Border Force Officer
Border force officers check travellers, cargo and mail crossing Australia's border, deciding what enters the country and what gets turned back.
- Median salary
- $96,800
4.4%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 970
3.0%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +7%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Moderate
- automation risk
- Average hours
- 41/wk
+1h vs all jobs
- Shortage status
- Not in shortage
national
Border force officers work for the Australian Border Force at airports, seaports, mail centres and cargo facilities, checking people and goods arriving in and leaving Australia. The role combines law enforcement with regulation, because officers apply the Customs Act, Biosecurity Act and Migration Act in real time rather than following a fixed script. It is a uniformed, disciplined job, which is what separates it from a customs broker who manages the same rules on paper for importers and freight forwarders.
How much do border force officers earn?
The median full-time salary for a border force officer is $96,800 per annum, before tax, up $20,500 since 2018.
Pay is set by the Australian Border Force enterprise agreement, so your classification level and years of service drive most of the difference. Shift penalties, overtime and public holiday rates add to the base for officers on rotating rosters, and remote or overseas postings carry extra allowances. Moving up through the classifications is the main way base pay rises.
What does a border force officer do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Interviewing travellers at the primary line and deciding who needs a closer look
- Searching baggage, cargo, mail and vehicles for prohibited goods, drugs and biosecurity risks
- Working rotating shifts across an airport, seaport or mail facility, including nights and public holidays
- Applying customs, biosecurity and migration law on the spot, often with only minutes to decide
- Writing up seizures, refusals and referrals so they hold up if a matter is reviewed later
What skills do border force officers need?
Employers look for regulatory compliance, risk and internal controls, emergency response, backed by Border Management System (BMS) fluency and strong attention to detail.
Specialist skills
- Regulatory compliance
- Risk and internal controls
- Emergency response
Software and tools
- Border Management System (BMS)
- X-ray and screening equipment
- Cargo declaration databases
- Two-way radio systems
- Drug detection kits
General skills
- Attention to detail
- Problem solving
- Written communication
- Stakeholder management
Is the job growing?
About 970 people work as border force officers in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 7% over the decade to 2035. That's modest growth: demand is steady rather than booming.
How do you become a border force officer?
Here's the path most border force officers take, step by step.
- 1Check the entry requirements
Recruits generally need to be Australian citizens, hold Year 12 or an equivalent, have a current driver's licence, and pass fitness, medical and integrity checks. A security clearance is also required, so anything that would fail one rules you out before training starts.
- 2Apply to the Border Force Officer Recruit program
This is the main route in for people without prior government experience, and it opens in rounds rather than continuously. The process includes aptitude testing, an interview and background checks, and it can take several months from application to a start date.
- 3Complete recruit training
Recruits train full time at the ABF College in border law, powers of search and detention, screening, use of force and operational procedure. Training is paid, and you are employed by the ABF while you complete it.
- 4Start on a rotating roster
Your first posting is usually to an airport, seaport or mail facility, working shifts across arrivals, departures, cargo and mail under supervision. From there, further courses and promotion to higher classifications open up specialist areas such as investigations, targeting and detector dog handling.
Ready to apply as a border force officer?
Whether you're working toward becoming a border force officer or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can a border force officer move to?
Moving into Policy and Planning Manager typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $56,300 a year more on average.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Policy and Planning Manager Border and immigration policy experience supports planning and policy management, though a degree is required.Known move | +$56,300 | 8% | requalify |
| Project Coordinator Border force officers bring regulatory compliance and case management skills to coordinating government projects.Known move | +$14,000 | 20% | reskill |
| Customs Broker Customs and tariff knowledge carries into brokerage, though a diploma and licensing are needed. | −$17,800 | 63% | reskill |
| Import Export Clerk Customs, quarantine and cargo clearance knowledge carries into import export documentation and compliance work.Known move | −$21,400 | 24% | reskill |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as a border force officer?
The typical border force officer is 45 years old; 52% are men, 79% work full-time, and full-timers average 41 hours a week.
- 45
- Median age
- 48%
- Female share
- 79%
- Full-time
- +1h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a border force officer?
The job runs on rosters, so the shape of a week depends on whether you are on an early, late or night shift at an airport, seaport or mail centre. The work is operationally focused, with long stretches of routine checking broken by a case that needs a fast decision and careful paperwork. It suits people who are comfortable holding authority, can stay steady with difficult travellers, and are willing to work within law and procedure rather than around it.
What people like
- A clearly defined role. You know what you are there for and you have the training, powers and uniform to act on it, rather than negotiating every decision from scratch.
- Different settings, not one desk. Rotations can move you between arrivals, departures, cargo and mail, so the working week does not settle into a single routine.
- Public service conditions. Structured training, leave entitlements and a defined pay scale give the job a stability that shift-based security work in the private sector often lacks.
- Weekdays off. A rotating roster has its compensations, and days off in the middle of the week make appointments and errands far easier to manage.
What people find hard
- Nights, weekends and public holidays. Airports and ports do not close, so the roster includes night shifts and public holidays, and adjusting your body clock takes time.
- Difficult travellers. People who are tired, stressed or angry can be aggressive at the primary line, and you are expected to absorb that without escalating it.
- Every decision can be reviewed. Refusals, seizures and referrals may be scrutinised later, so the paperwork has to stand up even when you made the call in minutes.
- Long stretches of the same check. Between the incidents, much of the work is the same check repeated for hundreds of travellers, and attention has to hold through all of it.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ border force officers?
Public Administration and Safety employs the largest share of border force officers, followed by Transport, Postal and Warehousing.
Top employing industries
- 1Public Administration and Safety
- 2Transport, Postal and Warehousing
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Year 12 or below | 27.2% | |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor degree | 24.3% | |
| Certificate III/IV | 19.8% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 16.9% | |
| Postgraduate | 7% |
Will AI replace border force officers?
Border force work sits at a moderate level of AI exposure. Passport matching, watchlist checks and cargo risk scoring are already automated, which pushes officers towards the cases the software flags and the physical checks it cannot perform. Interviewing people, searching goods and applying border law under pressure remain the parts that technology supports rather than replaces.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Interviewing travellers at the primary lineJudging whether a person's account matches their documents and their manner is a human call, and the system only tells you who to look at.30%low
- Searching baggage, cargo, mail and vehiclesPhysical inspection, sampling and detector dogs remain hands-on work, and an X-ray image still needs someone to interpret what it shows.30%low
- Checking passports, visas and cargo declarations against databasesAutomated matching does most of this work already, so officers spend their time on the records that come back flagged rather than reading every one.25%high
- Writing up seizures, refusals and referralsTemplates and drafting tools speed up the report, but the details of what you saw and decided have to come from you because the record can be reviewed later.15%moderate
Common questions about becoming a border force officer
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much do border force officers get paid?
Border force officers earn a median of $96,800 per year before tax, based on full-time workers. That sits within a scale set by the ABF enterprise agreement, so your classification level, years of service and the penalties attached to your roster determine what you actually take home.
How do you become a border force officer?
Most people enter through the Border Force Officer Recruit program, which is aimed at applicants without prior government experience. You need Australian citizenship, Year 12 or an equivalent, a driver's licence, and clearance on fitness, medical, integrity and security checks. Recruit training is full time and paid, covering law, powers, screening and operational procedure before your first posting.
Are border force officers in demand?
Border force officers are currently not in shortage, and employment is projected to grow 7% over the decade to 2035. About 970 people work in the occupation, so hiring happens through ABF recruitment rounds rather than steady turnover, which means openings appear when a round is approved rather than year-round.
Will AI replace border force officers?
Automated systems already handle much of the routine checking, matching passports and advance passenger data against watchlists before anyone reaches the counter and risk-scoring cargo declarations. That leaves officers to interview people, resolve flagged cases, search goods and decide what happens next. The physical and judgement-heavy parts of the job are the least exposed.
What can border force officers move into?
Officers commonly move into project coordination, where compliance and case management skills carry across and pay is $14,000 more, or into customs brokerage, which draws on the same tariff knowledge but needs a diploma and a licence. Policy and planning management is a further step for officers with immigration policy experience, though it usually requires a degree. Within the ABF, specialist areas such as investigations, targeting and detector dog handling offer another route.
Do you have to be an Australian citizen to join?
Yes, recruits generally must be Australian citizens, and you also need to obtain and keep a security clearance. That check covers your background, finances and associations, so it is worth understanding what it involves before you apply rather than after.
Related roles
- Import Export Clerk
- Project Coordinator
- Policy and Planning Manager
- Customs Broker
- Import Export Clerk
- Security Guard
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