ADF Assessment Session: what to expect and how to prepare

Read your appointment instructions

Check the time, location or online arrangements, required forms and contact details. Build a checklist from your own invitation. Requirements may differ depending on your application and outstanding information.

Medical assessment preparation

Complete requested forms accurately and provide supporting information through the instructed channel. If you are unsure what to disclose or bring, ask the recruiting medical team. A preparation course cannot determine your medical eligibility.

Prepare for interview discussions

Review your reasons for applying and the work involved in your chosen role. Use specific personal examples and be ready to explain what you learned from them. Honest answers are essential; memorised claims about an ideal candidate are not a substitute.

Record your follow-up tasks

After the appointment, note anything requested, its deadline and who to contact. Keep your Candidate Hub and messages under review. Ask for clarification rather than guessing the next step.

Make an appointment pack you can actually use

Read the appointment email from beginning to end before collecting documents. Build a checklist from that message, rather than a list copied from another applicant. Separate items you must complete beforehand from items you must bring or have available. If the instructions refer to an attachment, make sure you have the current attachment and can read it.

Keep confirmation details and contact information together. Check travel or connection arrangements in advance, depending on the format you have been given. These practical steps leave fewer administrative questions unresolved on the day. They are preparation suggestions, not an alternative set of official attendance requirements.

Research the job in your own words

For each role preference, create headings for the work, training and questions. Read the official description and then try explaining the role without copying its wording. If your explanation remains vague, return to the information and identify what you have not understood.

A useful practice prompt is “What attracts me to the actual work, and what do I still need to learn?” This separates genuine interest from a general wish to join. Avoid claiming detailed knowledge that you do not have. A clear question about an unfamiliar aspect of a role is more honest than a confident explanation based on an assumption.

Keep personal examples concrete

Choose a few real situations involving a task, responsibility, teamwork or a difficult decision. For each, note the situation, your action and the result. Keep the details proportionate: a short example can be useful if it shows what you actually did. You do not need a dramatic story for every topic.

When practising, ask a listener whether the example answers the question. If it does not, choose another example or change the explanation rather than adding more background. These are communication exercises supplied by Service Prep. They are not a leaked question bank or a claim that any answer meets a particular assessment standard.

Handle follow-up without guessing

After the session, record any information requested and the channel for providing it. If you need time to obtain a document, clarify how to keep the relevant contact informed. Use the actual instructions rather than assuming that no news means either success or failure.

If you receive an outcome you do not understand, ask for an explanation through the recruitment process. Medical, psychological and role-suitability decisions cannot be interpreted from a generic checklist. The useful next step is to understand what applies to your own application and what, if anything, you have been asked to do.