Qantas Group Qantas Group Pilot Academy
Read this before anything else
This one is the opposite of a sponsored programme and the marketing rarely says so plainly: you pay the full cost, and finishing does not get you a job. Graduates are invited to a separate Qantas Group assessment centre, and not everyone passes it.
Cost to you
Self-funded — reported around AUD 138,000 in fees, closer to AUD 165,000 once the VET student loan fee is included
Current statusreported
Open — rolling intakes run roughly monthly through 2026 and into 2027
The hard gates
Fail one of these and nothing else matters. Check them before you spend anything.
Australian citizenship or permanent residency to apply; unrestricted Australian/New Zealand work rights for later Group employment
18 or over (the minimum for a CASA commercial licence)
No minimum academic qualification, though Year 12 maths and science are described as desirable; an equivalent qualification or a core-skills assessment can substitute
CASA Class 1 medical, or clear eligibility to obtain one
Self-funded — VET Student Loans are the usual route
How selection actually runs
Online application through Flight Training Adelaide, covering education, any flying experience, health and availability
If shortlisted, around 10 hours of computer-based training plus an online aviation theory assessment
Aviation-specific online psychometric and skills assessments — reported as a cut-e (Aon) battery covering spatial orientation, multitasking, reaction time, monitoring, working memory and reasoning
An on-site day at Toowoomba: pilot aptitude test, core skills test and interview. A fee of AUD 200 applies on the day and travel is at your own expense.
CASA Class 1 medical before the course starts
Covers your test results, your understanding of what the course demands, and your motivation
The training
Flight Training Adelaide, at Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport, Queensland
About 52–55 weeks, ab initio
Diploma of Aviation (commercial licence) plus instrument rating and multi-engine, ATPL theory and MCC
Diamond DA40 and DA42
What happens afterwards
Graduates are invited to the Qantas Group 'Accelerate' assessment centre; passing it makes you eligible for QantasLink, Jetstar or Network Aviation roles. Qantas describes graduates as prioritised for future recruitment, not placed.
Candidates describe an HR behavioural interview, technical questions, a group exercise and a simulator check — all of which must be passed
One graduate reported that of ten peers they knew, five received Group offers
Graduates reported starting above AUD 70,000; QantasLink first-officer scales run higher with allowances
The money
Reported around AUD 137,834, or roughly AUD 165,400 including the VET Student Loan fee. The published fee schedule is not openly accessible — confirm before committing.
Up to AUD 30,000 towards accommodation and meals for women and First Nations Australians — 100 scholarships across five years, running through 2028
No bond appears in any official source, which is consistent with a self-funded model
How competitive it is
More than 22,000 people registered interest when the academy opened
400+ graduates between 2020 and mid-2025 — roughly 70–80 a year
Women make up about 20% of graduates
The part you can actually train
Nationality and age are fixed. The aptitude battery, the group exercise and the competency interview are not — and that is where most candidates are lost, including strong ones. Our aptitude papers are generated fresh every run, and the divided-attention drill measures the thing capacity tests are actually built to find.
Compare with the others
Sources
- Official: qantas.com pilot academy FAQ and academy news; Qantas newsroom (launch, scholarships); Flight Training Adelaide course schedule.
- Candidate-reported: applicant forum accounts of the selection day and the post-graduation Accelerate assessment.
Facts marked Official come from the airline or academy’s own published material. Facts marked Reported come from candidate accounts or secondary coverage and are not airline-confirmed — useful for preparation, never for a decision you cannot reverse. Requirements change; confirm anything decision-critical against the live advert. Rotate is not affiliated with Qantas Group.