Preparation - Victoria Police Entrance Exam (VPOL)

Unofficial preparation material warning

Only ACER and Victoria Police provide official preparation material. Any material or courses from other providers should not be relied upon.

Preparation material

ACER provides 4 official options to help you prepare for the exam.

Please note: There are no past test papers available from ACER or Victoria Police.

Video tutorials

Victoria Police and ACER provide a full set of video tutorials to coach you through each test component. There are 4 videos in total, with videos ranging in length from 10 to 20 minutes.

It is highly recommended that you watch these videos as part of your exam preparation.

Free sample practice tests

Create an account and try a selection of sample questions for each of the assessments.

ACER recommends you use these free practice questions to become used to the look and feel of the tests. Try the online calculator in the numeracy test and practice using it to calculate common processes such as percentages.

You should attempt these questions to identify any areas that need development, then continue practising to improve your results. You can try several times so that you become familiar with the types of questions you will encounter in the exam. The free questions are untimed, however, it is also a good idea to time yourself, so you become familiar with time constraints.

Try the free sample questions

'Practise Now! Victoria Police Entrance Exam book

You can purchase the ‘Practise Now! Victoria Police Entrance Exam’ 4th edition eBook to help you build your confidence in each of the 4 areas assessed as part of the exam.

The book identifies specific skills required, describes the types of questions you are likely to encounter and provides detailed explanations of how correct answers may be reached. It also provides exam day tactics, including time management approaches.

It can be purchased from the ACER Shop or via the ACER Portal when registering for the test.

Key features:

Provides detailed breakdowns of the types of tasks involved in each section of the exam.
Suggests helpful strategies for building the kinds of skills required to overcome difficult problems.
Proposes exam-day tactics including time management approaches.

Avaliable for purchase now or through the ACER portal during test registration for $49.95.

Full online practice tests

When you book your exam in the ACER Portal, you can purchase the online practice tests individually or as a full set, depending on which test components you feel you need the most help with (for example, Abstract reasoning and Numeracy).

The online practice tests include one sample test for each of the 4 test components. These tests match the display and computer functionality of the live assessment, with questions similar in design and difficulty to those included in the final exam.

The literacy, numeracy, and abstract reasoning practice assessments provide scored, timed test experiences. The report writing practice assessment is provided as unscored experiential practice assessment.

Multiple attempts are permitted; however, the tests contain one set only. They can be accessed for 12 months from the time of purchase at a cost of $75 (incl. GST) for the full set or purchased individually at a lower cost.

Preparation strategies

To achieve the best possible results, a number of strategies can be used to prepare for the Victoria Police entrance examination.

Literacy skills

Literacy skills are improved through practising reading, writing, listening, and speaking.  To improve them, it is suggested you read and write daily.

Reading

Read something different than what you normally would, and read more!
Read the newspaper completely every day. Read each article all the way through, then re-read it and identify the main points.
Practice scanning an article before you read it in full, as this will give you an understanding of what it’s about before you read the details.

Writing

After reading a newspaper article, type out a summary of the main points and key supporting evidence.
Watch something on television or YouTube and then type out a description of what you saw, and give a summary of the footage.
Re-read your pieces of writing the next day – be critical about your work and challenge yourself to find areas you can improve.
Ask another person to review your writing and provide feedback.

Numeracy

Numeracy skills are improved through using and practising your maths skills to solve everyday maths problems. To improve your numeracy skills, practise doing a range of calculations with money, percentages, rates and ratios; doing some measurement-based calculations around area and volume; and reading and interpreting data and statistics, including when represented in graphs and charts.

An onscreen calculator is provided in the numeracy assessment, so practise making calculations using a basic scientific calculator at home. Look at retail brochures you may receive in the mail and perform calculations based on the offers they make.

Answers for the numeracy practice tests can be located here.

Abstract reasoning

Abstract reasoning is used to measure the ability to think clearly, solve problems and quickly identify patterns and logical rules based on abstract visual cues rather than numbers and words. It involves recognising the rule or rules that govern the progression of a pattern from one diagram to another in a series, or to identify the part that is missing from a diagram.

Police officer signalling a car to pull over for a breathalyser test

Exam strategy

The majority of the questions in the Victoria Police entrance examination are in multiple-choice format, except for the:

report writing assessment
numeracy assessment (data entry is required for some questions).

Watch the time and plan your assessment carefully. Do not spend too much time on any one question and move steadily through the test. Answer to the best of your ability and return to any of the more challenging questions if you have time at the end of the test. Points are not deducted for incorrect answers.

Bookmark any questions you are unsure of and come back later if you have time. 

All questions have the same value, therefore by attempting as many questions as possible you stand the best chance of maximising your score.

Common questions

Do ACER and Victoria Police provide courses to help me prepare?

ACER and Victoria Police do not provide any preparation courses; however, we do provide official practice materials to assist candidates to prepare for the exam.

Do ACER or Victoria Police endorse other courses that are advertised?

ACER and Victoria Police do not recommend or endorse any commercially available courses offering entrance exam preparation. Nor do we have knowledge of the content of such courses, or any involvement in their development, or any commercial interest in the programs. Thus, ACER and Victoria Police are unable to comment on their relevance or usefulness. It is possible that some commercial preparation courses might provide misleading information or advice to candidates.

If I pass the practice test, will I pass the entrance exam?

Questions provided in the practice test are designed by the same authors who write questions for the live tests. They are examples of the types of items in the assessments but do not necessarily indicate the full range of questions or their difficulty. They are designed to provide some guidance about what to expect and to help you to prepare for the test. However, success in the practice questions does not guarantee or imply success in the actual assessment.

Can I get a refund of my practice materials if I decide to cancel my exam?

No, the practice tests and the Practise Now! book are non-refundable and are provided for your use immediately after purchase.

Is the Protective Service Officer (PSO) test different to the Police Officer test?

The test is the same for both roles. This allows for ease of transfer should you wish to change roles.

More information about the role of a Protective Services Officer