Fire Rescue Victoria's ACER Written Selection Test trims the field hard before you ever touch the beep test. The three-attempt limit on the WST means a poorly-timed first sitting can quietly cost you a future cycle — worth understanding the rules before you submit.
FRV's ACER round trims the field hard before you ever touch the beep test.
Aptitude format: ACER written test
FRV applies a three-attempt limit on the ACER Written Selection Test. Each sitting is recorded against your record, so go in prepared rather than treating early sittings as practice.
Since 1 July 2020, Fire Rescue Victoria covers the career firefighter role across metropolitan Melbourne and 38 major regional centres. CFA continues as the volunteer service across the rest of Victoria. They are separate pathways with separate applications.
FRV's published PAT uses the national fallback range: Beep Test level 9.6, 25 push-ups in one minute, a 60-second plank and 40 kg grip strength. The beep test is run as a screening stage before the full PAT.
Career vs volunteer firefighter in Australia — pay, selection, training and lifestyle, and how to tell which pathway actually fits you.
The published firefighter beep-test cut-offs for every Australian and NZ fire service, side by side — from FRNSW's 10.5 and ACTFR's 10.6 to the national-fallback 9.6.
Every Fire Rescue Victoria recruitment stage explained — application, the ACER Written Selection Test, beep-test screen, interview, full PAT and medical.
How the Country Fire Authority's volunteer model works alongside Fire Rescue Victoria, what joining a brigade involves, and how it fits Victoria's fire response.
What's on the Fire Rescue Victoria WST, how the lifetime three-attempt limit reshapes your prep, and a sensible timeline for the 2027/2028 recruit cycle.
FRV sits inside the broader Victoria recruitment picture. The state guide covers the other services operating in VIC and how they compare.
Fifteen minutes, free, no card — just a quick signup. FirePrep benchmarks you against the same FRV domain weights and PAT minimums shown above, names your limiting factor — the one area most likely to drop you out — and points your training there first. As your numbers move, the focus moves with you. That's the adaptive loop.