Australian National Character Check™ is an official provider of national police checks in Australia and can help you to get your national police check certificate online and fast.
A National Police Check is commonly used for employment positions, volunteer positions and a variety of Australian licensing and registration schemes.
A National Police Check in Australia can be sometimes called:
- Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check
- National Criminal Check
- Police Check
- National Criminal History Check
- National Police History Check
- Police Clearance Certificate
A National Police Check is a collation or a dossier that contains convictions or criminal records about an individual which are not considered ‘spent’ by Australian police agencies
The police check contains important and disclosable convictions of a particular individual, and any pending charges from the records of Australian police agencies.
There are many reasons why an individual may need an Australian police check:
- Most employers request for a National Police Check before employment.
- Most NGOs and organisations also request for a person’s criminal history before admitting you into the organisation.
- Many organisations (including Australian government departments) will require you to present a national police check for licencing or registration purposes.
While you can obtain these records by applying directly to your local police station, the process might not be as smooth and fast as engaging an online service like Australian National Character Check.
Applicants that apply through
Australian National Character Check experience the substantial difference in speed and efficiency when obtaining their police check online.
Majority of national police check certificates are returned to applicants within 24 to 48 hours. The remaining which get referred to manual processing by Australian police agencies may take longer. Results are automatically dispatched on the same day they are received. They are accessible to applicants instantly via email. If applicants request a hard-copy certificate, then a hard copy will also be posted to their nominated Australian postal address. Overall, applicants save time and cost when applying for their national police check online.
The period of validity of a National Police Check depends on the organisation or company that requests it. The check is valid up till the date of issue, and your organisation should tell you when you should provide an updated version. Most employers don’t accept a national police check certificate that is older than three months, however this may not always be the case. A national police check is a “point in time check”. This means the police check certificate has no set expiry date. Employers or decision makers determine the expiry based on their own internal decision making and risk mitigation strategies.
A National Police Check is there to improve community safety and help with decision making. It ensures that organisations or institutions have fair knowledge of the kind of person they are employing. The results indicate if there are:
- √ No Disclosable Court Outcomes (NDCO) to indicate that there is no record that can be released on the individual.
- √ Disclosable Court Outcomes (DCO) that can be released on the individual in accordance with Australia’s spent convictions schemes.
Some of the details a national criminal history check shows about an individual are:
- Details of court appearances
- Charges and descriptions
- Good behaviour recommendations or court summons
- Issues awaiting court trials
Refer to the
spent convictions scheme if you would like further information on convictions that may or may not appear on a national police check certificate.
A National Police Check is valid within all regions that fall under the Commonwealth of Australia. A national police check will cover a person’s records from every state and territory in Australia including and not limited to Victoria (VIC), Tasmania (TAS), Queensland (QLD), South Australia (SA), New South Wales (NSW), Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Northern Territory (NT) and Western Australia (WA).
When a person applies for their national police check through our online platform, they can get their certification in as little time as 24 to 48 hours. To complete this of course, the person needs;
- Access to the internet,
- His/her personal information,
- Camera or scanner to complete the identity verification process.
On completion of the application for the national police check, they will get a copy (softcopy) sent to their email address provided.
Getting the certification can take longer if there is a need for a second look or ‘manual review’ by Australian police agencies. Australian police agencies can withhold a certification for a period (usually 3-16 working days) if there is correlation between information on an applicant's profile and someone else in the country with a similar name on the national criminal history database.
Lastly, most organisations will require a National Criminal History Check, as a proactive and diligent means to protect their brand image. You should confirm from the organisation if they require one for your application.
If you need support during your police check application, you can
contact the support team. Support is available via live chat or email seven days a week excluding public holidays.
