Drop in academic requirements drives surge in applicants taking Victoria Police entrance exam

A Victoria Police move to lower the academic standards for its entrance exam has driven a surge in new recruits, with 159 applicants able to skip the test altogether.

Dozens of recruits have been fast tracked since Victoria Police relaxed its academic requirements in a bid to lift dire recruitment figures.

Almost 160 applicants have skipped the force’s entrance exam since standards were loosened in early March.

The Herald Sun first revealed the changes, which meant potential recruits who achieved an Australian Tertiary Admission Ranking (ATAR) of 65 or above – four points below the Victorian average – as well as a study score of at least 25 in English, would no longer be required to sit the test.

Defence personnel, firefighters and paramedics also became eligible to skip the exam if they had worked in those fields in the past five years.

Since the new requirements came into effect on March 3, 159 applicants have been waved through.

A graduation ceremony at the Victoria Police academy in Glen Waverley in 2022. Picture: David Crosling

They included 25 defence and emergency service workers, another 24 who achieved the minimum VCE requirements and 15 recruits poached from interstate after sitting their respective exams.

Another 44 applicants who had previously passed the entrance exam in the last five years were also given the green light.

In March, 810 people applied to join the force, up from 518 at the same time last year.

Victoria Police has recorded about 2100 applications in total this year so far, just 140 more compared to the same time last year when there had been 1960 applications.

There are still more than 1000 vacancies in the embattled force, which has also seen major unrest among its top brass in recent weeks with Acting Chief Commissioner Rick Nugent announcing his shock departure once his replacement is found after just weeks in the job.

That development came after ousted Deputy Commissioner Neil Paterson called for an overhaul of how Victoria should choose its next top cop, as well as the government’s backflip on renewing former chief Shane Patton’s role after an abysmal no-confidence vote by the police union.

The Allan government ousted Shane Patton as chief commissioner, triggering in weeks of chaos at the top of police ranks. Picture: Nadir Kinani

Human Resources Command Acting Superintendent Sharon Matheson said the rise in potential recruits, particularly from emergency workers, was promising, but there was still more work left to do to support frontline officers.

“These are people who’ve demonstrated an aptitude for helping others and are committed to making a difference in the community,” Superintendent Matheson said.

“We will continue doing all we can to attract those people and back the great work our members do each and every day.”

Three additional squads – cohorts of new recruits – with double the usual amount of recruits have so far entered the academy.

There are 22 recruits in each squad, making the total 44 as part of the effort to get more officers on the ground more quickly.

Another double squad will begin later this month.

Under the changes that had raised concerns from some rank and file members about the standard of new recruits, most applicants do not have to undergo a one-on-one psychologist appointment.

GP sign-offs on some medical conditions are also accepted “where possible”.

There is no minimum ATAR, study score or education level required to join Victoria Police.

Recruits without an ATAR of 65 or English score of 25 must still sit the exam.

In a statewide email to members last month, acting Chief Commissioner Rick Nugent said the changes would fast track the recruitment process and combat morale and burnout.

“Morale is not what it should be and our people are overstretched in many areas,” he said.

Originally published as Drop in academic requirements drives surge in applicants taking Victoria Police entrance exam