Hunter police ranks boosted as experienced officers transfer to NSW

newy.com.au – Three experienced police officers will be deployed to Hunter commands from Monday 24 November 2025 after 13 interstate and New Zealand officers graduated from the NSW Police Force’s Professional Mobility Program at Sydney Olympic Park on Friday.

NSW Police said the program is designed to attract serving officers from across Australia and New Zealand into the state while allowing them to keep their equivalent rank, bolstering frontline numbers at a time the force is pushing recruitment in key regional and metropolitan areas.

Of the 13 graduates, six will join the Northern Region, including one officer assigned to Newcastle City Police District and two to Port Stephens-Hunter Police District. Others from the same intake will take up roles in Tweed-Byron and Mid North Coast police districts, with the remaining officers posted to Leichhardt, Blacktown, North Shore, Fairfield, Wollongong and New England commands.

The Professional Mobility Program targets experienced officers from Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, the Northern Territory and New Zealand. NSW Police said it replaced a previous system that required interstate recruits to complete about eight months of training and begin again at the rank of probationary constable.

Under the new scheme, officers complete a condensed 12-week, face-to-face training course that includes academic work, weapons and driver training and fitness. Graduates then undertake six months of on-the-job training as probationary constables before resuming their former rank, up to Senior Constable level six.

Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism Yasmin Catley said the new officers were joining the force “at an exciting time of growth for the NSW Police Force”. “When I stepped into this role, I made it my mission to build a police force that reflects the community it serves and initiatives like the Professional Mobility Program are helping us deliver exactly that,” Ms Catley said.

She said the intake reflected broader reforms aimed at recruiting and retaining officers across the state. “These officers have chosen to uplift their lives and those of their families to join the finest police force in the country and that’s not by chance,” she said. “With a once in a generation pay rise and historic recruitment initiatives, we are making the NSW Police Force a modern workforce after years of inaction from the former Government.”

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said the 13 officers were in addition to 30 who had already graduated through the Professional Mobility Program earlier this year. “Thirteen Australian and New Zealand officers have decided to swap jurisdictions and continue their careers with NSW Police,” Commissioner Lanyon said. “These officers bring a wealth of experience from their other jurisdictions and we are grateful they have shown a commitment to bravely serving the people of NSW.”

NSW Police said the 13 officers in the latest class had a combined 115 years of law enforcement experience. Twelve are men and one is a woman, aged between 30 and 43. Twelve were senior constables and one a constable in their previous jurisdictions, coming from New Zealand Police, Northern Territory Police, Victoria Police, Queensland Police, South Australia Police and Western Australia Police.

Since the program was launched, NSW Police has received 134 applications from officers across Australia and New Zealand. The force said the introduction of paid study for recruits in November 2023 had also driven interest, with more than 5376 applications lodged to join NSW Police since that change.

Ms Catley said another “record-breaking cohort” of academy graduates would join the force next month, adding to the Professional Mobility Program officers as NSW Police continues efforts to strengthen numbers across the state. From Monday, six of the latest graduates will start at stations in the Northern Region, including the three in the Hunter, with others reporting to commands in Sydney, Wollongong and the state’s west.