ABF Officer Recruit SJT study guide
ABF Officer Recruit SJT · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The ABF Officer Recruit Situational Judgement Test is a screening assessment used in recruitment for entry-level Australian Border Force officer roles. It presents realistic workplace scenarios and asks you to choose the most and least effective response from a set of options, assessing judgement rather than factual knowledge. The ABF Officer Recruit SJT study guide has 6 sections and about 2,148 words.
01Integrity, Ethics and Professional Standards
Integrity questions ask whether you will do the right thing when it is inconvenient, unobserved, or costly. The concepts you must hold clearly are: honesty (accurate reporting, no exaggeration of evidence or qualifications), conflict of interest (declaring and stepping back from decisions where a personal, family or financial interest could bias you), confidentiality and data handling (sharing only with those who need to know, using approved systems), gifts and hospitality (declaring anything that could create obligation), and the duty to report concerns through proper channels rather than informally.
403 words, about 2 min02Communication and Interpersonal Skills
This domain assesses whether you can convey information clearly, listen actively, and adapt tone and channel to the audience and the stakes. Core concepts: audience adaptation (plain language for the public, precise terminology for specialists), active listening (reflecting back, checking understanding, not rehearsing your reply while others speak), channel choice (face-to-face or call for sensitive or complex matters; written record for decisions and commitments), assertiveness versus aggression (stating your position and needs without demeaning others), and feedback (specific, behavioural, timely).
357 words, about 2 min03Decision Making and Judgement Under Pressure
This domain asks how you reason when time, information and resources are all short. Concepts to understand: risk-based prioritisation (harm likelihood × severity, not loudness of the requester), sufficiency of information (deciding with enough, not perfect, information and recording assumptions), escalation thresholds (what you may decide yourself versus what must go up), reversibility (move fast on reversible decisions, slow down on irreversible ones), and accountability (owning the outcome, including the decision not to act).
355 words, about 2 min04Teamwork and Collaboration
Teamwork items examine whether you build shared outcomes rather than personal credit. Key concepts: role clarity (knowing your remit and others', and respecting the boundary), psychological safety (speaking up with concerns and admitting uncertainty), constructive challenge (disagreeing with the idea, not the person), support and cover (picking up slack while keeping accountability clear), and handover quality (complete, timely, unambiguous transfer of responsibility).
334 words, about 2 min05Customer and Community Focus
This domain is about serving the public and external stakeholders fairly, respectfully and effectively, within your authority. Concepts: procedural fairness (consistent treatment, explanation of decisions, a route to challenge), empathy without over-promising (acknowledging feelings while being honest about what you can and cannot do), accessibility and inclusion (adjusting communication for vulnerability, language, disability or distress), boundary management (compassionate but not collusive or compromised relationships), and complaint handling (treating complaints as information, not attack).
341 words, about 2 min06Resilience, Adaptability and Self-Management
This domain assesses how you sustain performance over time and respond to change. Concepts: stress management (recognising your own early warning signs and using legitimate coping strategies), help-seeking (knowing when and whom to ask, and that asking early is a strength), workload triage (prioritising, negotiating deadlines, saying no with reasons), adaptability (adjusting to new processes, ambiguity and changed priorities without losing standards), and self-awareness and reflection (learning from errors, seeking feedback, separating identity from setback).
358 words, about 2 min