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Employment suitability questionnaire and traffic history

If you're shortlisted, we'll send you a questionnaire to see if you meet our standards of integrity and professionalism.
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Australians hold us to the highest level of integrity, both on and off duty. Integrity is critical to our success and to maintaining the trust of the Australian Government, other stakeholders and the community.

Our people have access to sensitive and classified information, areas and equipment. We're trusted with intrusive powers to fulfil our responsibilities.

That's why, to work with us, you must meet AFP's character standards. When you're shortlisted as a potential candidate, you'll need to fill out our Employment Suitability Questionnaire (ESQ). This helps us assess your character and your ability to comply with our professional standards in your official duties and personal life.

You'll need to give us as much detail as possible about:

  • all convictions or cautions, including from when you were younger than 18
  • illicit drug use
  • firearms use, including reasons for any firearm licence refusal or unlawful history of firearms
  • people you know who could be a ‘declarable association’.

A declarable association is a private relationship with an individual, group, event or organisation that could impact your reputation or integrity – and ours.

If you can't meet our character standards, your application will not progress. We also apply an exclusion period, which means you can't re-apply to join the AFP for a certain length of time.

The AFP Manager or Commander Professional Standards is the delegate who assesses each questionnaire.

You'll be assessed against AFP's core values:

  • integrity
  • commitment
  • excellence
  • accountability
  • fairness
  • trust
  • respect.

The delegate's decision is final, so we won't review their decision if you don't pass.

Criminal history

As part of the ESQ, you must declare your full criminal history, including juvenile records and spent convictions.

Juvenile records

Disclose all cautions and convictions you received when younger than 18. Give as much detail as possible, for example:

  • guilty
  • not guilty
  • caution
  • restorative justice
  • diversionary conferencing.

Spent convictions

Disclose all previous charges and convictions, including spent convictions.

Spent convictions are not disclosed on a National Police Certificate. But when applying for a job with us, you must disclose them. We need to see your complete criminal record.

When employing staff, AFP and other law enforcement agencies are exempt from the 'non-disclosure' provisions in the Commonwealth Spent Convictions Scheme under Part VIIC, Division 3 of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth).

Traffic history

Provide the details of all driving licences you've held, including learner's permits (Ls) and provisional licences (Ps).

You must provide your traffic history that:

  • covers all states, territories and countries where you have held a licence for the past 10 years.
  • is no older than 3 months from when we first asked you for it
  • continuously covers the last 10 years you have held a licence.

If you have held a driving licence for less than 10 years, provide traffic history for the period held.

Include the full document you get from each licencing authority. The documents do not need to be certified.

We will not accept:

  • an issued traffic infringement notice
  • demerit points record
  • a copy of your driver's licence
  • a National Police Certificate check
  • any documents obtained through Freedom of Information (FOI) laws.

If you've held a licence or driven overseas, and can't provide a copy of your overseas driving history, submit a statutory declaration stating:

  • the period you held your licence
  • any traffic offences you are aware of.

If you've never held a driver's licence, or never driven and received an infringement of any kind, let us know. You'll need to submit a statutory declaration for this.

Alcohol and drug use

Drugs, alcohol and pharmaceutical abuse have serious effects on society. We expect the highest standards of integrity and professionalism from our people.
 

Under the Australian Federal Police Regulations 2018 (Cth), we can test AFP appointees for:
 

  • alcohol
  • pharmaceutical drug abuse
  • prohibited (illicit) drugs.

Our staff must comply with any written direction to provide a body sample for drug or alcohol testing. It's a serious breach of AFP's professional standards if they disobey a direction or fail to undergo drug or alcohol testing.

Prohibited (illicit) drugs

Declare all illicit drug use, including what, when and how. If you're unsure of the exact dates of your last illicit drug use, provide as much detail as possible. At a minimum, include the year of your drug use and how many times.

Previous drug use won't immediately result in an unsuccessful application.

We have a zero-tolerance drug policy. Once you have submitted your application, you must stop all illicit drug use, and this includes using:

  • prohibited drugs here and overseas, regardless of whether the drug has been decriminalised or legalised
  • selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) except within lawful controlled medical parameters set by a registered medical authority
  • cannabinoids, unless prescribed by an authorised Australian registered health practitioner.

Pharmaceutical drug abuse

Pharmaceutical drug abuse includes taking:

  • prescription medication not prescribed to you
  • prescription medication outside the prescribed parameters, such as exceeding the prescribed dosage
  • taking over-the-counter pharmaceutical products outside normal medical parameters, such as exceeding the recommended dosage or taking them for an unintended purpose.

Alcohol

When an AFP employee is on duty, or returning to duty, their blood alcohol concentration must not exceed 0.02 g of alcohol in 210 L of breath or 100 ml of blood.

Declarable associations

Declare any person, group, event or organisation you know that could be a declarable association, such as:

  • known criminals
  • any person, including a family member, suspected to be engaged in criminal activity, including ‘social’ drug use
  • criminal entities
  • any person, including a family member, closely affiliated with or related to known criminals
  • any person, including a family member, group or organisation, known or perceived to be involved in unlawful activity
  • any person, including a family member, involved in a group or organisation known or perceived to be involved in unlawful activity
  • personal contact or relationships with journalists or media representatives.

Give as much detail as possible, including:

  • full name and date of birth of each declared associate
  • reasons why you believe there may be a conflict of interest
  • how often you interact with them.

Declaring criminal or inappropriate associations does not automatically prevent an application from proceeding. However, failing to disclose any required information may result in your application being unsuccessful.

Exclusion periods

We assess applications holistically and on a case‐by‐case basis.

Depending on the information provided, AFP's delegate may use their discretion to apply an exclusion period if you disclose a conviction or integrity issue.

An exclusion period means you can't re-apply to join the AFP for a certain length of time.

The exclusion period will:

  • depend on the nature of the issue
  • start from the date of your conviction or integrity issue.
AFP's recommended exclusion periods for prior convictions or integrity issues
Conviction or integrity issueRecommended period of exclusion
Terminated or dismissed from any employmentDelegate discretion
Inappropriate and/or Criminal associationsDelegate discretion
Any sentence of imprisonment, including suspended sentences and periodic detentionDelegate discretion
Subject of a current or outstanding arrest warrant, including first instance and family lawDelegate discretion

Declarations that indicate past behaviour is inconsistent with the professional standards of the AFP and not in alignment with AFP values. These include but are not limited to the following.

  • racism
  • misogyny
  • adverse media attention that may cause reputational damage to the AFP
Delegate discretion
An indictable offence, including indictable offence heard summarily5 year
Offence for assault, hinder, obstruct or resist a Police Officer or any other public official5 year
Personal violence offences, including assault occasioning bodily harm5 to 10 years
Domestic or family violences offences or behaviour10 years
Sexual harassment offences or behaviour10 years
Sexual assault or abuse offences or behaviour15 years to indefinite
Dishonesty offences, including fraud, obtaining benefit by deception, forgery or impersonation5 to 10 years
Corruption activities or related offencesDelegate discretion
Firearm or weapon-related offences5 years
Summary offence not outlined in this section on more than one occasionDelegate discretion
Offence for driving under the influence of illicit drugsDelegate discretion
The applicant knowingly or deliberately fails to disclose relevant information or provides false or misleading information during the application process5 years
Illicit drug related offences, including the manufacture, sale or distribution, on any occasion in any country, of substances that are illegal or prohibited in Australia5 to 10 years
The applicant fails to satisfy the requirements to obtain a security clearance5 years
Subject (respondent) of a current court ordered apprehended violence order or equivalent; or a current interim apprehended violence order or equivalent5 years
Subject (respondent) of an apprehended violence order or equivalent which has expired, been dismissed or revoked2 to 5 years
Subject (respondent) of an order under firearms or weapon legislation that prohibits the person from possession or using a firearm2 to 5 years
One conviction for a public order or minor street offence1 year
One conviction for any criminal (wilful) damage to property offence3 years
One formal Breach of the Peace or Move on Notice1 to 3 years
One lodgement or charge for intoxication or disorderly behaviour in a public placeDelegate discretion
One conviction for a theft or stealing offence (single offences as a juvenile only)1 to 5 years
One conviction for a receiving or possessing stolen property offence (single offences as a juvenile only)1 to 5 years

Exclusion periods also apply for traffic infringements and convictions. Any exclusion period will start from the date of your infringement or conviction.

 

AFP's recommended exclusion periods for traffic offences
Conviction or infringement within the last 10 yearsRecommended period of exclusion
One conviction for low-range driving under the influence (0.05 g or more but less than 0.08 g)1 year
One conviction for mid‐range driving under the influence (0.08 g or more but less than 0.15 g)3 years
One conviction for a high-range driving under the influence (0.15 g or more)5 years
Three or more convictions for driving under the influence (any range)15 years
Licence suspension due to accumulated demerit points2 years
Licence suspension for any other reasonDelegate discretion

Other minor driving or traffic offences, including:

  • low to mid‐range speed (less than 25 km/h over the speed limit)
  • using a mobile phone
  • not wearing a seatbelt

1 year from most recent offence, if an applicant has 5 or more minor traffic offences across the past 3 years

2 years from the date of most recent offence, if an applicant has 4 or more minor traffic offences in the past 12 months

Consideration for exclusion if total of minor offences is excessive (i.e. exceeds total years of driving)

Serious traffic or driving offences such as:

  • negligent driving
  • any ‘hoon’ offence resulting in disqualification or suspension of licence
  • driving while disqualified or suspended
  • dangerous driving
  • negligent driving causing injury
  • high-range speed (more than 25 km/h over the speed limit)
  • drug-impaired driving
5 years, or discretion depending on circumstances
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AFP Recruitment

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Or call us Monday to Friday 8:30 am to 
4 pm Canberra time.

+61 2 5127 2555
afprecruitment@afp.gov.au
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