On 17 September, 2024 the Police Federation of Australia held the official campaign launch  calling on the Federal Government to act to fix the national crisis in Police numbers.  The launch was attended by President’s of all Police Unions across the country.

Police are calling for urgent action by the federal government to fix a national recruitment crisis, as vacancies in the ranks blow out to more than 7000 unfilled positions across Australia.

The campaign, led by the Police Federation of Australia on behalf of all state and territory police, begins today and calls for drastic improvements in working conditions to boost recruitment numbers and prevent more burnt-out officers quitting their jobs.

The campaign argues that police should be immediately granted three federal government benefits, some of which are already enjoyed by other frontline workers like nurses, paramedics and defence personnel.

The benefits are:

  • Fringe benefit tax (FBT) concessions reforms of up to $17,000, in line with public hospital and ambulance service workers;
  • Earlier access to superannuation at 55 years to reflect the significant physical and mental impacts from long careers in policing: and
  • Introduction of a Blue Card covering medical and allied health services, to match the concessions available to Australian Defence Forces.

PFA Chief Executive Scott Weber said such benefits were urgently needed at a time when police resources were being stretched to the limit amid growing community concerns about crime and safety.

“Modern policing is a physically dangerous and mentally draining occupation, with our officers dealing constantly with complex, often ambiguous and sometimes life-threatening challenges,” Mr Weber said.

“While we’ve all heard our politicians talk about the importance of Australians feeling safe at home and in their communities, the simple fact is: you can’t improve community safety without improving police recruitment and retention numbers.

“And you can’t improve police retention and recruitment without improving police working conditions.

“In short, for the community to feel safer, we need our police to be better supported to do their jobs – and today we’ve outlined three simple things our federal government can do that would make a big difference towards that goal.”

Mr Weber said policing generally fell under the jurisdiction of state governments, but superannuation, health and tax benefits were key areas where the federal government could intervene to boost conditions, as it has with frontline health workers and defence personnel.