FAQ

No, there is no defined age limit, but you must meet the driver's licence eligibility requirements.

At time of application, you must as a minimum hold a current and valid C Class (Car) driver's licence. A probationary or provisional driver's licence is not acceptable.

A MR driver's licence (HR at selected stations) must, be obtained at your own expense.

For further information regarding licence classes and minimum requirements please visit www.sa.gov.au.

Applicants must hold a current Senior First Aid Certificate issued by St. John (Provide First Aid HLTAID001, 002 and 003 and Provide Advanced Resuscitation HLTAID007), Red Cross or an accredited provider, or agree to obtain one within 6 months during probation (at your own expense).

Potential applicants must have permanent residency status in Australia.

An applicant who is not a citizen of Australia or New Zealand must produce evidence of their ability to permanently reside in Australia, for example, a certificate of Australian Residency issued by the Commonwealth Department of Immigration and Border Protection (formerly Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs) or a passport with this evidence.

• Birth Certificate (if born in Australia)
• Australian Passport
• Certificate of Australian Citizenship
• Certificate of Australian Residency

The MFS Uniform and Dress Code states that visible tattoos must not be excessive or offensive to recognised standards of decency or reflect adversely on the professional image the community expects from employees serving in the MFS. Acceptance or not would be at the discretion of the Chief Officer in accordance with the Uniform and Dress Code.

Applicants are required to provide details of all traffic infringements, at your own expense, over the last 10 years, including all speeding fines, driving under influence (alcohol or drugs) etc.

Serious traffic offences within the past 10 years will be considered grounds for a 10 year disqualification from consideration as a potential employee, taken from the date of offence. Matters considered as a serious traffic offence include but are not limited to:

• Exceed Prescribed Concentration of Alcohol - 0.1% BAC or over, or refuse (or previously fail to provide) alcohol tests, including fail to accompany or fail to remain for testing
• Two or more offences of exceeding Prescribed Concentration of Alcohol under 0.1% BAC
• Driving under the influence of drugs
• Found guilty, charge proven for offence of driving whilst licence suspended, cancelled or disqualified
• Found guilty, charge proven for offence of driving in a manner or speed dangerous
• Refusing to stop when requested to do so by a law enforcement officer
• Refusing a breath test or drug test

An applicant's overall driving record is also taken into consideration when assessing attitude to road law compliance. A poor driving record may result in your application being found unsuitable. An applicant's overall driving record will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

As part of the process, applicants will be required to give consent for the MFS to obtain personal information relating to criminal history. This information shows a record of offences even when a conviction has not been recorded.

The results of any criminal history screening process are considered on a case-by-case basis.

The current MFS Medical Standards consider colour blindness to be incompatible with the role and therefore may disqualify an applicant from becoming a fulltime firefighter.

As part of the mandatory testing, thorough medicals are conducted on candidates who progress through the selection process. Please refer to our Medical Standards document (PDF, 112 KB) for further information.

Firefighters need to be aware of changes in engine or road noises which may signal developing problems; be aware of fire station loudspeaker announcements, radio transmissions, horns, rail crossings, emergency signals and sirens, without compromising safety.

As part of the medical examination, an audiology examination will be conducted without the use of hearing aids.

Average hearing thresholds should be equal to or better than 40dB in the better ear. Average hearing threshold is the simple average of pure tone air conduction thresholds at 500, 1000, 2000 and 3000 Hz. Please refer to our Medical Standards document (PDF, 112 KB) for further information.

This website is the best point of reference and provides potential applicants with all the information required for them to submit an application and to prepare them you for the recruitment process to follow or you can contact the Regional Office in your area.

It is important to carefully examine the Position Information Document (PID) (PDF, 850 KB) for Retained Firefighters and analyse your ability to meet the criteria listed in that document. It would be beneficial to consider the areas of your experiences and skill sets against the PID requirements.