Australian police checks

A police check looks into an individual's criminal history, and involves collecting identification information to examine disclosable convictions, court appearances, charges, etc. This type of check may be used to assist in screening so employers can make informed decisions about individuals and how they might suit a role.

An employer may require potential employees to undergo a police clearance check, particularly if the role involves working with vulnerable people or children. Employers use background screening as a method of protecting their company, their employees, and their customers.

Anyone over the age of 18 can apply for a police check in Australia through an accredited body. Under-18's require a guardian's signature.

Our platform will update each step of the way throughout the police check application. Once the check has been completed, the platform will show the check as 'complete', and you will be able to view and download the check result which also includes the NCCHC Check Results Report.

As our police checks are used for pre-employment screening purposes, it is a pre-requisite that the candidate has the right to work in Australia. Additionally, in order to meet the ACIC and AFP identify verification requirements in an automated manner, we capture specific identity & document information that are the same as those required in the Right to Work check. Therefore, we run the two in tandem on all police checks.

Our inclusion of the automated Right to Work check ensures the candidate's correct information is passed on to the ACIC by decreasing the possibility of human error, which can lead to a disclosable outcome being missed. However, if a candidate does make a mistake in the identity verification phase and causes a flagged result, you can simply request corrections or make them yourself rather than starting the entire police check over again.

• To provide peace of mind for employers
• To avoid risk (to your company and vulnerable people): by law, if your employee is going to work in a regulated activity with children or vulnerable adults, they must have a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check.
• Protect vulnerable groups: similarly, it is illegal for someone who has been barred from working with children and vulnerable groups to do so. Getting police checks for all candidates ensures that safeguarding procedures have been followed.

Using VETTING.com, you can request and track different types of police and other pre-employment checks in one, easy to use platform. Once you've signed up with VETTING.com, you can add your candidates who will then be notified and guided through the information they need to complete. Throughout the whole process you, as a VETTING.com user, are able to see where the candidate is in the process and when the results are ready.

VETTING.com will notify clients and candidates as soon as your police check has been processed.

Candidates can download a copy of their NCCHC Check Results Report for their own records directly from the VETTING.com platform.

In short, yes! In July 2018, the ACIC renamed the National Police Check (NPC) to be the Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (NCCHC). There is no difference between the content of the checks, and many people refer to this type of check as a 'police check', or 'ACIC police check'.

In specific circumstances, a check can be marked as an urgent priority. This may be related to an emergency or disaster situation, a medical or political circumstance, or a child-related process like adoption. It does not apply in circumstances where the applicant cannot begin work because the check result hasn't been received, or because the check has been delayed.

It is not recommended to employers to allow their candidates to begin work prior to the Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check being returned. This is to protect the employer's company, current employees and customers.

All we need are your occupation details, personal details, 5 years of address history and proof of identification (usually a passport, driver's license etc.). We also accept various forms of alternative identification if the traditional forms are not held.

In general, no. This is because different depths of checks may be required for different roles, companies and industries. If a candidate applies for a different occupational position, their previous police check cannot be used. This is also because it is a 'point-in-time' check, and offences may have occurred since that time.

Yes. VETTING.com support volunteer NCCHCs that are run through the National Police Checking Service of the ACIC, which can be conducted for candidates volunteering with a non-profit, charitable organization, or undertaking an unpaid vocational position as a condition of study, or other volunteer work.

Companies and employers have a duty of care to ensure the safety of their staff (paid and voluntary), as well as any vulnerable people their staff encounter and obtaining a criminal history check in Australia is vital for this. Companies who are governed by regulatory bodies, such as the ACNC, have standards set for them outlining who needs to be checked and how often. If you are unsure whether your company is meeting requirements, we recommend checking with your relevant regulatory body.

The same process is used as employee police checks and therefore takes the same amount of time to process. The only difference is if the check is a NCCHC processed through the ACIC, where they determine different charges to the accreddited body.

The volunteer would need to complete the application form and provide the same documentation as an employee, to verify their identity. As the employer, you will be asked to specify that the applicant is a volunteer at the relevant point in the process. Once the application is complete, the applicant can download a digital copy of their NCCHC Check Results Report.

Our platform is there to make everyone's lives easier. As an employer, your dedicated Customer Success Manager will train you on how to add a candidate, request checks, see how they are progressing through the checks and view the results at a click of a button. As a candidate, the easy-to-use platform will guide you through exactly what information you need to provide and what to do next. And if you ever need help, our support team is just a call or click away.

VETTING.com removes the hassle, friction, and pain from the background screening process. It is intuitive, slick, and seamless for clients, candidates, and referees. Our platform centralises all your background screening in one location for a faster, fully compliant, and more cost-effective process. VETTING.com can be used on any device allowing clients, candidates, and referees to complete their respective parts of the process anywhere, at any time.

If you are interested in using VETTING.com to speed up, add security and improve your candidates experience of the background checking process, please contact us and we can show you how the platform works.