What this training is
The Australian Defence Force uses computer-based aptitude testing during aircrew and aviation selection, publicly referred to in candidate discussion in the context of systems such as MACTS and OATB. It is broadly similar in purpose to the UK's CBAT and Canada's CFAST: assessing numerical reasoning, spatial reasoning, memory, multitasking, sustained attention and psychomotor control under time pressure.
CBAT Academy does not have sufficient public evidence about the exact composition, scoring or subtest structure of Australia's aptitude battery to claim that any specific exercise here reproduces a specific official subtest. Unlike the RAF and CAF batteries, ADF Careers does not publish a candidate-facing document listing individual test names, so there is no equivalent to this site's "20 documented CFAST tests" list for Australia.
What this page offers instead is access to CBAT Academy's full library of independently developed cognitive and psychomotor exercises, which train the same broad categories of ability that computer-based aviation aptitude testing generally measures, alongside an honest summary of what is and is not publicly known about how the ADF pathway itself is structured.
The Pilot / Mission Aircrew pathway
Official ADF Careers recruitment information describes aircrew entry through an Air Force Officer Aviation pathway, covering two eventual outcomes: Pilot and Mission Aircrew. Candidates apply into Officer Aviation rather than directly into "Pilot," and which of the two pathways a candidate is ultimately offered depends on a combination of job preference, testing and assessment performance, and position availability at the time.
That structure matters for preparation: a candidate aiming for Pilot cannot assume the assessment process only evaluates flying-specific aptitude. Both outcomes are assessed from the same broader Officer Aviation intake, so general officer-selection qualities (leadership, decision-making, communication) sit alongside the aviation-specific cognitive and psychomotor testing.
How the selection process is generally described
ADF Careers' own public pages describe the overall officer recruitment process (application, testing, interviews, medical, Officer Selection Board) without publishing a detailed breakdown of the aviation-specific testing stages. The sequence below reflects how independent candidate-preparation sources — flight schools, ADF-focused coaching providers and test-preparation companies — consistently describe the pathway. Treat it as general orientation rather than an official process document, and always follow the specific instructions issued with your own application.
- Initial aptitude assessment. Conducted at your local ADF Careers precinct alongside the standard officer application testing, this stage is commonly described as including online assessment content covering spatial awareness, mathematics and aircraft-instrument-style questions.
- Assessment Day. Part of the general ADF officer selection process rather than something specific to aviation, covering the broader qualities every officer candidate is assessed on.
- Additional testing for aircrew roles. Candidates pursuing Pilot or Mission Aircrew are commonly described as sitting a further aviation-specific testing day covering several distinct aptitude areas, including instrument comprehension, demanding mental arithmetic under time pressure, and applied calculations such as aircraft speed and fuel-flow problems.
- Aviation Screening Program (ASP). Held at RAAF Base East Sale, Victoria, this is described as a two-day assessment that determines whether a candidate is recommended to proceed toward Pilot or Mission Aircrew. Under the ADF's Flight Screening Program modernisation (AIR5428), this stage has been moving toward using Flight Training Devices — high-fidelity flight simulators — rather than light aircraft, to assess aviation aptitude directly.
- Officer Selection Board (OSB). The final selection panel stage common to ADF officer entry, scheduled after ASP for candidates who are recommended to continue.
One frequently mentioned practical detail worth flagging: independent preparation sources consistently describe ADF aptitude testing as being completed without a calculator, which makes fluent mental arithmetic a more direct advantage than it might be for a similar UK or Canadian test.
What you can train here
The training modules below cover numerical reasoning, spatial reasoning, memory, multitasking, sustained attention and psychomotor coordination. Each has its own guide covering the task, controls, common mistakes and preparation drills.
How to prepare without a calculator
Because independent sources describe ADF aptitude tests as calculator-free, arithmetic fluency deserves direct, deliberate practice rather than being treated as a given. Multiplication and division facts, quick percentage and fraction estimates, and mental time/speed/distance calculations are worth practising until they no longer require conscious effort.
Beyond arithmetic, the same general preparation principle applies here as for CBAT and CFAST: preparing for the underlying skills — spatial judgement, working memory, sustained attention, smooth manual control — is useful, while trying to memorise a specific test is not, since Academy exercises are independently developed and will not match official screens exactly.
Build accuracy first. If you are consistently getting a task type right but slowly, that is a very different problem from getting it wrong, and it calls for a different kind of practice — timed repetition rather than re-learning the method.
Scores and readiness
Because no credible official Australian scoring information is publicly available to this project, the Scores page shows Academy-estimated performance per module for this profile only — never a simulated pass/fail outcome or an invented Australian threshold.
See how Academy practice scores and readiness estimates work.
Frequently asked questions
Does this reproduce the MACTS or OATB test battery?
No. There is not enough public evidence available to map individual Academy exercises to individual official Australian subtests, so this is presented as general aptitude training, not a simulation of the official battery.
Will completing these modules tell me if I will pass Australian selection?
No. There is no official pass/fail threshold implemented here for Australian selection, because none is publicly available to build one from.
Do I need to apply for Pilot specifically, or Officer Aviation generally?
Official ADF Careers information describes applicants entering an Officer Aviation pathway that resolves into either Pilot or Mission Aircrew based on preference, performance and availability, rather than applying directly and exclusively for one outcome. Confirm current entry requirements directly with ADF Careers, since pathway structures can change.
Is a calculator allowed during ADF aptitude testing?
Independent candidate-preparation sources consistently describe ADF entry testing as calculator-free, which is why this guide emphasises mental-arithmetic fluency. This detail is not confirmed by an ADF Careers publication seen by this project, so treat it as well-established candidate consensus rather than an official specification.
Is CBAT Academy affiliated with the Australian Defence Force?
No. CBAT Academy is an independent training service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Australian Defence Force or any government or armed force.
Sources and review status
This page deliberately avoids citing unverified third-party claims about Australian test composition or scoring. The Pilot/Mission Aircrew pathway description is checked against official ADF Careers information; the selection-stage sequence and calculator note reflect independent candidate-preparation sources rather than an ADF Careers publication, and are labelled accordingly above. See the source register for what is and is not established by public sources across this project.