Aviation Rescue Fire Fighting Service careers

The role
Aviation Rescue Fire Fighters

Airservices Aviation Rescue Fire Fighters work at 27 airports across Australia, providing a vital layer of safety to the travelling public.

You’ll enjoy excellent on-the-job training, competitive remuneration and great opportunities for career development and progression. Collaborating and working together with a diverse group of people to benefit the Australian community and international visitors.

We play a crucial role – ensuring the safe, reliable and efficient use of Australia’s skies. It’s this team of diverse and dynamic people on the ground that will be there to respond to the emergency and safety needs of airlines, airports and the travelling public. A career with Airservices’ Aviation Rescue Fire Fighters is a career for the future.

FAQs

Express your interest

Shawn Derkson, Aviation Rescue Fire Fighting Service Commander

(wind blowing)

(background music + plane engine revving)

Every time someone steps into an airport,they come under our care.

We're the frontline for emergency response across Australia's busiest airports.

My name's Shawn Derksen. I'm a fire commander for aviation, rescue and firefighting for Airservices Australia.

As a fire commander, I have the responsibility of overseeing what happens on the crew of the day.

We are required to be at any threshold of any runway within three minutes of an emergency response. The way we conduct ourselves and the way we're trained and how we'll sort of deal with that situation. People know that we'll just be there.

Being a fire fighter at aviation rescue, you have some sort of pride in what you do. You're serving the public, you're here for a reason, and we don't take that lightly.

Airservices as a whole is a critical role for all travelling public because what we do, as much as it's not seen, is there to keep you safe.

Aviation Rescue Fire Fighter
About the role

Career progression

Flexible rosters

Salary advancement

Employment conditions

Work across Australia

Airservices Aviation Rescue Fire Fighters work in 27 fire stations at airports around Australia. Our fire fighters protect travellers and workers at Australia’s busiest airports and respond to a broad range of aviation and airport emergencies.

Our Aviation Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF) service is one of the world’s largest with more than 900 operational and support personnel based at airports around Australia. With Airservices, you will gain world recognised qualifications.

Fire fighting at Airservices offers a unique opportunity to stay fit, help people in a meaningful way and work in a dynamic outdoor team environment. To succeed in this rewarding career, you will require a high level of fitness, be committed to ongoing physical and technical training and be comfortable working outdoors. To ensure that our fire fighters maintain the required levels of fitness and strength, every fire station has an on-site gym. If you are selected as one of our talented fire fighters, you will also have access to the expertise of qualified physical training instructors to support your training and there is time for individual physical training built into every shift.

Benefits

Aviation Rescue Fire Fighter
Role details

Airservices also recruits experienced fire fighters to bring new skills and backgrounds to build and strengthen its diverse and highly-skilled aviation rescue fire fighting service (ARFFS) workforce.

Successful applicants will go through a condensed training period to gain their Leading Fire Fighter classification. This training includes aerodrome and aircraft familiarisation, vehicle operations, ARFFS systems and governance, equipment, communications, strategy and tactics.

There is no scheduled or anticipated recruitment intake for experienced fire fighters.

Dates of Recruit Courses

RC104: 30 June 2025
RC105: 22 September 2025
RC106: January 2026
RC107: April 2026

*Dates may be subject to change due to operational requirements.

General

Which stations are you recruiting to?

Our Aviation Rescue Fire Fighters work from the following locations around Australia: Darwin, Broome, Port Hedland, Karratha, Newman, Perth, Alice Springs, Ayers Rock, Adelaide, Avalon, Launceston, Hobart, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, Coffs Harbour, Ballina, Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Gladstone, Rockhampton, Mackay, Whitsunday Coast, Hamilton Island, Townsville & Cairns.

If you would like to be notified when our next recruitment campaign goes live, please click here to express your interest for future recruitment.

How will COVID affect the recruitment process?

As an organisation we put safety first. We are constantly watching the different states safety guidelines and requirements. As an organisation, have our own safety guidelines that we must adhere to.

Due to the ever changing nature of COVID-19, these guidelines are always subject to change. We will do our best to keep you updated throughout the process. We will advise what the current guidelines are and how they will effect each stage of the recruitment process.

Unfortunately, this does mean that our recruitment timelines could change. If this is the case, we will do our best to keep you updated.

How many vacancies are there for each of the stations you are recruiting for?

How often do you advertise?

If I have previously applied, do I have to apply again?

Am I at a disadvantage if I am female or from a culturally diverse background?

Can I choose where I go/my end location?

You will have the opportunity to nominate your preferences at the application stage, however these cannot be guaranteed. While preferences will be considered where possible, Airservices will offer you a position at a location with an operational staffing need, should you be successful.

You should only nominate a preference in those locations you are willing to be located. You will remain in your final location for a minimum of three years.

Is a Fly In, Fly Out (FIFO) arrangement possible from any of the locations advertised?

What are the medical requirements for eyesight?

What happens if I am colour blind?

Due to CASA regulations, if you are colour-blind to a certain standard, this WILL preclude you from working as an aviation rescue firefighter with Airservices. The final stage of the selection process is to undertake a medical based on a CASA Class 2 medical examination including two colour vision tests:

Twenty four (24) plate Ishihara pseudo-isochromatic plates shown in random order – you must not make more than two (2) mistakes. If you do, you will need to sit the second test.
Colour vision-testing with the Farnsworth colour-perception lantern – you must not make more than two (2) mistakes.

If you make more than two (2) mistakes on the Farnsworth colour vision test, we cannot offer you employment as an aviation rescue firefighter. We do NOT offer practical colour vision tests.

What are the minimum entry standards?

Application requirements

You must:

Be at least 18 years of age and;
Hold Australian or New Zealand Citizenship or Australian Permanent Residency (please note, Darwin applicants must be Australian Citizens) and;
Have a current unrestricted full manual driver’s licence and the ability to gain a heavy rigid license at least four weeks’ prior to commencement and;
Hold either a year 10 or Year 12 Certificate plus a minimum of two years full time equivalent experience (can be combination of paid work, volunteer work, professional or elite sports experience or representation)* or Bachelors/Masters

* Full-Time experience equals an average combined 38 hours working week over a twelve month period (any combination of paid work, volunteer work and/or sports representation) and should be able to be verified by details in application (CV and application) as well as through referees and any other verification that Airservices may wish to seek. Please also refer to FAQs which provide details on specific evidentiary requirements (for example, completion of schooling evidence) which must be provided as part of your application submission.

You will also be asked a number of questions in your application which we will consider in shortlisting throughout the recruitment process. This will include your experience and/or commitment to working shift work; in a safety-focused environment and as an aviation rescue fire fighter. You will also be required to attach a current CV or resume as part of your application.

Other requirements (during recruitment)

If you are successful in progressing through the recruitment process you must also have:

Medical Clearance – You must obtain medical clearance prior to the Physical Aptitude Test (PAT). If you are successful in reaching this stage Airservices will provide necessary details and forms for completion by your medical practitioner.
First Aid Certificate – (certified and current) must be provided at the date of assessment centre displaying one of the following course codes:
- HLTAID011 Provide First Aid
- HLTAID014 Provide Advanced First Aid
If at assessment centre you currently hold a higher qualification (paramedic, nursing), this may also be accepted upon production of a certified copy.
If you are applying for water rescue-equipped locations (see FAQs for specific locations and details), you must also hold a current water competency qualification (e.g. Bronze Medallion) or have the ability to undertake and pass an ARFFS water competency assessment prior to the assessment centre.

Other requirements (if successful)

If you are successful in obtaining an offer of employment or are placed on our reserve list you will also be required to obtain the following (prior to commencement if not already provided):

In order for successful candidates to obtain their radio license (requirement of the role) you must also pass a ‘general English language proficiency test’, which requires certified documentary evidence of the following:
- Completion of secondary school education in Australia/NZ or other country in English medium
- Worked three of the last five years in Australia/NZ (proof of payment summaries required from employer as evidence)
While you do not require these at time of application, if you do not meet (and are not able to provide required evidence throughout the recruitment process) then your application is unable to be progressed any further.
Medical Check- You will be required to undergo a medical examination which is based on a CASA Class II (2) examination. Details will be provided with any conditional letter of offer. This is different to the Medical Clearance provided prior to the Physical Aptitude Test during recruitment.
Drug and Alcohol Screening - You will be required to undergo and satisfactorily pass drug and alcohol screening.
ASIC security check – You are required to be able to hold an Aviation Security Identification Card (ASIC) which includes a background check showing that you do not have any criminal convictions which may prevent employment with Airservices.
Heavy rigid licence – You are required to obtain (at your own expense) a heavy rigid licence at least one month prior to commencement of employment or at a date specified in any conditional letter of offer. Refer to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page for more details including specific requirements.
Darwin candidates must be Australian citizens only. New Zealand citizens and Australian permanent residents will not be accepted at this location.

Aviation Rescue Fire Fighting Recruit
Meet Jasmyn Hewett

Jasmyn Hewett is a former Aviation Rescue Fire Fighting Recruit who trained at our centre in Melbourne. Jasmyn has always had a passion for helping her community. After successfully completing the course, she is now a Lead Aviation Fire Fighter at our station at Darwin Airport.

Jasmyn Hewett, Aviation Rescue Fire Fighting Recruit

(wind blowing)

(background music + plane engine revving)

I come to work every day to help maintain safety in the skies.

It's lovely to know that I play a part in people expanding their horizons.

(music crescendo)

My name is Jasmyn Hewett. I'm an aviation rescue firefighting recruit.

(laughter)

I just felt like I could do more, I could give more.

It's something that I've always been passionate about, helping others serving my community, which is why I picked being a fire fighter in the first place. Yeah, it's a dream come true.

The recruitment process is really fun. It's quite physically demanding. That's what the game is. So going in, you know what you have to do. We are fire fighters. We wanna be here. We wanna be putting out fires, search and rescue, rescuing people.

The best thing for me has been meeting all these fantastic people, instructors included, a lot of great people trying to help a lot of great people.

I feel like this is it for me. This is the career that I've always wanted. I'm part of a fantastic team and providing an essential service to keep people safe.

Even if you never see us, no will be there all around you, like air.

(wind blowing)

Aviation Rescue Fire Fighter
Recruitment process

Apply Online → Online Aptitude Assessments → Application Screening → Physical Aptitude Test → Assessment Centre & Interviews → Medical & Security Checks → Final Review → Job Offer/Talent Pool

Recruitment Process Guideline
Online testing

You can attempt online testing once every 12 months. If you submit multiple applications, your results from the earliest application will be used. When those results expire (after 12 months), you'll be invited to complete a new round of testing to ensure your results stay current. These results will apply across all locations you apply to.

Physical Aptitude Test (PAT)

As of Friday 16 May 2025, the Physical Aptitude Test (PAT) standard for ARFFS will change. This assessment has been designed to measure an applicant’s physical suitability for the ARFFS Recruit Course.

We recommend only attempting 2 PATs within a three-month period. This allows time for training to be implemented and to achieve effective results.

Assessment Centre

You must wait 12 months before re-applying if you reach Assessment Centre stage and are unsuccessful. This is to receive and implement feedback as well as creating opportunities for other candidates to attempt this stage.

Talent Pool/Recruits Reserve

If your application is sitting in the Talent Pool, we will keep it in here for 12 months. At that point if no offer has come up for you in your nominated location preferences, we will call you to run through any alternate locations you would consider. If there are no locations that you can accept, your application will be resubmitted back into the next process where you will need to complete a PAT and go through the Assessement Centre again. You will receive an automatic invite to this stage of the process if this is the case.

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Effective teamwork and collaboration are what allow us to effectively manage the arrival and departure of more than 156 million airline passengers annually. No matter whether you're a technical officer, air traffic manager, or Aviation Rescue Fire Fighter, you’ll find yourself connecting with talented people and incredible opportunities.

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