Health & Fitness
Attaining the fitness required to join the Air Force is well within most people's capability. Being paid to stay fit and healthy is one of the benefits of joining.
How fit must I be to apply?
During the application process you’ll be assessed through (1) completion of a questionnaire relating to your medical history, (2) a physical examination, and (3) a Pre-entry Fitness Assessment (PFA). During the PFA you’ll need to be able to complete a specified number of exercises:
Female
Sit ups (feet held): 20
Shuttle run score: 5.1
Male
Sit ups (feet held): 20
Shuttle run score: 6.1
Air Force
Ground Defence Officers and Physical Training Instructors must complete push ups, sit ups and shuttle runs and achieve higher standards than those outlined above. For further details, visit the information pages for these roles at the links above.
We’ve created a guide to help you to get started on your fitness journey, including practising correct techniques for your PFA.
What about weight?
The maximum allowable BMI for entry to the Air Force is 32.9 (29.9 for Pilots). BMIs of less than 18.5 are considered too low as they present a risk of injury during training.
Your BMI will be measured on Assessment Day and again on the day of entry to the Air Force. You will not be able to join if you are outside the specified range so check your BMI well in advance and if necessary, talk to your doctor about any lifestyle changes you may have to consider.
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Please note that the BMI result is indicative only, and there may be other factors that affect the result. An initial adverse BMI result or failing the pre-entry physical fitness test may not necessarily preclude you from into the ADF. However, some career paths apply stringent standards. For example some aircrew occupations must have a BMI between 18.5 to 29.9, however must have a body weight between 55kg and 105kg (in underwear).
Get fit enough to serve
Attaining the fitness required to join the Air Force is well within most people's capability. The new ADF Active mobile app is the smarter, more efficient way to reach that level.
INITIAL ASSESSMENT
Take the Pre-Entry Fitness Assessment to see how close you are to Air Force requirements. You can also check out your Body Mass Index.
PERSONALISED PROGRAM
From your results, ADF Active creates a personalised program designed to get you to the required fitness level in time for your interview.
TECHNIQUE TRAINING
You'll be shown the correct way to do push-ups and sit-ups, and complete a shuttle run (beep test), with step-by-step instructional videos.
TRACKING & GUIDANCE
Check how you're travelling with stats, graphs and badges, and along the way receive in-app advice and motivation from ADF PT Instructors.
How fit must I be to serve?
For many recruits into the Air Force the physical exercise they do – which can be quite demanding during training – is all part of the fun. They enjoy improving their health in a supportive team environment.
The actual level of fitness you will be expected to reach varies greatly according to the role you've chosen. For instance, in airbase security roles the highest level is required while business-related roles require less.
It's also important that you maintain good levels of medical and dental fitness. Therefore regular medical checks, dental treatment and inoculations are compulsory, and all are provided free of charge to full-time personnel.