National SES Fitness for Role assessment review

Australia’s State Emergency Services (SES) are now two years into implementing the national minimum physical fitness for role program – the SES Physical Fitness for Role program. It is timely to revisit the original research underpinning the job task analysis and assessment design, with two primary objectives:

• To introduce a new criterion of ‘safety critical’ into determining minimum physical fitness requirements, and to identify and detail any required program changes.
• To review the national skill sets and assessment designs included in the program (with an increased priority on two of the skill sets and three of the existing assessment designs), and provide details of any required changes to the program.

Once completed, the project will ensure there is a contemporary, updated understanding of the minimum fitness requirements for members undertaking any the 13 included SES roles included in the Fitness for Role program, and ensure the validity and relevance of each of the required fitness assessments.

This research will support an important national workforce safety initiative that is being applied in SES agencies across Australia.