The Police Abridged Competency Education (PACE) Program is for applicants who are either current serving or have previous frontline policing experience within the last 5 years. This program is a separate intake at the academy that runs for 20 weeks. Officers will commence in the First Year Constable (FYC) Program. However, officers with interstate and international policing experience may be afforded the opportunity to apply for early exit from the FYC Program.

To be eligible for the PACE Program you need to meet all of the following criteria:

• Current or recently resigned police officer
• Your length of policing service (minimum 2 years policing experience including academy training – must equate to full-time hours, or equivalent, if part-time/volunteer).
• Maximum of 5 years since resigning
• Years of operational policing experience is greater than years since resigning.

Please note: Your suitability for the program will be determined during the application process.

Interstate and overseas recruit applicants who are serving or recently serving police officers may be eligible to receive a pay which is greater than standard recruits. This could be over $4,000 per fortnight as a recruit and approximately $133k per annum as a First Year Constable. For successful applicants that do not have policing service within the last 5 years, this higher pay is capped at a maximum equivalent of Constable 1.1. For more information, refer to the current QPS Certified Agreement.

Applicants may also be eligible to receive a $20,000 incentive payment. Payments will be made to eligible successful applicants who have recent and relevant policing experience in two $10,000 instalments – the first on graduation from recruit training and the second when the officer has successfully completed both the First Year Constable Programme and the probationary period (at least 12 months). This initiative will be available to a maximum of 1000 eligible successful applicants with recognised interstate or international policing experience. Applications for this incentive are submitted immediately prior to graduation in accordance with the ‘Police Recruit Incentive Policy’ (2023/06). Recruit Training staff will assist with explaining this process. The application cannot be supported until graduation. In general, this application will be processed within one week, and be included in the next available pay cycle. The financial incentive is subject to tax.
Please note: Applicants must have policing service within the last 5 years at time of graduation in order to be eligible for this incentive.

Successful applicants who are re-locating from their place of residence (overseas or anywhere in Australia), outside the greater Brisbane or Townsville area to take up appointment, may apply for reimbursement of appointment expenses. Appointment expenses are restricted/limited to travel (by bus, rail, private motor vehicle or economy airfare) for the applicant only, and do not include accommodation, conveyance of furniture and effects or storage, or expensed incurred by partners and/or children.  If you make your own arrangements to relocate your spouse and/or children, furniture, and effects before graduating as a police officer, you will not be entitled to claim any reimbursement of those costs. Further information provided at offer stage.

Further information around any reimbursements or incentive will be available once a QPS employee.
 

Your policing service is recognised through allocation of a higher pay point than that of a mainstream recruit applicant. The pay point is assessed based on the QPS Certified Agreement, having regard to the recency and relevance of your policing service. You may be paid at your determined pay point from the date of your commencement at the academy as a recruit.

Your commencement pay point will be reflective of a range of factors including, but not limited to:

• length of policing service;
• relevancy, recency and type of policing experience, primarily in terms of frontline general duties;
• transferability of policing skills, knowledge, and experience to the role of a General Duties police officer;
• operational needs of the QPS.

Please note the following:

• Recruit training period/s is not included in pay point recommendations.  It is acknowledged some jurisdictions have various training frameworks, so in these instances consideration is given on a case-by-case basis.
• Qualifications (including degrees and designations) do not contribute to a higher pay point.

Certified Agreement

The QPS Certified Agreement 2022 includes the base salary rates. An Operational Shift Allowance (OSA) of 21% of an employee's base salary will be paid to employees in operational shift positions who equitably participate in operational shift rosters.

At the determination of the Commissioner, officers with interstate or international policing experience may be appointed to the QPS as a constable or senior constable at a level commensurate with their experience.

You will attain Senior Constable rank after completing the 12-month probation period and having your appointment confirmed.

This is achieved in accordance with section 13(2) of the Queensland Police Service Certified Agreement 2022.

To be eligible to progress from Constable to Senior Constable, the Officer must meet the following requirements:

• Completion of 12 months service on pay point 1.5;
• Completion of satisfactory performance reports (DAP); and
• Completion of compulsory training requirements for the preceding financial year.

To progress to Sergeant, you must:

• Complete the Leadership Capability Program (LCP) – level one;
• Once successfully promoted;
• attend the Sergeant Next Level Workshop with the probationary period (6 months) to complete the program;
• Once the level one workshop is completed, enrol in the LCP – level two.

When you are appointed into a substantive plain clothes position in the QPS, you need to apply to the Detective Training section for an RPL from the program. You can then apply to the Detective Application Board to be appointed a Detective in the QPS.

Applicants with previous Australian police service, service with Queensland Government Departments, Commonwealth of Australia or Australian State and Territory Government Departments, and some other Australian government authorities, may be eligible to have this service recognised for long service leave and sick leave purposes, once appointed as a police officer.

Terms of recognition apply, including:

• you must not have had a break in service with a recognised employer of more than 12 months
• liability will not be accepted for long service leave balances where a cash entitlement has been paid to you
• limitations apply in the case of sick leave credits in line with current entitlements for Queensland police officers.

As you are undertaking a temporary contract as a QPS recruit, all recreation leave and loading from your previous jurisdiction is to be paid out when you resign.

Location allocation is dependent on the operational requirements of the QPS at the time of offer. All applicants are given the opportunity to provide reasons as to why they require a specific district. You will find out your allocated district upon offer before commencement at the academy, as part of your ‘Letter of Offer’.

Note: Sunshine Coast District is not available for posting. 

The Queensland Police Service acts under numerous pieces of legislation, policy, and procedures. If you would like to review some of our legislation in preparation for the academy, the following are available via Queensland Legislation. During recruit training, you will learn how to apply legislation in accordance with Queensland law.

• Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012
• Mental Health Act 2016
• Criminal Code Act 1899 [including Criminal Code]
• Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012
• Drugs Misuse Act 1986
• Liquor Act 1992
• Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000
• Police Powers and Responsibilities Regulations 2012
• Police Service Administration Act 1990
• Summary Offences Act 2005
• Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995
• Transport Operations (Road Use Management – Road Rules) Regulations 2009 

The associated information is in the QPS ‘Code of Dress and Appearance’.

Tattoos: The nature, location and prominence of any tattoos is not to detract from the professional image of the Service. Tattoos are not permitted in any location on the body above the uniform collar unless they relate to approved medical, religious or cultural beliefs and practices.

Intentional body alterations: Body alterations for unnatural appearance purposes are not permitted unless approved for medical or religious purposes.

Personal jewellery: A female officer with pierced ears may wear only one pair of small matching studs. Male officers are not authorised to wear earrings on duty.

Hair and facial hair: Unless there is a religious exemption, hair (including facial hair) is to be maintained in a clean, neat, tidy, and conservative condition. Hair is not to be tinted, streaked or bleached in heavily contrasting colours.

The QPS will NOT pay for any subsequent costs including the visa application, flights to return to your country and any associated costs with the relocation if you do not successfully complete recruit training.

See below table outlining start dates for the standard Recruit Training Pathway (RTP) academy start dates as well as the Police Abridged Competency Education (PACE) program dates.

For applicants applying under the International pathway – the latest date for nomination into the Immigration system is outlined below.  This is to allow sufficient time for applicants to receive their visa and organise relocating to Queensland.  If your details are not input into the Immigration system by this date, you will be considered for the next available intake.