Australia Post and courier police checks in Australia

Australia Post is a government-owned corporation that provides postal services in Australia. They offer various services, including mail delivery, parcel delivery, and e-commerce fulfilment. They also offer financial services and are one of Australia's largest retail networks, with over 4,000 retail outlets.

Many private courier and logistics companies operate in Australia, such as TNT, DHL, UPS, and FedEx. These companies offer similar services to Australia Post, including parcel delivery and e-commerce fulfilment, but may have different pricing and delivery options. Additionally, several local and regional courier services throughout Australia may be more cost-effective for businesses and individuals in certain areas.

You must meet specific requirements if you seek employment at Australia Post or private courier companies. Some of which include:

Candidates must:

• ✔ Be at least 18 years old
• ✔ Have a valid driver's licence
• ✔ Be physically fit to lift about 22 kg.
• ✔ Undergo and pass a medical check
• ✔ Have excellent communication and time management skills
• ✔ Be willing to work flexible hours
• ✔ Undergo and pass a police check.

However, this webpage only explores the police check requirement for Australia Post and couriers.

A police check, also known as a nationally coordinated criminal history check (NCCHC) or background check, is a process of checking an individual's criminal records. This can include convictions, charges, or pending charges that an individual may have. The purpose of a police check is to provide employers, organisations, or government agencies with information about an individual's disclosable criminal history, which can be used to assess their suitability for specific roles or activities.

A police check is often required for courier-related positions because the role involves handling and delivering packages, many of which may contain valuable or sensitive items. Employers want to ensure that the people handling these packages are trustworthy and have no criminal history that would make them a risk to the security of the boxes or the customers' safety.

In addition, couriers often have access to people's homes and businesses. Hence, employers want to ensure that their employees have no history of criminal activity that would make them a risk to the safety and security of these places.

Additionally, as couriers are responsible for handling and delivering valuable and sensitive items, employers want to ensure that the employees have no history of theft or other dishonesty-related crimes.

Another reason is that as couriers are on the road most of the time, employers want to ensure that their employees have no history of traffic-related offences that would risk other road users' safety.

Overall, a police check is an essential measure for employers to ensure the security and safety of the packages and customers, the integrity of the company and to comply with legal requirements.

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) works with accredited bodies and police agencies in Australia to make police checking accessible.

Here are the steps involved in getting a police check:

You can apply for the police check through Australian National Character Check (ANCC). You can also apply through a police agency. Whatever approach you choose, you'll have to fill out an online application form with basic details like your name, address, date of birth, and purpose of the check.

You'll also have to upload four identification documents. They include:

• ✔ One commencement ID document
• ✔ One primary use in community documents
• ✔ Two secondary use in community documents

As one of the leading ACIC-accredited bodies, ANCC charges a base fee of $52.90 + GST per police check.

After applying, the police agency or accredited body first confirms your identity. Then they forward your application to the National Police Checking Service Support System (NSS). It runs a name-matching algorithm on the submitted details.

If it doesn't find a potential match, the system instantly returns a 'no disclosable court outcome (NDCO)' to the requesting body. Conversely, if it finds one, it sends it to the relevant police agency (s) for further assessment.

The police agency(s) 's role is to confirm the validity of the potential match before sending the result back to the requesting body. If the match is correct, the application goes through the vetting stage, where the relevant spent conviction scheme is applied to determine which criminal records are disclosable.

Once the police agency or accredited body receives the check result, they instantly notify the applicant. Applicants apply for a police check in NSW or any other state or territory of Australia.

About 70% of applications return an NDCO. Hence, the results are available almost immediately. However, the other 30% that return a potential match and get referred for manual processing with the relevant police agencies. This process can take longer than 10 business days.

While police checks do not technically expire, organisations set predefined time frames to account for their operational requirements and risk assessment.

ANCC provides world-class police checking services to individuals and businesses in the courier space. You can access our services through our:

This is suited for individuals seeking employment as a courier. ANCC's portal allows you to order fast and efficient police checks. Completing the application only takes minutes, and you're guaranteed to get your police check outcome promptly.

Hiring managers in courier and logistic companies can now order and manage bulk police checks for applicants. With ANCC's business portal, you can track, monitor, and compare multiple police check applications and outcomes, making it easier to make informed hiring decisions.