Victoria’s Liberal leadership has announced a major law and order policy ahead of the next state election, pledging to recruit 3,000 additional police officers if elected, with half of the recruits to be drawn from overseas.
Under the proposal, 1,500 experienced officers would be recruited from countries including the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand, in an effort to rapidly boost frontline policing capacity in Victoria.
The plan also includes a $5,000 relocation allowance to encourage international officers to move to the state and take up positions within Victoria Police.
Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said the policy was designed to address staffing shortages and improve community safety, arguing that policing capacity had not kept pace with rising demand.
“Crime is at an all-time high, dozens of police stations are closed or operating on reduced hours, and too many Victorians are unable to get a timely police response in their time of need,” she said.
“Our plan will get more cops on the beat, reopen closed police stations and restore community safety across Victoria.”
Shadow Police Minister Brad Battin said the recruitment drive would include dedicated teams to fast-track background checks and streamline hiring processes for qualified applicants.
“Whether it’s New Zealand, England, Ireland, where they can come across here into Victoria… it gives them the opportunity to come across, but it also fills the void of recruiting in a shorter period of time,” he said.
“They’ll still have to do programs, they’ll still have to go through the academy for parts of their training.”
The Opposition said the approach mirrors a similar scheme used in Western Australia, which aimed to attract experienced interstate and international officers to address workforce shortages.
However, reports have indicated Western Australia fell short of its recruitment target, with visa eligibility issues under Australia’s Migration Act affecting some applicants, particularly those with dependents who have health conditions or disabilities.
Concerns have also been raised in past recruitment programs about processing delays and the challenges of integrating overseas-trained officers into local policing frameworks.
The Victorian Opposition has also pledged to reopen more than 40 police stations it claims are currently closed or operating on reduced hours, as part of its broader policing strategy.
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