Although a career in policing can be rewarding, it can also be challenging. To meet the demands of the job, you need to embody the values and potential that’s necessary to succeed as a police officer.
Once you’ve determined that you meet our eligibility criteria and submitted your application, you’ll undergo a rigorous recruitment process that aims to determine whether you’re right for the job.
We will evaluate your application to ensure you meet SA Police’s eligibility criteria. If you do, we’ll invite you to participate remotely in IQ and personality profile testing.
After evaluation of your testing, we may invite you to attend a panel interview*. This interview is your opportunity to demonstrate the necessary qualities and qualifications to succeed in a career as a police officer, such as:
To help assess your personal values, beliefs and attitudes, we’ll ask about and draw on examples from your education, workplaces, social interaction, community interests, and general life experience.
*Interstate and rural South Australian applicant's will be invited to participate in a panel interview via Microsoft Teams.
To participate in academy training and police duties, you need to meet required medical standards. Our Police Medical Section will conduct a medical assessment to ensure you meet these standards.
There is currently no SAPOL policy or direction that requires applicants to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Please note that SAPOL may refer you to a medical provider for the medical examination. The following link provides some further information What do I need to do before my assessment? – Corporate Health Group (chg.net.au)
Read more about our medical standards
To carry out policing duties, you must complete our ‘fit for duty’ fitness test. As part of this test, you’ll wear a 10kg vest and complete the following exercises:
At the start of the test, we’ll give you five physical characteristics to remember (for example, gender or hair colour), and you’ll need to recall at least three of these once you’ve finished.
The test is challenging, so it’s best to start a gradual cardiovascular exercise program in preparation. To be competitive, you need to complete the test in less than two minutes and thirty seconds. Police cadets must also achieve this level to graduate from academy training and the Constable Development Program.
Check out our fit for duty test in action below to see what’s involved.
Our selection board will carefully review your application and will make a decision regarding an offer of employment based on the results of your testing and evaluation during the recruitment process. If the board selects you, we will contact you and provide all the information about when your training will begin.
Please note that successful completion of all tests does not guarantee selection.
In most cases a subsequent application will not be accepted for a period of 12 months. However, SAPOL encourages you to contact the Talent Acquisition Team on 7322 3353 or sapol.recruiting@police.sa.gov.au to discuss your individual circumstances and to seek feedback on how to improve your performance for future applications.
Applicants are required to complete the SAPOL Recruitment Test (with TAFE SA), after submitting an application, unless you qualify for an exemption.
The SAPOL Recruitment Test covers the minimum requirements for literacy to be demonstrated during the recruitment phase. Currently, applicants are required to complete the SAPOL Recruitment Test in person. Work is in progress to make the test available to applicants online before the end of the current financial year.
The current pass marks for the SAPOL Recruitment Test for police officers are:
Reading: 60%
Writing: 60%
For more information, visit our Frequently Asked Questions
This exemption does not apply to volunteer work such as State Emergency Service (SES) or Country Fire Service (CFS).
For more information, visit our Frequently Asked Questions
We understand that, due to geographical restrictions, interstate applicants and those living in regional South Australia may have difficulty attending our standard testing program.
Once we accept your application, we’ll invite you to undertake some components of the initial testing and panel interview remotely. Applicants who are successful in these areas will then be invited to a three-day recruitment event that takes place at Police Headquarters. You’ll begin with the SAPOL Recruitment Test on a Monday and complete all other required testing and evaluations over the following two days.
A cost-of-living allowance will be paid to successful applicants upon commencement at the Police Academy. This is currently $4531.28.