Code of conduct, uniform and appearance

We trust police officers to have authority, integrity and responsibility for public safety. That means they must follow the Victoria Police code of conduct and certain policies and appearance standards.

Be aware how these conditions may impact your personal and professional life before you start the police application process.

What we expect

Victoria Police employees have a responsibility to follow the expected standards at all times.

Police officers must adhere to:

the Victoria Police code of conduct
uniform and appearance standards
our drug and alcohol policy, and
other requirements.

A Victoria Police police officer stands in front of a Victoria Police car on a Melbourne street. He is smiling widely and holding his arms to his chest.

The Victoria Police Act 2013

The Victoria Police Act 2013 imposes a duty on employees to be of good behaviour at all times.

Your conduct, both on and off duty, reflects on both you and Victoria Police.

Actions you take in your personal life may affect your employment. They may also see you face internal discipline or criminal proceedings.

Victoria Police's organisational values

Your behaviour must demonstrate our organisational values.

Our organisational values underpin our policies, procedures and practices. They provide guidance on how we expect employees to interact with the community and each other.

Code of conduct

The Victoria Police Code of Conduct Professional and Ethical Standards sets out behaviour requirements for all employees.

The code of conduct can also help you identify situations and associations which may be conflicts of interest.

The Code of Conduct is currently under review. Find out more about our organisational values on our page, our people, services, and commitment.

Drugs and alcohol

During the application process and your employment with Victoria Police, you will be tested for drugs and alcohol.

This means:

you must be completely sober while on duty, and on call.
you must be free of illegal drugs at all times, both on and off duty.
if you are taking prescribed medications, you must disclose them in your application medical report.

Uniform and appearance

All employees must adhere to the Victoria Police Uniform and Appearance Policy.

Your appearance must reflect a professional and disciplined law enforcement agency. This includes clothing, grooming and personal accessories.

Exemptions to the uniform and appearance policy can be sought on genuine medical, cultural or religious grounds.

An application for an exemption can be made at the induction stage of the application process.

Tattoos

Victoria Police's Code of conduct, uniform and appearance standards include tattoos/body art, and piercings information.

Employees must project an image of a professional and disciplined law enforcement agency.

Tattoos on the face, head, and front of the neck are not allowed, unless you are granted an exemption on religious or cultural grounds.
We permit rear of the neck tattoos only if they do not extend forward on the neck and towards the throat.
Imagine a line drawn vertically from behind the back of your ear straight down to your shoulder - neck tattoos cannot sit forward of this point.

Approved neck tattoo placement.
Offensive or inappropriate tattoos are not permitted.
These are tattoos that include words, images or objects that are, or may be, seen as:
- obscene, violent, defamatory, sexually explicit, discriminatory, harassing, insulting, threatening or racially intolerant
- constituting sexual harassment, or that are discriminatory or vilifying under equal opportunity legislation
- incompatible with Victoria Police's role and could affect our reputation or public confidence.

Jewellery

Police officers can wear the following items of jewellery:

wristwatches
minimal rings of conservative style
emergency medical alert bracelets or pendants.

Other jewellery, ornaments, adornments or accessories are not permitted. This includes:

earrings
spacers
any facial or body piercings
plugs
tunnels
bars
chains
dental grills
or similar.

Facial hair

There are some requirements around beards and moustaches.

You may have a beard if it is:
- grown while you are on leave, or absent from duty
- grown for at least three weeks before you resume duty
- full face, including a moustache
- trimmed to follow the underside of the jawline, with a clean-shaven neck
- kept neat, clean and close-trimmed
- not over 20mm in length
- not extreme in style or colour.
Goatees and patches of hair below the lower lip are not permitted.
You may have a moustache if it is:
- clean, tidy and neatly trimmed
- does not extend beyond a vertical line from the outer edge of the eye or below the bottom edge of the top lip.

Secondary employment

Employees must gain approval from their Assistant Commissioner or Executive Director to hold a secondary job.

Approval will not be granted where employment conflicts with your role as a Victoria Police employee.

This includes the:

liquor industry
gaming industry
racing industry
transport industry
firearms industry
weapons industry
private security industry, and
sex industry.