A career as a police custody officer offers excellent work benefits, including a great salary, superannuation package and flexible work arrangements.
Salary and pay entitlements
You will be paid to train and learn from day one in the Victoria Police Academy.
Your training (Foundation course) salary is $55,059, plus penalty rates and shift allowances.
Your post training salary ranges from $56,834 to $72,985, plus penalty rates and shift allowances.
It is Victoria Police policy to offer new employees the base of the VPS salary grade.
If you currently have a higher salary with comparable and transferable skills, you can apply for a Salary Above Base up to the top of the VPS salary grade.
Penalty shift allowances
As a PCO, you will receive penalty allowances for the following shifts:
| Day | Penalty rate |
|---|---|
Monday to Friday |
|
| Saturday | 50% x hourly rate. |
| Sunday | 100% x hourly rate. |
Public holidays |
|
Tax and superannuation
Your income as a police custody officer is a taxable income. You will be taxed like any other employee in Australia.
Your superannuation will be 11% of your base salary.
Leave entitlements
Police custody officer leave entitlements include:
- Up to five weeks leave per annum plus time off lieu for public holidays
- 16 weeks maternity leave
- four weeks paternity leave
- Defence force leave
- 15 personal leave days.
There are also a range of other leave entitlements, including:
- study leave
- purchased leave
- long-service leave of three months on full-pay, or six months on half-pay after 10 years of service.
It is possible to access your accrued long service leave on a pro rata basis after seven years of service.
Leave requests will be treated fairly and in line with operational and service delivery needs.
Flexible working arrangements
Victoria Police provides its employees with reasonable flexibility in working arrangements where operational and service delivery priorities allow, accommodating their personal circumstances, i.e. part-time.
In accordance with the Fair Work Act 2009, an employee, other than a casual, must have completed at least 12 months continuous service with the employer to have the right to request flexible working arrangements, i.e. part-time.
Hours and shifts
PCOs will be rostered on day, afternoon and night shift. Shifts last for 8.06 hours and include a half hour meal break.
The start and finish times may vary depending on location:
- Day shift: between 6am and 10am
- Afternoon shift: between 2pm and 6pm
- Night shift: between 10pm and midnight.
PCOs are rostered for 76 hours per fortnight over an average of 10 days.
You will be required to work some public holidays and weekends.
PCOs can request certain shifts to work in with their personal circumstances. Requests will be accommodated where possible, but will be subject to service delivery requirements of the local area.
Work locations
While your position will have a usual place of work, you may have to work at other locations. This is in accordance with the provisions of the VPS Agreement 2020.
Travel and overnight stays may be required.
Transferring to another location
You can submit a transfer request to another PCO station location.
Transfers are subject to availability and management approval based on organisational requirements.
Already started your application?
Continue with your police custody officer application.
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