Australian Defence Force - Recruiting Guide and Practice Materials for Your YOU Session

This pack contains a variety of different tests to ensure you are ready for your application. Prepare for your maths, Revelian, and other tests as well as gain access to our interview preparation portal. Start practising today.

After you have submitted the initial application form, you will be invited to attend a YOU session, the first step in your recruitment process.

Held at your nearest Defence Force Recruiting Centre, the Your Opportunities Unlimited (YOU) session includes the first—and possibly only—aptitude test you will have to take. This test will enable the ADF to learn about your capabilities and what positions you can apply for. We have a tailor-made package to help you improve your YOU session aptitude test score, to increase your chances of getting the job you want.

Also on your YOU day will be a medical interview with a nurse, and an interview with a career counsellor. The medical interview includes a colour perception eye test, as well as some basic measurements (e.g. height, weight, etc.). The interview with the career counsellor will ascertain your reasons for joining the ADF and your job interests, so that at the end of the session, in conjunction with the results of your aptitude test, you will be presented with a Job Opportunity Report.

If, for some reason, you have failed the YOU Session, you will have to wait six months before you can attend another one. The successful completion of this step is essential for enlistment. The remaining recruiting steps are as follows:

• Assessment Session
• Physical Fitness Assessment
• Enlistment/Appointment Day
• Officers, Pilots, Observers, Air Traffic Controllers and Other Specialist Occupations
• Officer Selection Board 

Following the successful completion of the YOU Session, you will be invited to attend the Assessment Session, where you will face further examinations, more specifically related to the position you apply for. There are three parts to this session:

• Medical Assessment – a head-to-toe physical examination of your physical fitness. You will also be asked about any previous medical conditions.
• Defence Interview – your opportunity to demonstrate your motivations for joining the ADF. You will also get the chance to ask questions about the role you are applying for.
• Psychological Interview – determines whether you can cope with the pressures of the military and whether your values are compatible with those of the military. The DFR psychologist will also ask you about various aspects of your personal history (education, social and family life as well as past employment).

Once you have completed your Assessment Day successfully, you will be invited to the PFA, usually just a few weeks before enlistment/appointment. This assessment requires the minimal physical fitness level needed in the ADF. Candidates who are not able to perform at this level will not be allowed to enlist at all. The assessment measures your upper body strength as well as your aerobic capacity. You will need to do push-ups and sit-ups, as well as a Beep Test, in which you have to sprint between two points in progressively shorter time increments. The minimal performance requirements, not including specific exceptions, are as follows:

• Navy – push ups: males=15, females=6; sit-ups: 20; Beep Test: level 6.1.
• Air Force – push-ups: males=10, females=4; sit-ups: 20; Beep Test: level 6.5.
• Army – push-ups: males=15, females=8; sit-ups: 45; Beep Test: level 7.5.

Other common assessment applicants face it the Revelian cognitive ability test. You have 20 minutes to complete 51 questions that include popular cognitive evaluation questions. Tasks you can expect are math word problems, verbal syllogism, spatial reasoning exercises, abstract reasoning questions and more. If you have to take this test start preparing for it with JobTestPrep.

On this special day, you will undertake a final medical check and participate in a welcome ceremony. You will then head straight to military training.

Depending on the positions you will be offered and wish to apply for, you may have to undertake further tests and evaluations in addition to the aptitude test and interview in the YOU Session (at a later date).

• Officer entry and ADFA – You will need to write an additional essay. This is to test your writing skills and to gather further information about you.
• Pilot, Observer or ACO, Navigator – Candidates for these positions will sit through another extensive battery. 3D skills, fast and accurate interpretation and hand-eye coordination will be tested. Pilots also need to participate in the Flight Screening Programme. Some roles also require a computer-based test for the purpose of research in selection only.
• Air Traffic Control – You will be tested on your ability to visualise aircraft in a 3D space, based on verbal descriptions of manoeuvres performed. You will also have to undertake a mental arithmetic test for speed and accuracy in estimations.
• Other Specialist Occupations (including technical and electronic trades) – You may be required to take a mechanical reasoning test, assessing your ability to visually manipulate objects. A more advanced maths test will test your knowledge of mathematical concepts relevant to the technical trade. Other positions require electrical and radio knowledge, language aptitude, clerical skills, pattern matching and reading comprehension.

This is a day of individual and group exercises designed for officer applicants only, assessing leadership potential. The exercises you face at the Officer Selection Board vary, depending on the service being applied for, and may include a written exercise, an oral presentation, group exercises and an interview. You are expected to have knowledge of the ADF in general as well as of the specific job you have applied for. Reasonable knowledge of current affairs will be greatly appreciated, as will familiarity with basic weaponry, army vessels etc.