Firefighter recruitment timeline calculator
Pick your service and enter a confirmed assessment date or a personal review date. This tool counts backwards to suggest preparation blocks. It does not forecast when applications will open, when you will be invited to a stage, or when you might be employed.
Choose a date to generate your personal preparation plan.
FRNSW campaign context: 2026 applications ran 9–20 March; these are historical dates. source review overdue (review due 2026-10-08); confirm the current candidate information pack.
These fixed offsets are FirePrep preparation suggestions, not your service's official timetable, a recruitment forecast or a guarantee of readiness. Adapt them to your starting fitness and available time. Check published campaign information.
Why work backwards from the date
Working backwards makes competing preparation tasks visible. Put document checks, physical training, aptitude practice and interview reflection into your own calendar, then adjust the suggested offsets to your starting point. They are not a prescribed selection order.
If you do not have a confirmed date, choose a personal progress-review date and label it that way in your calendar. Do not treat that date as the next intake. The recruitment dates guide shows application announcements and provisional calendars, using the current year where no year is stated.
Turn the timeline into a plan
Once you know when each block starts, you need the detail of what to actually do. Pick the physical plan that matches your runway — the 12-week PAT plan or the 8-week plan as examples, not guaranteed readiness timelines — and run the readiness checklist to confirm you haven't missed an eligibility or documentation step. The recruitment preparation guide ties the whole process together.
Common timing questions
How far out should I start preparing for firefighter recruitment?
Start by checking your service's requirements and your own gaps. The calculator uses illustrative preparation offsets, not a minimum training duration. Your fitness, available time, health and assessment format determine the plan you need.
Is this calculator an official recruitment schedule?
No. You supply the date; the milestones are FirePrep preparation suggestions counted back from it. They do not predict application openings, stage invitations or employment. Confirm any agency date with that service.
What if my assessment date is only a few weeks away?
Review your highest-priority gaps and what you can safely work on in the available time. A suggested milestone in the past is not an agency deadline you have missed. Do not cram unsafe physical workloads to catch up with an illustrative plan.
Anchor your timeline to where you are today
A timeline works best when it starts from your real baseline. The free Readiness Check shows where you stand across the assessment areas and which gap to give your runway to first. It takes about 15 minutes with no card; create a free account at the end to get your personalised readiness breakdown.