Police

Across Australia, policing services are delivered by 8 police jurisdictions, including state, territory and federal police forces/services. Police play a pivotal role in enhancing public safety across Australia, through the diverse and flexible work they undertake. Thorough and robust training and education in these jurisdictions are delivered primarily through Police Colleges/Academies, in a range of classroom and operational settings. All police recruits in Australia receive general recruit training through their academy, with the ability to undertake additional training for specialist roles as they progress their career in policing.

Workforce planning:

Police workforces across Australia are made up of sworn officers and civilian public service staff within individual jurisdictions. It is vital for police as a workforce to develop their current skills and capabilities, as well as identify future skills and capabilities that can respond to the ever-growing complexity of criminal behaviour. Such future skills and capabilities include: digital literacy, innovation and problem-solving skills, community engagement and intra-and interpersonal mental health awareness. To enhance the adaptability and responsiveness of the future, police workforces may include flexible entry pathways to support the deployment of specialist skills and attract varied skillsets from other industries. Further, as the community and their expectations change, police need to adapt and reflect the society they serve. As such, this represents the strong commitment across policing to developing a diverse and capable workforce.

Training Product Development:

The training delivered through police academies and colleges is informed by the Qualifications in the Police Training Package. Currently, the Police Training Package contains 28 Qualifications that cover both general police recruit training, as well as specialist areas of policing that support an officer’s career pathway and progression. These Qualifications are delivered by police academies that operate as a Registered Training Organisation (RTO), or in partnership with other RTOs or higher education providers. These Qualifications are robustly developed, reviewed and benchmarked against international policing practice, leveraging the expertise from the industry, and are endorsed by the Australia New Zealand Council of the Police Profession, through the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA).