their place of residence, making up the second-highest cohort of such applicants outside of New Zealand.”

Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt said the data was concerning and that Victoria Police are “facing recruitment and retention crisis”.

“Queensland police moved early to attract more police in 2023 offering $20,000 payments towards HECS debts, $20,000 to move from other jurisdictions, while abolishing application fees, accommodation costs and reimbursing other costs,” he said

“They’re so confident of their offering, they are even boldly advertising on our iconic trams as we confront the biggest gap in police resources in a generation.

“You can’t blame them, but you have to ask why our government isn’t securing our talent here in Victoria.”

A Victoria Police spokesman played down the Queensland campaign update saying it was a challenging time for recruitment in every state. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

He added that the ongoing industry pay dispute was also a contributing factor with sworn officers fed up and called for sign on bonuses similar to those in Corrections.

New prison guards are being offered a sweetener of up to $8000 to join.

A Victoria Police spokesperson played down the Queensland campaign update saying it was a challenging time for recruitment in every state.

“Like other forces, we too see applicants move from interstate and indeed overseas to join our ranks,” they said.

“We know there is a lot of competition for police recruits, especially with forces nationwide experiencing similar workforce challenges,” they said.

They added that Victoria Police had initiatives in place including paying recruits “from the day they start training” and nine weeks of paid leave a year.

A Victorian government spokesman said: “We have more police on the beat than any other state or territory – backed by $4.5bn from this government and more than 3600 new police officers to keep Victorians safe.”

But opposition police spokesman David Southwick said more needed to be done.

“With 1,000 police vacancies and dozens of stations remaining closed across the state, Victoria cannot afford to have our police officers poached by other states,” he said.