It’s a life-changing job: Kate’s career with Queensland Police

Kate Todman felt old when she entered the Queensland Police Academy at 30, surrounded by people as young as 20, but also others significantly older. Now a senior constable and first responder, she reflects on some career highlights, and the range of opportunities available to those thinking about joining the Queensland Police Service.

What motivated Kate to enrol at the police academy?

Growing up in a rough Perth neighbourhood, Kate Todman saw first-hand the work undertaken on a daily basis by police officers.

Around the same time, Kate had a friend who had ended up on the wrong side of the law more than once.

As Kate recalls: “At one point they dealt with a police officer who said, ‘You know what? If you keep going this way you’re going to end up in jail. Why don’t I help you avoid going to jail?’ And this police officer helped them join a few youth programs and helped them turn things around.”

That friend now runs programs with the police in his role as youth worker. “So that made me go, ‘Oh, I want to do that. I want to help people.’”

What it’s like being a first responder in the police service?

Kate is now a senior constable and works in the Brisbane CBD as a first responder. First responders are the police officers who are on the scene first after a 000 call. Kate sees a lot and often finds herself helping people on what can be one of the darkest days of their lives.

It’s a tough job, she says, but when you make a difference, it is extremely rewarding. And it can be exciting, too. “Yes, there are times where it can get boring. But the fact is you never know what the next job is, and that’s exciting,” says Kate.

Who is a career in the police for?

Kate admits that while the police service is not for everyone, it’s a great career for the right person. Genuinely wanting to help people, as well as having empathy and life experience are some traits of great police officers, she says.

She believes it’s also a great choice for those looking for a change of career. “If you say, already have a law degree or something like that, you might get into prosecutions. Some scientific background or a science degree might mean that you could work in forensics,” she says.

“There are so many things that happen behind the scenes that you really don’t know about until you’re in the QPS, so you know, there’s so many different areas that you can go into.”

Reflecting on career highs

“This might seem like a weird thing to call a career high, but it was for me,” says Kate. “I went into the job wanting to help people, and sometimes even when you know you’re helping someone, they may not appreciate it at the time.

“But for me I think one of my biggest highlights was helping a lady who was in her sixties. There was a domestic violence incident – very horrific – but I know I went above and beyond and actually helped her, and to this day she still comes and sees me at work… She even said to me one day, ‘You’re like my daughter – you’re like one of my daughters now.’ She’s someone I’ll never forget,” she says.

The importance of taking care of yourself and your finances

Outside of work, Kate loves camping and exploring Queensland, and getting the family dogs out on adventures. But she’s also looking after herself, her family, and her financial future, too.

“I take note of my emails [about my super balance] and my super contributions because I know that’s in my best interest,” she says.

But super and finances can be overwhelming so to help manage that she has engaged the services of a financial adviser. “I have basically handed all of that over to [them] so they deal with it,” she says.

Setting herself up for retirement

QPS offer very generous super contributions to police officers of 18% of OTE (ordinary time earnings ¹), to reflect their distinct employment and retirement arrangements.

“The best thing about super is that I know it’s setting me up for retirement. And if I can contribute more to that now while I’m young and able to, it means my retirement is better, and that’s awesome.

“Part of that is also looking at the life insurance for police. Anything that can help me or my family were anything to happen to me, that’s very important.”

Together it's more super

Learn more about QSuper, part of Australian Retirement Trust, here.

1. A person's OTE is generally what an employer pays them for their ordinary hours of work, including commissions, shift loadings, and allowances, but not overtime payments. If you're not sure whether a payment type is OTE, you can ask the ATO.

The opinions expressed and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Trustee. No responsibility is taken for the accuracy of any of the information supplied and you should seek advice for your circumstances.

QSuper products are issued by Australian Retirement Trust Pty Ltd (ABN 88 010 720 840, AFSL 228975) (Trustee) as trustee for Australian Retirement Trust (ABN 60 905 115 063) (Fund). Any reference to "QSuper" is a reference to the Government Division of the Fund. Before acquiring or continuing to hold any financial product, you should consider whether the product is right for you by reading the relevant product disclosure statement (PDS). The PDS and Target Market Determination (TMD) for QSuper products are available at qsuper.qld.gov.au/pds or call us on 1300 360 750 to request a copy.