Australia Typing Tests: APS, Court Transcription & Admin

By Abhishek · Reviewed by The Ai-TypingTest Editorial Team · Last reviewed October 18, 2026

Every Australia test on this site

Australia typing requirements by job

Sort or filter the table to find your role. “Official / published” rows link to the source; “Typical range” rows reflect common job-posting language and must be checked against the posting.

Australian Public Service

APS selection focuses on capabilities and a pitch or statement of claims. Typing tests appear mainly for admin, executive assistant and transcription roles; the job pack on APSJobs says so. See the APS typing test.

Courts and tribunals

Transcription officers produce verbatim transcripts of hearings and commonly need around 70 WPM. Practise a hearing excerpt with the court transcription typing test.

Admin, medical and data entry

Admin officers typically need 40–60 WPM; medical receptionists and secretaries may be tested on audio typing; data entry operators on speed and accuracy, sometimes in KPH — try the data entry test and 10-key test.

Australian keyboards and spelling

Australia uses the US keyboard layout (ANSI), so @ and " sit where Americans expect them. Spelling follows British convention — organise, colour, centre, programme, practise (verb). Australian pages here use Australian passages with A$ amounts and Australian place names.

State and territory government

NSW, Victoria, Queensland, WA, SA, Tasmania, the ACT and the NT each recruit separately. Administrative positions sometimes list keyboard skills in the selection criteria, and health and justice departments are the most likely to test them — for example clerical roles in hospitals, and transcription in courts. Look for “typing”, “keyboard skills” or “WPM” in the position description.

Recruitment agencies

Agencies placing temporary admin staff in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth routinely run an online typing and data-entry test when you register, sometimes with Microsoft Office tests. 45–50 WPM at high accuracy places you for most admin work; legal and medical placements expect more.

Transcription work

Beyond courts, transcription contractors serve tribunals, parliaments, universities and market research firms. Most test with a short audio file in their own style guide, scored on accuracy first. Court-style verbatim — speaker labels, every word, correct legal terms — is the hardest form; practise it on the court transcription test and general dictation on the transcription typing test.

Getting to 70 WPM

Moving from a typical admin speed of about 50 WPM to the 70 WPM transcription bar usually takes two to three months of daily practice. Work on accuracy at your current speed first, then short bursts above it, then long runs at the new speed — the 30-day plan is a good first block.

Want passages in local spelling? The Australia typing test has local spelling and examples.

Where your speed stands

Around 40 WPM is a common adult average; 60–70 WPM is comfortably above it, and 80+ is professional range. Use the table to see which roles a given speed opens up — then check the posting.

Not sure where you are? Take the 5-minute test — most employer tests are three to five minutes — or see what percentile your WPM is.

How typing tests are scored

Almost every employer test reports net words per minute: correctly typed characters ÷ 5 ÷ minutes. Some subtract errors from gross speed instead (Criteria-style adjusted WPM), some cap the number of errors (the US federal standard allows 3 in 5 minutes), and some allow more errors at higher speeds (the Canadian 5-minute table). Numeric tests use keystrokes per hour, where 1 WPM = 300 KPH. Accuracy is the share of keystrokes that were right first time; most employers that state one want 95% or better. The full formulas are on our methodology page.

A practice score here is unproctored. It tells you whether you are ready; it is not proof an employer has to accept. Where a job needs proof, it will either test you itself or name the kind of certificate it accepts.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. APSJobs — Australian Public Service vacancies — Australian Public Service Commission (checked October 18, 2026)