Regional police academy opens new pathway for country recruits

More than 220 aspiring police officers have expressed interest in Victoria Police's first regional training academy, as the new Mildura facility prepares to welcome its inaugural intake of recruits.

The academy, which will begin training up to 25 recruits in January 2027, is the first of its kind in Victoria and has been established as a pilot program to improve access to policing careers for people living in regional communities.

Recruits will undertake Victoria Police’s 25-week Foundation Training Program - the same course delivered at the metropolitan academy in Glen Waverley - before beginning their policing careers in regional Victoria.

Speaking with FlowFM's Jess Dempster on The Country Viewpoint, Victoria Police Superintendent Paul Bertoncello said the response to the program since expressions of interest opened in June had been overwhelmingly positive.

"Since the announcement was made earlier in the year that we were going to have this temporary or pop-up police academy running from January 2027, we've had an amazing response from people living in regional Victoria and then parts of New South Wales and South Australia as well," he said.

"We've had over 220 expressions of interest since the 12th of June, and we're now contacting all of those people and working through the application process with them."

Applications for Victoria Police's new regional training academy close on July 17, with successful recruits to begin training in January 2027. More information on the regional academy and Victoria Police's recruitment process, can be found on their website.

Superintendent Betoncello said the regional academy is designed to remove one of the biggest barriers facing country applicants - the need to relocate to Melbourne for six months to complete police training.

"It's a long way for people to travel if they've got caring responsibilities or family commitments or perhaps spouses, partners who work in regional Victoria," he said.

"The fact that we're opening it up in areas where people may not ever have been able to work with Victoria Police before, and now we're going to allow people who already live in those areas to train in those areas and then work in those areas, I think it's a brilliant idea and that's why we're doing it."

While the regional training program will predominantly mirror its metropolitan counterpart, Superintendent Bertoncello said recruits could also receive additional instruction tailored to the realities of regional policing, including the legalities involved with working in cross-border communities.

""The training in Mildura ... won't differ too much, but it's being worked through now to see what else might need to be included to set people up properly to be prepared to work straight away in regional Victoria," he said.

"That could include things like the fact that we're working in cross-border environments. There's different legislation involved in those cross-border communities, as well as potentially being sworn in as New South Wales and South Australia police..."

"That could include things like the fact that we're working in cross-border environments. There's different legislation involved in those cross-border communities, as well as potentially being sworn in as New South Wales and South Australia police..."

Victoria Police's new regional academy will also help prepare officers for some of the more unique elements of regional policing, including the legalities involved with working in cross-border communities which intersect with South Australia and New South Wales.

Superintendent Bertoncello said Victoria Police also hopes the academy will attract people with strong ties to regional communities.

"I think country people make great police because they're so invested and committed within their communities," he said. "They live in those areas, they know people already, they're engaged and connected."

He said creating new pathways into policing would strengthen the workforce by attracting people with diverse experiences and local knowledge.

"The people who are attracted to roles in policing are probably already working in service industries or they're really engaged in volunteer capacities. They're very connected within their communities already. They're exactly the people we want."

Looking ahead, Superintendent Bertoncello said Victoria Police will evaluate the Mildura academy's success through measures including recruitment outcomes, training performance and cost-effectiveness, and that if the pilot proves successful, similar regional academies could be established elsewhere across the state.

"We'll have different measures of success about what this pilot looks like and how the training goes for the recruits and its cost effectiveness," he said.

"If those measures are hit, then we'll certainly be putting up other business cases to replicate across Victoria so that other regional areas have the same opportunities."

Applications for the inaugural intake close on July 17, with successful recruits to begin training in January 2027. More information on the regional academy and Victoria Police's recruitment process, can be found on their website.

To hear the full interview between Jess and Superintendent Bertoncello, check out Episode 190 2026 of The Country Viewpoint Podcast, which can be found on Flow's website at flowfm.com.au.