Nowadays most businesses require criminal background checks on new hires. This is to mitigate potential HR risks to the business or the workplace. It helps companies or employers to make informed employment decisions.
Overview:
Companies may request the applicants to get a police check certificate ( police clearance or a criminal history record check ) before commencing their roles or they can perform the check on behalf of the applicant with their consent.
If this is the first time you apply for your police check certificate, you may find it overwhelmed as there are many different information and choices out there you may have come across on the internet.
This article will help you to get a clear understanding of what a national police check is about and how to prepare yourself the next time when you need to apply. We will cover
- What is a police check certificate?
- Where can you apply for your police checks?
- How to prepare for your application?
- What to expect in your national police check certificate?
What is a police check certificate?
A National Police Check contains findings of guilt from any Australian state or territory. It is not limited to any particular state.
Here is an example of a police certificate
This is different to a State police check which is issued by each state’s police department and contains findings of guilt from that state only. It will not show interstate matters. This is usually sufficient for court appearances.
Where can you apply for your police checks?
There are 3 sources where you can request for your police check:
- States police
- Australian Federal Police
- Government Accredited Providers
If you search for police checks online, you will notice many providers who claim to provide police checks within minutes. There are things you should look out for when you come across companies who make these claims. It might be true that you can receive your police check back within 1 day, provided that the combination of your name, gender and date of birth does not have a potential match with another individual in the police checking database. However if there is a potential match, your application can take longer than that as it has to go through the manual review process.
In addition, ensure that you check with your employer first to see if they accept police checks from any Government accredited police check provider before going ahead.
Important note: For certain purposes such as Visa or Immigration applications, you have to directly apply through the Australian Federal Police.
Please note that there is a lot of scam online so ensure that you check the accreditation of the police check providers
What is the process of conducting a police check in Australia?
Step 1: Submit Check
A check is submitted by an Accredited Organisation ( for example: InterCheck Australia) or a police agency into the NPCS Support System.
Step 2: Automated Search
Once the check is submitted, using a matching algorithm, the Applicant’s name(s), sex and date of birth are used to conduct an initial search of a central index for potential matches against Persons of Interest (POI) who are known to police.
Step 3: Initial Clear
When no potential matches against the applicant’s name(s), sex and date of birth are generated from the automated search, an instant result or initial clear will be returned to the Accredited Organisation.
The result of ‘No Disclosable Court Outcomes’ (NDCO) is then released to the submitting organisation
80% of the applications will fall into the initial clear stage. 20% of the applications will fall into the potential match stage.
Step 4: Potential Match
When the automated search of the applicant’s details finds potential matches against POIs, the matching information is referred to the relevant police agency where the information is held about that POI.
The police agency will then draw on relevant police information to determine whether the applicant is the same person as the POI—this is known as ‘matching’.
Step 6: Not a Match
Matching by the police agency determines that the Applicant is not a match with the POI.
Step 7: Confirmed Match
Matching by the police agency determines that the Applicant is a match with the POI. The check now moves into the vetting stage.
Step 8: Vetting
Once a match has been confirmed, the police agency that holds the information about the POI undertakes vetting of the relevant PHI held on its systems. Vetting involves applying relevant legislation and/or information release policy to the PHI, to determine what can be released. The police agency also takes into account the category and purpose of the check to determine the type and amount of information that is released. The check then goes into the Final Vetting stage.
Step 9: Final Vetting
The police agency in the state or territory that the Accredited Organisation has its registered business is responsible for reviewing the vetted results from each referral and apply its own legislation/ policy to determine what PHI will be released to the Accredited Organisation.
Step 10: Check closed
The results of the check will be released to the submitting organisation through NSS. result will either be:
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No Disclosable Court Outcomes (NDCO) - there is no PHI that is held or that can be released to the submitting organisation.
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Disclosable Court Outcomes (DCO) - PHI exists that can be released to the submitting organisation. The PHI may include:
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charges
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court convictions, including any penalty or sentence
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findings of guilt with no conviction
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court appearances
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good behaviour bonds or other court orders
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pending matters awaiting court hearing.
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traffic history
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What information needs to be provided when applying for a Criminal History Check?
Once you have completed the online application form, you are required to provide 100 points of Identity documents. You can either upload these electronically through your account (secure gateway) or send them via the Post.
Please note that your IDs have to be either certified by a qualified witness, or alternatively, you can provide a photograph of yourself holding one of your Photo ID
Why should you choose InterCheck?
Over 1, 200 organisations, including Job Find Centre, John Beever Australia and Seek, regularly use and endorse our services. Why? Because we offer reliable, fast, and affordable Police Checks, with 80% of submissions returned within two business days. We process your application on the same business day you submit it to us.
InterCheck Australia is accredited with the Australian Government ACIC agency, which means we have direct access to the National Criminal History Database. Our National Police Check Certificates are accepted by almost all organisations and companies across all states and territories.
Businesses across Australia can get their police check business portal for free.
Check out some of our customer reviews below:
If you are an individual who requires a police check for employment or volunteer purposes, you can click on the 'Apply Now' button below.. If you are from a business or not for profit organisation who needs to perform police checks on your employee, you can learn more about our business solution here
Need a Police Check today?
Make progress with your job search and apply for your police check by getting in touch with InterCheck Australia today! Our online application is intuitive and user friendly. If you have any problems or concerns, you can call 1300 794 440 to speak with one of our consultants.
