Victoria Police Annual Report 2025-26: Our people

Victoria Police is committed to enabling a workforce where our people are leaders, are safe and supported, are valued and included, are enabled and are high performing.

We foster a safe, respectful and inclusive workplace that supports the health, safety and wellbeing of our people and enables them to deliver policing services to the Victorian community.

Workforce overview

Victoria Police has 20,790 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees, comprising of police officers, protective services officers (PSOs), police custody officers (PCOs) and Victorian Public Service (VPS) employees.

Further details about our workforce numbers can be found in Chapter 5 – Other disclosures.

Full-time equivalent (FTE) summary

Employees (FTE)	As at 27 June 2026	As at 28 June 2026
Police	15,442	15,909
Police recruits	246	110
PSOs	1473	1462
Reservists	1	2
PCOs	296	321
VPS employees	3332	3528
Total	20,790	21,332

^Notes:

^{This table is prepared in accordance with}^{Financial Reporting Direction (FRD) 29 Workforce Data}^{disclosures in the Report of Operations – public service employees requirements and excludes employees who were not on salary at the end of the last pay period of the financial year (which ended 28 June 2025 for 2024–25 and 27 June 2026 for 2025–26).}

^{Due to rounding, the FTE total may not tally as the figures have been rounded to the nearest whole number, in line with FRD 29.}

^{PCOs are VPS employees but are listed separately. This table excludes employees who are employed by statutory- and nationally-funded bodies administered by Victoria Police.}

A commitment to equality and inclusivity

Victoria Police is committed to fostering a safe, respectful and inclusive workplace that reflects the diversity of the Victorian community.

During 2025–26, we continued to advance gender equality, diversity and inclusion through the development of new action plans, Aboriginal inclusion initiatives, leadership development programs and targeted workforce programs designed to support cultural safety, workforce participation and employee wellbeing.

Key achievements during the year included completing all actions under the Chief Commissioner’s Statement of Commitment to the Yoorrook Justice Commission, developing the Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan 2026–2029, investing in employee-led inclusion initiatives, and strengthening leadership capability to support a more inclusive and representative workforce.

This work is guided by the Equal, Safe and Strong: Victoria Police Gender Equality Action Plan 2020–2030 and Victoria Police Workforce Diversity and Inclusion Framework 2023–2030, which provide the foundation for ongoing cultural and workforce reform.

A significant milestone during 2025–26 was the completion of all actions under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Inclusion Action Plan 2023–2025 and the associated Chief Commissioner’s Statement of Commitment to the Yoorrook Justice Commission. In acquitting those actions Victoria Police:
- completed development of a Victoria Police commitment to advancing a Self-Determination Framework, which supports and enables all actions planned in the 2026–2029 action plan
- partnered with the Victorian Public Sector Commission and Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions to pilot a First Peoples Mentoring program under the Barring Djinang First Peoples Workforce Development program, which was delivered by Yimburu Consulting (formerly Murri Matters) using a culturally safe and inclusive framework
- enhanced Aboriginal Cultural Awareness Training and developed scalable delivery methods to ensure all employees maintain current knowledge
- established clear leadership and coordination for community-linked Aboriginal programs, Aboriginal Community Liaison Officers and Police Aboriginal Liaison Officers.
Building on this work, the Aboriginal Inclusion Action Plan 2026–2029 is being developed with the support and guidance of Aboriginal employees and community representatives, including the Dunguludja Yapaneyput Aboriginal Employee Network, Aboriginal Portfolio Reference Group and Aboriginal Justice Caucus.
Victoria Police continued to strengthen workplace inclusion through employee-led networks, leadership development initiatives and targeted programs that support workforce participation, accessibility and employee wellbeing.
In 2025–26, the Victoria Police Provident Fund approved a $50,000 funding allocation to employee networks following recommendations from the 2025 Employee Network Review. The funding supports initiatives that promote employee wellbeing, inclusion and participation across the organisation.
In February 2026, Victoria Police launched an Intergenerational Toolkit to support leaders in managing an increasingly diverse workforce. The toolkit provided practical resources for leaders and complemented training delivered through the OneLink program to strengthen people management capability across senior sergeant and VPS leadership cohorts.
The Gender Equality and Inclusion Division also delivered eight leadership development sessions through the Senior Sergeant Development program and Inspectors’ Development program, supporting leaders to promote inclusive workplace practices and strengthen gender equality, diversity and inclusion across their workplaces.
In November 2025, North West Metro Region delivered JobAccess Autism Awareness Training to 400 employees, increasing awareness of autism and providing practical guidance for supporting colleagues and community members.
Victoria Police employees and initiatives received several external awards and recognitions during 2025–26. In September 2025, a Victoria Police employee received the Australasian Council for Women and Policing Excellence in Policing Emerging Leadership Award. In May 2026, Victoria Police initiatives were recognised through four Victorian Public Sector Pride Awards, acknowledging contributions to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer/questioning, asexual plus (LGBTIQA+) inclusion across the organisation and broader community.
In 2025–26, Victoria Police continued to work with the Department of Justice and Community Safety to finalise applications under the Restorative Engagement and Redress Scheme, which provides redress support to current and former employees who experienced workplace sex discrimination or sexual harassment.
Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan 2026–2029
Victoria Police developed the Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan 2026–2029, which was endorsed by the Chief Commissioner on 1 June 2026. The action plan sets out Victoria Police's commitment to advancing gender equality, diversity and inclusion across the workforce and supporting a safe, respectful and inclusive workplace culture.
2025 Workplace Gender Audit
Victoria Police completed its third workplace gender audit under the Gender Equality Act 2020, building on audits undertaken in 2021 and 2023. The 2025 audit assessed Victoria Police's performance against the workplace gender equality indicators prescribed under the Gender Equality Act. Findings from the audit informed development of the Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan 2026–2029 and will support ongoing monitoring of organisational progress against workplace gender equality indicators.
The Commission for Gender Equality in the Public Sector (CGEPS) has advised that a summary of the Victoria Police audit results will be published on its Insights portal in late 2026, alongside audit submissions from about 300 Victorian public sector agencies.
2026 Progress Report
In accordance with the Gender Equality Act, Victoria Police met its two-yearly reporting obligations by preparing and submitting a progress report outlining progress against the Equal, Safe and Strong: Victoria Police Gender Equality Action Plan 2022–2024 (GEAP). The report detailed progress against workplace gender equality indicators, implementation of Gender Impact Assessments (GIAs), and actions taken to advance gender equality across the organisation.
The progress report was submitted to CGEPS for review in June 2026. Following completion of the review, the report will be made available to employees through accessible digital channels and published on the Victoria Police website.

Employment conditions

Legislation, enterprise agreements and Victoria Police policy govern the terms and conditions of employment for our employees. In addition to the Fair Work Act 2009, and Fair Work Regulations 2009, our police officers and PSOs are governed by the Victoria Police Act 2013 and Victoria Police Regulations 2024. Our VPS employees (including PCOs) are governed by the Public Administration Act 2004, public sector industrial relations policies and the Victoria Public Sector Commission’s VPS common policies.

The employment conditions of Victoria Police employees are covered by dedicated enterprise agreements, including the Victoria Police (Police Officers, Protective Services Officers, Police Reservists and Police Recruits) Enterprise Agreement 2025 and the Victorian Public Service Enterprise Agreement 2024.

2025–26 Honour and awards

Victoria Police recognise the exceptional service, professionalism and contribution of employees and members of the community who have made significant contributions to keeping Victoria safe.

In 2025–26, 37 Victoria Police employees received an honour or award, four community members received a commendation, and one business received a business commendation.

A list of recipients who consented to publication of their details can be found in Appendix C.

Occupational health, safety and wellbeing

Victoria Police remain committed to supporting the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees. During 2025–26 we continued to strengthen our approach to preventing and managing both physical and psychosocial harm, recognising the complex and often demanding environments in which our people work.

Our focus during the year included promoting mentally healthy workplaces, strengthening safety leadership and culture, and providing timely access to support for employees.

Occupational health and safety performance indicators

Measure	KPI	2025–26	2024–25	2023–24
Incidents	Number of incidents	3891	4342	3809
	Rate per 100 FTE	18.72	20.4	17.5
	Number of incidents requiring first aid and/or further medical treatment	1208	1231	1130
	Number of mental health injuries	542	538^(a)	Not available
Claims_^(b)	Number of standard claims	900	1078	1350
	Rate per 100 FTE	4.2	5.1	6.2
	Number of lost time claims	1000	904	1290
	Rate per 100 FTE	4.7	4.2	5.9
	Number of claims exceeding 13 weeks	303	302	332
	Rate per 100 FTE	1.4	1.4	1.5
Fatalities	Fatality claims	4	0	3
Claim costs^(c)	Average cost per standard claim	$208,126	$137,041	$214,578
Return to work	Percentage of claims with return-to-work plan less than 30 days	Not available^(d)	Not available^(d)
Management commitment	Evidence of occupational health and safey (OHS) policy statement, OHS objectives, regular reporting to senior management of OHS, and OHS plans (signed by Chief Executive Officer or equivalent)	Completed	Completed
	Evidence of OHS criteria in purchasing guidelines (including goods, services and personnel)	Completed	Completed
Consultation and participation	Evidence of agreed structure of designated workgroups, health and safety representatives, and issue resolution procedures	Completed	Completed
	Compliance with agreed structure of designated workgroups, health and safety representatives, and issue resolution procedures	Completed	Completed
	Number of quarterly OHS Committee meetings.	Not available^(e)	Not available^(e)
Risk management	Percentage of internal audits/inspections conducted as planned	Not available^(f)	Not available^(f)	100%
	Percentage of reported incidents investigated	84.9%	85.6%	82.0%
	Number of Improvement Notices issued by WorkSafe Inspector	3	4	1
	Percentage of issues identified and actioned arising from: a) internal audits b) Health and Safety Representative provisional improvement notices c) WorkSafe notices	a) Not available^(f) b) 21 issued, 43% completed c) 3 notices, 67% completed	a) Not available^(f) b) 9 issued, 80% completed c) 4 notices, 50% completed	100%
Training	Percentage of managers and staff that have received OH&S training:
	a. induction	97%	74%	73%
	b. management training	Not available^(g)	Not available^(g)
	c. contractors and temporary employees	Not available^(h)	Not available^(h)
	Percentage of health and safety representatives trained:
	a) upon acceptance of role (initial training)	50%	60%	86%
	b) retraining (annual refresher)	14%	11%	20%

^Notes:
^{Data in this table was extracted on 17 July 2026 and reflects information recorded for the period 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. As underlying operational and workers compensation records may continue to be updated after the extraction date, figures reported in future years may differ from those presented here.}
^{a) A new additional measure of mental health injury data commenced in the 2024–25 financial year.}
^{b) Data is sourced from the Victorian WorkCover Authority. The date the claim was lodged determines which financial year it is reported in. Due to the dynamic nature of claim data, figures may vary from those reported in earlier financial years.}
^{c) Standard claims include accepted compensation claims involving medical expenses and/or lost time of less than 10 days. Lost time claims may include claims that do not meet the definition of a standard claim. As a result, a reduction in standard claims does not necessarily result in a reduction in lost time claims. Average claim costs can also increase due to the complexity and duration of claims, including mental injury claims that may involve extended recovery periods and compensation payments.}
^{d) Victoria Police systems do not track return-to-work plans less than 30 days. This data is not available without manually examining every claim.}
^{e) Victoria Police regions and functional areas conduct quarterly OHS committee meetings, with involvement from their dedicated health and safety representatives. System capability does not extend to recording the number of meetings.}
^{f) Centralised checking of the completion of OHS internal audits has stopped due to staff resourcing constraints.}
^{g) Senior sergeants and above ranks receive OHS training during promotional and mandatory annual leadership training. Recruits also receive foundational training during their induction. We cannot include this specific training data from these groups.}
^{h) Contractors and temporary employees attending a police facility sign-in and complete a station induction program. Records are maintained locally and are not centrally collated, therefore organisation wide reporting is not available.}

Updated 30 October 2026