Leave, pay and benefits

Salary and pay increments

Your pay rates and entitlements are set out in our Enterprise Agreement (EA). The EA is a transparent set of rules. It shows how your pay will increase during your career with us and what sort of leave you can take.

AFP officer salaries

As a new recruit into a police officer or protective service officer role, you'll get paid to train. Then, after graduating, you get a pay increase every year.

Police recruits and protective services officers earn a base salary ranging from $62,263 to $107,559 per year, depending on their role and location. And you're paid extra in allowances, overtime and penalties.

AFP contributes 15.4% superannuation on top of your base salary and certain allowances.  

Police officer salaries

* Average potential earnings include a 22% composite allowance (overtime and penalties would be extra).

Protective service officer salaries

* Average potential earnings include a 22% composite allowance (overtime and penalties would be extra).

Remote location bonus

As a protective service officer in a remote location, you'll earn more. You can get 2 extra payments:

• Remote Defence Capability Payment
• Remote Localities Allowance.

For example, you can earn an extra $40,970 a year working at a Defence site near Exmouth or Pine Gap. Or an extra $13,708 a year at a Defence site near Geraldton.

Read about working for the AFP in:

• Exmouth WA
• Geraldton WA
• Pine Gap NT.

Holidays and other leave

Whether it's being a parent or guardian, dealing with an unexpected illness in your family, or just taking a long break to hit those overseas ski fields, we have generous leave options. These include:

• 6 weeks paid leave a year
• options to take leave at half pay, purchase more leave or swap your leave for cash if you don't want to take it all
• 4 mandatory rest days a year
• 18 days paid personal leave from the day you start
• 18 weeks paid parental leave for primary caregivers – or 36 weeks at half pay – available from the day you start
• 11 weeks paid parental leave for partners, increasing to 18 weeks in 2027, with the option to take it at half pay
• paid time to breastfeed or express milk in a dedicated space
• paid long-service leave after 10 years of continuous Australian Government service  
• access to flex time (credit for time off if you work more than your ordinary hours)
• access to purchased leave and unpaid leave
• paid family and domestic violence leave
• compassionate and bereavement leave
• paid cultural, ceremonial and NAIDOC leave.

Extra benefits

We also offer:

• clear incremental and salary advancement within a salary band under the AFP Enterprise Agreement
• 15.4% superannuation, including during periods of paid parental leave
• flexible working arrangements, such as part-time work, job sharing or changes in work hours, patterns or locations
• study support, including paid study leave and financial assistance
• career advancement and investment in your professional development, with ongoing training and support
• opportunities for overseas postings.

Apply now  

Executive-level employee benefits

• clear incremental and salary advancement within a salary band under the AFP Enterprise Agreement
• 5 weeks paid annual leave per year plus Christmas stand-down, with options to purchase more leave, take leave at half pay or cash leave out
• parking facilities or allowance
• a fitness allowance of $650 per year
• 15.4% superannuation, including during parental leave
• a 40-hour working week with the option of flexible working arrangements
• access to time off in lieu (TOIL).

Recognition of prior service

Long-service leave

We'll recognise prior service so you don't lose your hard-earned long-service leave.

We recognise service from:

• Australian Government agencies
• state, territory and local governments
• Australian Defence Force.

We recognise prior service in some other situations, as long as you work for us within 12 months of leaving your last job.

The service you provided with your previous employer counts as if it were service with the AFP. It contributes to the qualifying period for long-service leave. Even if your long-service leave was cashed out when you left your previous employer, it's still eligible service.

Prior service is used to recalculate your long-service leave balance by including the period of prior service in the calculation as though it had been service with the AFP. Any long-service leave taken or paid out in your previous employment is then deducted from the new balance. Leave taken without pay taken during your previous service will be taken into account when recalculating your new credit balances.

Personal leave

You may apply to transfer unused personal and carer's leave to the AFP if you've been employed by:

• ACT Public Service
• an APS agency
• a Commonwealth agency
• Parliamentary Service.

We'll recognise your transferred leave if:

• any breaks in continuity of service are not longer than 2 months
• you apply within 3 months of starting with us.

We can't accept the transfer of unused leave entitlements accrued from previous jobs in local government for personal leave.

Annual leave

You may apply to transfer unused accrued annual leave to the AFP if you've been employed by:

• ACT Public Service
• an APS agency
• a Commonwealth agency
• Parliamentary Service.

This does not include accrued leave paid out on termination of employment.

We'll recognise your transferred leave if:

• any breaks in continuity of service are not longer than 2 months
• you apply within 3 months of starting with us.

We can't accept the transfer of unused leave entitlements accrued from previous jobs in state, territory or local government for annual leave.