For Prospective Students

Admissions and Defence Recruiting

To attend the Officers' Training School you must be selected to become an officer in the Air Force.

For more information, or to apply to join the Air Force, contact Defence Force Recruiting on 13 19 01 or visit defencejobs.gov.au/airforce

Training Curriculum

Overview

The Initial Officer Course is a 17-18 week course throughout which you will receive training in a variety of skills and disciplines. This will include classroom instruction in Management, Leadership, and Air Force values. You will also receive instruction in written and oral communication and you will be required to give presentations throughout the course. In addition to being assessed on these topics, you will also be assessed throughout the course on your ability to adhere to the Principles and Standards associated with holding a Commission.

There are also field exercises ranging from a non-tactical exercise to defence exercises. These include:

Adventurous Training (AT), to let you discover your own and others’ strengths and limits;
field deployments where you will learn basic weapon handling, field craft, camouflage and concealment, and ground defence; and
leadership training in a variety of scenarios, including the deployed environment.

Daily routine

Weekdays

As a guide, the standard working day at OTS consists of eight fifty minute periods, and approximates the following:

0630 - 0700	Breakfast
0720 - 0750	Parade(Thursday)/Block Inspection (Tuesday)
0815-1000	Tuition
1000-1015	Break
1015-1200	Tuition
1200-1300	Lunch
1300-1445	Tuition
1445-1500	Break
1500-1740	Tuition
1800-1915	Dinner

You will be required to study in the evenings and there are also some evening tuition periods. You will be required to work on the first four weekends as well as other weekends and public holidays later in the course.

Do not plan any social activities or travel to your home locality until you are aware of your commitments.

Leave

After the first five weeks, evening and weekend leave is generally granted to IOC students. A Leave Application form must be submitted in certain circumstances and such leave is at the ultimate discretion of the Commanding Officer OTS. Leave during working hours, including working weekends, is only granted in compelling compassionate cases. Rules and guidelines for leave will be discussed in the first week of training.

Physical fitness

The RAAF values physical fitness highly and your level of fitness will be tested at various stages throughout the course. The Health and Physical Training (PT) program that you will undertake at OTS can be very demanding and is targeted at preparing you for the physical requirements of the Initial Officer Course, as well as setting the expected standard for the remainder of your Air Force career.

There are a variety of different physical training lessons conducted at OTS that Initial Officer Course students are expected to do. These training sessions will prepare you to meet the fitness requirements for field exercises that are conducted throughout Initial Officer Course. The Physical Training lessons you will be involved in are:

Aerobic conditioning,
Fitness assessments (Initial Fitness Test, Beep Test, Swimming Proficiency Test- Aircrew Only);
Strength & conditioning exercises;
Pool Physical Training;
Endurance marching;
Mission specific activities;
Section challenges;
Team Building Physical Training; and
Lift & carry exercises.

All students attending OTS are required to pass the Initial Fitness Test in order to graduate from OTS. There are three parts to the Initial Fitness Test that you need to pass. This fitness test comprises of:

Upper body strength component. Flexed arm hang or push ups;
Abdominal strength component. Sit ups with feet secured or unsecured; and
Cardiovascular fitness component. A 2.4 km run or 5 km walk.

The first Initial Fitness Test is a Physical Training Screen. The Physical Training screen is conducted over two days. The first part is a beep test, were all Initial Officer Course students are to make the minimum standard of 6.5. This test is conducted in week one. The second part of the Physical Training screen is an Initial Fitness Test which consists of push-ups, sit-ups (feet unsecured) and run components conducted in the second week of course. This first Initial Fitness Test will be used as an introduction, and to assess your physical fitness. This assessment is designed to identify students with a fitness standard way below the minimum standard of the Initial Fitness Test requirements and may be at a greater risk of injury while on IOC. The Physical Training screen is conducted at a lower level of fitness (75% of upper body strength and abdominal strength components, plus an additional 60 seconds on run time). You will be expected to meet the following minimum standard listed on the table below.

	Beep Test	Push-Ups		Sit Ups	2.4KM Run
*AGE*	M / F	Male	Female	M/F	Male	Female
<25	6.5	18	7	22	13 Min	14 Min
25-34	6.5	15	6	19	14 Min	15 Min
35-44	6.5	11	4	15	15 Min	16 Min
45-54	6.5	7	3	15	16 Min	17 Min
55-59	6.5	3	2	7	17 Min	18 Min
60 & over	6.5	2	1	3	18 Min	19 Min

The second IFT is a Formative test consisting of push-ups, sit-ups (feet unsecured) and run components conducted in week six of the course. You will be expected to meet the following minimum standard listed on the table below:

	Push-Ups		Sit Ups	2.4KM Run
*AGE*	Male	Female	M/F	Male	Female
<25	25	10	30	12 Min	13 Min
25-34	20	8	25	13 Min	14 Min
35-44	15	6	20	14 Min	15 Min
45-54	10	4	15	15 Min	16 Min
55-59	5	3	10	16 Min	17 Min

The third IFT is a Summative test. This test you get to choose between the two options in each of the three categories. This test is conducted in week eleven of the course. You will be expected to meet the following minimum standard listed on the table below:

	FAH	Push-Ups	Sit Ups Feet Un-assisted	Sit Ups Feet Assisted	2.4 KM Run	5 KM Walk
*AGE*	M/F	M/F	M/F	M/F	M/F	M/F
<25	30	25 / 10	30	65	12 / 13 mins	38 / 39 mins
25-34	25	20 / 8	25	55	13 / 14 mins	40 / 41 mins
35-44	20	15 / 6	20	45	14 / 15 mins	42 / 43 mins
45-54	15	10 / 4	15	35	15 / 16 mins	44 / 45 mins
55-59	10	5 / 3	10	25	16 / 17 mins	46 / 47 mins
60 & over	5	3 / 1	5	15	17 / 18 mins	48 / 49 mins

The RAAF requires that you have a good standard of physical fitness before arriving at OTS. You are advised to begin an exercise program, before you arrive. Ideally, you should aim to exceed the physical standards outlined previously to minimise the risk of injury and help you cope more easily with the physically demanding elements of the course.

For all Initial Officer Course students that are joining as Aircrew (Pilots, Air Combat Officers) they will undergo two Swimming Proficiency Tests during Initial Officer Course. These Initial Officer Course students have to pass the Swimming Proficiency Test before they start the aircrew course. The first is an introduction only that is conducted in week four. The second test is conducted in week eleven and the result (pass/fail) is recorded on PMKeys.

Joining Instructions

For students that have been sent an appointment offer by the Air Force and are to begin training at OTS, initial documents, joining instructions and travel details will be sent out to you.

For further general information on what students will need prior to arriving at OTS specific joining instructions can be made available on request to the OTS Induction Centre on (03) 51466600.

Joining instructions for the Senior Airmen Initial Officer Course and Warrant Officer Commissioning Course are available on the Defence intranet.

If you have received an appointment offer to become an officer in the Air Force, and you have responded accepting the offer, and after two weeks you still have not received your joining instructions, then please call OTS on (03) 51466600 advising of the situation.

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