Victoria Police Academy

History - Corpus Christi

The site was built from 1954 - 59 as the main campus of Corpus Christi College (seminary) of the Roman Catholic Church in Australia's Archdiocese of Melbourne, from 1959-1972. The main chapel was intended to have wings of offices and accommodation either side, however only the southern wing was built before the college was sold.

The Victoria Police bought the site on 30 October 1972, and opened the Academy in 1973. Offices occupy the former seminarians rooms; the former kitchen and dining room now serve the current Academy.

Additional buildings for instruction and student accommodation, sports facilities and a gymnasium and indoor swimming pool, were erected in the 1980s, and a mock village was added later for scenario training purposes.

Training

Newly inducted recruits spend 31 weeks at the Academy. In 2004 an inquiry uncovered systemic bullying and the head and two other staff were transferred out of the Academy

The Academy also houses the Detective Training School (DTS) used for training of detectives. There is also obstacle equipment and fields where the Dog Squad often train.

Academy facility upgrade

In order to increase the Academy’s capacity to accommodate the training of an additional 1700 police and 940 PSOs by November 2014, $15.4 million was provided to Victoria Police to upgrade the Victoria Police Academy in 2013-14. The significant works include:

New operational tactics and safety training facility

Construction of a new multimillion-dollar police training facility alongside the new Victorian Emergency Management Training Centre in Craigieburn commenced in 2013-14. The new $30 million Victoria Police OTST facility will replace the existing facility located at Essendon Fields, and is due for completion in March 2015.

The new facility will house administration and training staff and include a specially-designed indoor firing range, scenario training village, classrooms, an auditorium, conference centre and fitness facilities. Police will be required to undertake compulsory training twice a year at the facility.

The close location to the Victorian Emergency Management Training Centre ensures our police officers, fire fighters and the emergency management sector at large will have access to modern training facilities and infrastructure that promote interoperability and allow each agency to grow and adapt to future demands.

Chapel

The Corpus Christi Chapel was built as a Basilica to model for seminarians the orders of Christian worship, and has 14 side altars in the cloister for rehearsal of sacraments. The architecture is a blend of the form of a Byzantine Basilica with a Renaissance ceiling and Romanesque arches and exterior flying buttresses.

The Chapel is 48 m long, 14.5 m wide, and 20 m high. It can seat 500.

The main altar is surmounted by a cupola bearing the words in Latin, "Christus Altare Nostrum" (Christ Our Altar). The cross on the cupola is 2.8 m by 1.8 m.

Within the main chapel are stained glass windows, designed by Stephen Moor of Sydney, those on the left in red tones (for the Crucifixion) with medallions representing the Old Testament, those on the right in blue tones (for Mary) with medallions representing the New Testament.

To the right of the nave is the Chapel of Remembrance, with an eternal flame and memorial plaques for police officers who have died on duty. This chapel was dedicated during the Annual Church Service in 1988.

To the left is the Chapel of St Michael, where the families of police can erect a plaque remembering a deceased police officer.

The Chapel was rededicated as an interfaith Chapel on 20 October 1974. The lectern is adorned with the Star of David.

The Chapel is used for weddings, Baptisms, and funerals, for Victoria Police members only

Trivia

The academy is used by aircraft as an inbound point when attempting to enter the Moorabbin Airport Class D control zone.