GPs to sign off on recruit mental health

Earlier this year, the force scrapped minimum education requirements and waived entry testing for candidates with an ATAR of 65 or higher and functional English. Mandatory one-on-one appointments with a psychologist have also been eliminated.

President of the Royal Australasian College of General Practitioners Victoria, Dr. Anita Munoz said the group has “safety, effectiveness and medico-legal concerns about how shifting liability would impact our members.”

“Risk assessments are inherently uncertain and clinically unreliable in predicting future risks,” he said. “These are immediate assessments, not predictions. GPs are concerned that they may have to defend clinical decision-making in legal settings, possibly years later.”

“No single appointment with a GP can predict an officer’s psychological suitability for their extensive roles and responsibilities, and GPs are not here to remove the power of professional recruitment responsibility.”

In response, Victoria Police said GPs were not asked to work outside their area of ​​expertise and that only a very small number of GPs had so far refused to carry out assessments.

The move also raised concerns among some senior detectives and rank-and-file officers.

“All of them [police command] “The problem is the bums in the seats,” said one veteran detective, who cannot be publicly identified to protect his positions.

Victoria Police said GPs will be guided by detailed instructions and comprehensive medical guidelines when completing assessments. This involves reviewing a candidate’s mental and physical health over their five-year history.

“General practitioners comply with strict professional requirements that will ensure Victoria Police’s high entry standards are maintained,” a police spokesman said.

“Victoria Police has full confidence in the ability of GPs, as in many other sectors and professions, to make sound, professional decisions.”

Candidates are still expected to undergo hearing and eye examinations by experts.

The move would mark a dramatic change from Victoria Police’s processes a few years ago, when candidates were subjected to three psychological tests.

“We have a pretty high failure rate,” said commander Shane Cole, then head of Victoria Police’s health and safety department. told messenger of the sun in 2018. “Policing is a very different role; you need to have certain characteristics and skills.”

Victoria Police Association president Wayne Gatt said: Age “If I thought lowering standards put us at risk, the union would be the first to scream,” he said.

“GPs are well placed to screen for mental health context because they know the person presenting and have a history with that person,” Gatt said.

He said internal police data showed the number of people receiving approval remained steady at around 83 percent.

“What has changed is the length of time it takes to get there, from six to nine months to two months,” he said. “In 2025, people aren’t waiting, they’re going somewhere else; they’re just going and doing something else, or they’re taking the car and going to the Queensland police.”

He said passing entry requirements was only the first “gateway” and that the rigorous, high-stress training at the police academy was also key to weeding out unsuitable candidates.

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Earlier this year, the time a recruit spends in academy training was reduced from 31 weeks to 25 weeks as part of the force’s drive to increase staffing on the street.

A uniformed police officer, who wished to remain anonymous, said falling standards and performance was a general problem and that overall “entry standards were relaxed, then training standards and then road policing standards”.

“Such a major change in the process is not supported by tighter controls at the academy…of course this will not lead to bad consequences,” the officer said.

He said there are “a lot of recruits who, as an officer, worry when things get a little heated on the street.”

“Our hiring over the last 12 to 18 months has been the worst quality I’ve ever seen,” he said. “This is not an easy task and a responsible offside makes it much more difficult and dangerous for everyone.”

Victoria Police said it has also deployed “clinical teams” to the academy to identify and respond to any issues related to the mental health of recruits that may arise during training.

On Monday, Chief Superintendent Mike Bush announced a sweeping restructuring of Victoria Police in a bid to quell a recent wave of violent crime and improve the public’s image and respect for the force.

At that press conference, Bush said Victoria Police had more than 1,000 officers on duty and WorkCover had 700 officers.

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