Close personal protection officer

Overview

Our Close Personal Protection (CPP) team does extremely important work, protecting:

• Australian high-office holders
• diplomats
• visiting dignitaries
• internationally protected people.

CPP is a high-intensity job, assessing threats and risks in real time.

What you’ll do

Our CPP teams are specially trained, over and above the requirements of a regular sworn officer. CPP officers are charged with observing and providing physical security to people who are important to Australia.

Your day-to-day work may look incredibly different, depending on who you are protecting. CPP officers work on:

• full-time protection details – providing close protection to a single person on a 24/7 basis
• events-based protection – working at important events or venues to assess threats and risk, or to provide close protection
• close protection liaison – maintaining close contact with high-office holders, and working with other agencies to assess risk for events or operations in Australia and overseas.

The majority of CPP officer roles are located in Canberra. There are limited options to work with regional CPP teams in Sydney, Melbourne or Perth.

As a CPP officer, you'll have access to our wide range of benefits. Learn about our benefits and conditions.

To learn more about career progression, salary bands and entitlements, read our Enterprise Agreement.

Eligibility

You can apply for CPP officer positions if you are currently a:

• an AFP police officer
• an ACT Policing officer
• an AFP protective service officer.

How to apply

Joining the AFP as a new recruit

To start your career as a police officer or protective service officer with the AFP or ACT Policing, you must:

• be aged 18 years or over
• be an Australian citizen
• hold a valid Australian driver's licence (P plates are accepted, if you have a learners licence don't apply until you have your provisional licence)
• meet our character standards
• hold at least one of the following qualifications:
  • Year 10 Certificate and 2 years of work experience
  • Year 10 Certificate and a nationally recognised vocational education qualification at Certificate III level or higher
  • Year 12 Certificate
  • vocational education (TAFE) qualification or university qualification at Diploma level or higher.

You must also provide evidence that you:

• have had 2 primary doses of an approved COVID-19 vaccine or one dose of the Janssen vaccine at the time of application (evidence can be provided in the form of an immunisation history statement or COVID-19 Digital Certificate)
• hold current first aid and CPR certifications
• can swim 100 m freestyle.

Find out how to join us as a protective service officer recruit.

Joining the AFP from another Australian police force

If you have at least 3 years of operational policing experience, and have not been out of a policing role for more than 5 years, you may be eligible to join the AFP as a police officer through our Lateral Program.

You'll be expected to hold a Diploma of Public Safety (Policing) or equivalent and have strong experience in criminal investigation. We encourage state or territory officers to apply.

You must also:

• be an Australian citizen
• be up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccinations
• be able to get and maintain a Negative Vetting 1 security clearance
• hold current first aid and CPR certifications
• show evidence that you can swim 100 m freestyle.