On this page

  • About the job
  • What we do
  • Great work life-balance
  • The skills you need
  • Application process
  • Eligibility
  • Your personal information is private

About the job

Every day as a sheriff’s officer is different. You will work with people from all walks of life and regularly take on new challenges and experiences.

Sheriff's officers are responsible for enforcing warrants and orders issued by the courts. It’s an important role that makes members of the public accountable for unpaid fines and other offences.

Sheriff’s officers work in dedicated local areas across metropolitan Melbourne or regional Victoria.

The work is mostly out of the office, so it’s a great job if you want to be out on the road and in the community.

What we do

As sheriff’s officers, we work with a wide range of people and our plans can change quickly.

On any given day, you could be working with: 

  • people with outstanding fines
  • people whose vehicle you have wheel-clamped
  • property owners who have defaulted on agreements with financial institutions
  • businesses who haven’t honoured their court orders
  • someone who has failed to appear in court as required. 

We’re given autonomy to manage our own time and the tasks we must complete.

Tasks can include:

  • demanding and collecting payments
  • applying wheel-clamps to vehicles.
  • seizing and removing property for the purpose of sale
  • arresting a person named in a warrant

Learn about what sheriff's officers do in the video below:

Great work life-balance

Working as a sheriff’s officer one of the best jobs around for work-life balance.

Our eight-day per fortnight work roster means you:

  • enjoy a four-day weekend every second week
  • work Monday to Friday only
  • will do a combination of early and afternoon shifts, covering operational hours of 7am to 9.30pm are not required to work public holidays
  • (special operations may occasionally be scheduled at night, on weekends or public holidays).
 

Sarah, sheriff's officer

Smiling female Sheriff's officer standing in front of white Sheriff's vehicles.

Sarah was looking at jobs for her husband when an advertisement to become a sheriff’s officer caught her eye.

‘I was on maternity leave and not looking to go back to work, but when I saw it and read the description, I thought it sounded really interesting,’ she said.

Sarah graduated as a sheriff’s officer in September 2013 and is now working within the Melbourne metropolitan area.

‘Every day is different,’ she said. ‘You never know what you will find on the other side of the door.’

The former legal assistant decided to apply to be a sheriff’s officer because previous experience wasn’t required and there was full training provided.

‘I can’t speak highly enough of the training. It gave me the tools I needed to do the job,’ Sarah said.

The rostered hours and short commute also appealed to Sarah, because of her family commitments.

‘My office is five minutes down the road, which is great.’

Two years into the role, Sarah said the job has exceeded her expectations and she is looking forward to a long career as a sheriff’s officer.

The skills you need

Being a sheriff’s officer is all about working closely with people to achieve the required outcome in difficult circumstances. To be successful in the job, you will need to have a genuine interest in people from all walks of life. 

You will often work with challenging members of the public in difficult circumstances. Some people may react in a hostile manner. You will need to stand your ground, stay focused on the task and remain calm and respectful.

You will also need to be resilient, and not take some of the language and treatment you experience personally.

Finally, you will need to be a good team player. You will be part of a close-knit group and will celebrate success collectively.

Watch a simulation of a sheriff’s officer conducting a general warrant execution above. You will see how the officer uses his communication skills to eventually gain the debtor’s cooperation.

Application process

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Online Application
Fill in the online application form.
Allow 15 to 30 minutes

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Situational Judgement Test
Complete the situational judgement test.
Allow 20 to 30 minutes online

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One Way Video interview 
Attend and pass the video interview.
Allow one hour online

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Assessment Centre
In-person interview and practical simulation. 

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Security and Background Checks
Undergo and pass the security and background checks.

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Medical and Physical Assessment 
Undergo and pass the medical and physical assessments.

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Verbal Offer and Additional Security Checks
Receive verbal offer, and undergo and pass additional security checks.

 

Eligibility

All sheriff’s officer appointments are subject to the following checks:

  • offence history and national police record (refer to Disclosing offences for more information)
  • VicRoads information and license check
  • warrant history
  • Australian Securities Investments Commission bankruptcy
  • conflict of interest
  • reference checks
  • medical and physical assessment.

You will be asked to disclose some information about yourself so that the department can determine if your application is suitable.

It is important to provide truthful and accurate information. Failing to declare details or supplying false or misleading information may lead to your application being deemed ineligible.

This may result in:

  • an application not proceeding
  • any offer of employment being withdrawn
  • commenced employment being terminated.

Declaring associations and conflicts of interest

You will be asked to declare any association or potential conflict of interest that may affect your ability to fulfil the role.

Disclosing outside employment

You must disclose any other employment you wish to undertake while working as a sheriff’s officer.

Disclosing offences

You tell us about any disclosable criminal offences.

There are certain offences and/or disclosures that may disqualify your application.

For example, if you have:

  • served any term of imprisonment.
  • served a sentence in a youth justice centre (including juvenile justice centre or youth training centre) within the past five years.
  • been a client supervised by a corrections agency, (e.g., a supervised community order or placed in home detention) within the past 10 years
  • been found guilty of a sexual offence, a homicide, or a drug trafficking offence.
  • been involved in a serious property crime, particularly in circumstances posing physical risk or potential risk to victims.
  • committed any offence against a lawful authority.
  • committed any offence involving fraud.
  • been subject to a final intervention order (unlimited timeframe).

There are also several disqualifying offences under the Control of Weapons Act 1990.

If you have a disclosable offence on your criminal record check

If a disclosable offence appears on your criminal record check, the department may seek more information from you.

You may be asked about the nature of the offence, when it occurred and the penalty and any relevant background information.

Your personal information is private

The selection process and all matters relating to it are treated in the strictest confidence. Personal information received during the selection process will be managed in accordance with the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014.

Sheriff's officer opportunities

We are not currently recruiting.

Register your interest to be notified when applications reopen.

Join our talent pool (External link)