Typing tests in Canadian and Australian public service hiring

Set per role, not per system

Canadian federal and provincial public service hiring and the Australian Public Service both define what a position requires through the advertisement and its merit criteria. Where typing speed is part of that, it is written there.

This is a meaningful difference from the Indian model, where a single notification governs a requirement for an entire national cohort. It means there is no useful general answer to what speed you need - only the answer for the specific role in front of you.

Where it still appears

Court and tribunal transcription is the clearest case in both countries, and the speeds asked for there are substantially higher than in general administration. Medical typing and health records roles are the next most common. Beyond those, administrative and clerical classifications occasionally specify a speed, and many no longer do.

Transcription roles are also more likely to test with audio rather than a written passage, which measures a different skill and deserves different practice.

How it is assessed

Typically a short online test during screening, sometimes an in-person assessment for transcription positions. Assessments for transcription work may also test formatting conventions and specialised vocabulary alongside raw speed, because those are what the job is made of.

The practical advice

Read the advertisement and the merit criteria, note whether the requirement is expressed with an accuracy figure alongside it, and find out whether the test uses a written passage or audio.

Then practise the thing you will be asked to do, for the length of time you will be asked to do it. That is unglamorous advice and it is most of the difference between candidates who pass these and candidates who do not.

Transcription is its own discipline

Court and tribunal transcription in both countries is the role where a typing requirement is most likely to be serious, and it asks for more than speed. Transcripts follow prescribed formats, mark speaker changes and inaudible passages by convention, and are produced to deadlines that assume a working rate rather than a burst.

Assessments for these roles often reflect that: an audio passage rather than a written one, with formatting expectations attached. Preparing means practising with recorded speech and learning the conventions of the particular court or tribunal, not simply raising a words-per-minute figure.

Bilingual requirements in Canada

Canadian federal positions frequently carry a language profile, and where a role is bilingual the typing expectation may apply in both official languages. French typing on a Canadian keyboard involves accented characters reached differently than on a French AZERTY layout, and a candidate comfortable in English can be noticeably slower in French for reasons that have nothing to do with their French.

If a posting carries a bilingual profile, find out which keyboard layout the assessment uses and practise accented input on it specifically. It is the same lesson as Indic candidates learning InScript: the layout is part of the test, whether or not anyone says so.

Common questions

Is there a standard typing speed for Canadian government jobs?

No. Requirements are set per position and appear in the job advertisement or its merit criteria.

Does the Australian Public Service test typing?

Where a role requires it - transcription, some administrative classifications - yes, generally as part of assessment. Most APS roles do not specify a typing speed at all.

How should I practise for a transcription typing test?

With audio, for the full duration of the test, and paying attention to formatting conventions if the role specifies them. Plain prose practice helps with speed but does not rehearse the listening.