Victorians applying to be cops will be able to skip the queue if they have ranked high enough in their school exams, as the police attempt to quickly fill vacancies in a burned-out workforce.

Applicants who gained an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) of 65 or above and a minimum VCE study score of 25 in English in the past five years will not need to sit the entrance exam. 

The change was announced this week, along with scrapping the one-on-one psychologist’s appointment for many candidates. 

‘These changes mean quality applicants will no longer be held up with unnecessary obstacles to start their policing journey,’ Rick Nugent, Victoria Police’s acting chief commissioner, said.

‘That translates to more recruits starting their training sooner and more rapid support for the frontline.

‘There’s no doubt policing can be a tough job and it takes a special person to do it.’

Paramedics and firefighters employed in the past five years will no longer have to do  the entrance exam, and that applies to for such applicants across the country, in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Australian Defence Force personnel who have served full time in the past five years will also be exempt from the exam, as will all Victoria Police employees and Victorian Public Service employees working elsewhere at Grade 3 or higher.

Victoria Police hopes to cut through the red tape that has taken its toll on the recruitment process with up to 1,000 positions currently available statewide (stock)

Police Association Secretary Wayne Gatt (pictured) says the force has suffered from blockages ‘for many years’

Police forces elsewhere in Australia have introduced similar provisions. 

It comes as the The Police Association in Victoria hit out at the current state of the force, particularly its lack of officers.

The union has claimed police do not have enough resources to prevent crimes and only to apprehend offenders.

Union secretary Wayne Gatt welcomed the changes to the application process as they ‘reduce needless red tape’.

‘Streamlining medical and psychological testing processes, by reducing duplication, addresses one of the major recruitment blockages that has existed for many years,’ he said.

Meanwhile, Victoria’s shadow police minister David Southwick has said the move is in the ‘right direction’ but more needs to be done than just fast-tracking applicants. 

‘The best way to attract and retain the police officers our state needs is to back the frontline with stronger bail laws, better resourcing, and greater powers to keep the community safe,’ he said.

‘There is now no excuse for Labor to allow 1,000 frontline officer vacancies to remain unfilled and 43 stations across Victoria to remain closed.’

 The majority of potential candidates will also be no longer required to have a one-on-one psychologist appointment (stock)

Other changes announced on Tuesday include extending entrance exam exemption for applicants who achieved specified bachelor degrees in Australia over the past five years to also include such qualifications from universities in New Zealand and the UK.

This applies to degrees in the arts, science, humanities, business and law.

Current university students in their final year of a criminology bachelor’s degree or similar at a university in Australia, New Zealand or the UK are also being added to the exemption list.