Police check for Uber in Australia

Australian National Character Check (ANCC) provides nationally coordinated criminal history checks (police checks) to current or prospective Uber or Uber Eats drivers in Australia.

Uber requires Australian driver partners to submit a nationally coordinated criminal history check (NCCHC). You can obtain a background check for Uber by clicking here: Start a New Background Check.

Check timeframes: 70 percent of police checks from ANCC are returned to applicants within 24 hours. Results are emailed on the same day they are received. Approximately 30 percent of checks may be referred to one or more police agencies and can take longer than 10 business days to be returned, due to the manual nature of this process.

Note: If you are using this police check for the purpose of driver licencing or accreditation, please enter ‘Driver Licencing/Accreditation’ as the purpose of the police check in the online application form. Also enter ‘Uber’ as the proposed place of work.

Uber launched in Australia in October 2012 - and, in less than a decade, has revolutionised the transportation industry, offering door-to-door convenience, reliable quality, and safe transport. And with the introduction of Uber Eats, getting your favourite food from your restaurant of choice from the comfort of your home is only a click away. We all have Uber drivers to thank for that!

Managing a growing number of drivers is challenging, even for a big company like Uber. That's why Uber adopts a rigorous background check on drivers before acceptance. Police checks, in particular, serve as a risk mitigation strategy to ensure accepted drivers will uphold the core values of the company.

Are you interested in becoming a Uber or Uber Eats driver? Are you ready to take your piece of the pie? You must know what the background check process entails. That way, you can be fully prepared and significantly increase your chance of success. And in this post, you'll learn precisely how to get a background check for Uber or Uber Eats.

You need to meet a few requirements to become an Uber driver.

The minimum requirements include:

• ✔ Be at least 21 years old.
• ✔ Have a car or have access to one that meets Uber's requirement
• ✔ Hold a valid driver's licence for your territory. NB: you must have held a licence for at least 12 months.
• ✔ Provide all the necessary documents as required for your region. These documents include your driver's licence, passport or birth certificate, profile picture, and others specified in your territory.
• ✔ Have insurance for the vehicle you plan to drive.

Once you meet these requirements, feel free to sign up online and upload your documents. At this stage, Uber conducts a background check. There are two primary background checks Uber performs for aspiring drivers in Australia. They include:

1) Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (NCCHC).

While there are different types of police checks, the nationally coordinated criminal history check (NCCHC) is the primary police check required by Uber. The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission coordinates this check. They work with accredited agencies like Australian National Character Check (ANCC) and Australia Post to provide this checking service.

The Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check provides details on the criminal history of an aspiring driver. That way, Uber's vetting body can decide if the applicant poses an unacceptable risk as a driver or is fully qualified.

2) VEVO (right to work) check

You must be legally entitled to work in Australia as an Uber or Uber Eats driver. The Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) system enables Uber to ensure potential drivers have a residency or visa status that permits them to work. Hence, this check applies to non-Australian citizens - i.e., those that cannot provide an Australian Birth Certificate, Australian Passport, or Australian Citizenship Certificate.

As noted earlier, the Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check is the required background check by Uber and Uber Eats. So, how do you go about getting one?

But first, what is an NCCHC?

The NCCHC is a nationally coordinated scheme that checks an applicant's criminal history in Australia. The applicant will receive a certificate once the check is complete. You can then submit this certificate to prospective employers or the requesting party.

Your NCCHC certificate will show Disclosable Court Outcomes (DCOs) if there are any. DCOs are conviction details that your jurisdiction deems releasable per the Spent Convictions Scheme. DCOs typically include court convictions, pending charges, traffic offences settled in the court, unspent convictions and conditional release orders.

Note that spent convictions, overseas convictions and diversionary programs do not appear on the Nationally Coordinate Criminal History Check.

As stated earlier, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) coordinates the NCCHC in Australia. They work with accredited agencies to provide this service.

Here are the processes for obtaining your NCCHC through the three available options:

1) ACIC-accredited agencies

ACIC-accredited agencies like Australian National Character Check (ANCC) provide affordable, quick, and reliable Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Checks.

Here's the typical process for getting your NCCHC through an ACIC-accredited agency:

Most accredited bodies typically have an online application process for a police check. Kindly start the process on their website and fill out the application form. In the application form, you will fill in:

• ✔ Personal details - like full name, date of birth, and sex.
• ✔ Contact details - like phone number and email address.
• ✔ Address history for the past five years
• ✔ Purpose of the check.
• ✔ Card details through a secure server for payment. ANCC charges a base price for the NCCHC.

All applicants must present valid identification for a background check.

The following categories of ID are required when filling out the application for your nationally coordinated criminal history check:

• a) One (1) Commencement of ID document
• b) One (1) Primary Use in the Community Document
• c) Two (2) Secondary Use in the Community Document

Acceptable Commencement of Identity documents issued by the Australian government include:

• ✔ Australian birth certificate issued by the Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages (Australian Government Unit) - not an extract or birth card
• ✔ Australian Citizenship Certificate
• ✔ Australian visa (supported by a foreign passport) current at the time of entry into Australia as a resident or touris
• ✔ Australian passport (not expired; however, if the Document Verification System (DVS) is used to verify the passport, it may be up to 3 years expired)
• ✔ ImmiCard issued by the Department of Home Affairs

• ✔ Australian passport (not expired; however, if the Document Verification System (DVS) is used to verify the passport, it may be up to 3 years expired)
• ✔ An Australian driver licence, learner permit or provisional licence issued by a State or Territory, showing signature and/or photo
• ✔ ImmiCard issued by the Department of Home Affairs to assist visa holders to provide evidence of their Commencement of Identity in Australia
• ✔ A passport issued by a country other than Australia with a valid visa or valid entry stamp or equivalent
• ✔ Proof of age or photo identity card issued by an Australian government agency which shows the name, date of birth, photo and signature of the individual
• ✔ For persons aged under 18 years with no other Primary Use in Community Documents, a student identity document issued by an Australian government agency or Australian school only.

You will need two secondary documents when applying for a NCCHC. Acceptable ID documents in this category include:

• ✔ Medicare card
• ✔ Enrolment with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC)
• ✔ Working with children or vulnerable people card issued by an Australian state or territory government unit;
• ✔ Tax File Number issued by the Australian Taxation Office
• ✔ Bank card, credit card (without recording the payment card number/s)
• ✔ Australian secondary or tertiary student photo identity document
• ✔ Certified academic transcript from an Australian university
• ✔ Foreign government issued driver licence. Documents in languages other than English must be accompanied by a NAATI accredited translation
• ✔ Firearms licence
• ✔ Security Guard/Crowd Control photo licence
• ✔ Evidence of right to a government benefit (DVA or Centrelink)
• ✔ Police Force Officer photo identity card
• ✔ Australian Defence Force photo identity card
• ✔ Aviation security identification card
• ✔ Maritime security identification card
• ✔ Credit reference check
• ✔ Trusted referees report

After filling in your application form and uploading the necessary documents, you can submit your application. This is as easy as clicking the Submit button.

70% of applicants receive results in 24 hours. 30% are flagged for manual review by the check algorithm in the National Criminal Database. Hence, they take longer to process (typically 10 to 14 working days).

Do you know that over 4.4 million Australians use the Uber app? From Uber's perspective, they are responsible for delivering outstanding services to their customers. And all this hinges on having the most qualified drivers that will give clients a memorable driving experience or deliver food promptly and accurately to clients. Here are some ways Uber uses police checks to select the best drivers.

Safety is at the heart of any transportation company - and Uber is no exception. That's why they prioritise admitting only drivers with a solid safety record. With the NCCHC, Uber can see past traffic offences like drunk driving, DUI offences, or recklessness that result in criminal charges. If these events are recent and reoccurring, such an applicant may make for an unsuitable driver as they can potentially put their lives and the lives of the community at risk.

The NCCHC also shows charges of unspent convictions relating to past violence. Uber and Uber Eats drivers need to be calm-headed and keep their cool when dealing with infuriating clients. With an NCCHC, Uber can know if a potential driver is prone to violence.

Uber drivers must be professional at all times; this includes avoiding staring, leering, or unwelcome touch, inappropriate jokes and sexual comments, making unwanted requests for invitations for dates or sexual motives, and lots more. Since an NCCHC also includes past sexual-related offences, Uber can gain insight into drivers' potential for harassing future clients.

Individuals with past fraud records make for unsuitable drivers as they may fleece clients during interactions. The NCCHC also reveals fraud-related charges, which helps Uber's vetting team make informed hiring decisions.

Australian law mandates police checks for drivers on ride-providing platforms like Uber and Uber Eats. Hence, failing to perform such checks exposes the company to fines.

Background checks are in no way full-proof because they do not definitively predict what will happen in the future. However, if anything goes wrong with a driver, Uber can limit their exposure by indicating they performed their due diligence (via a police check) during the vetting stage.

Are you still interested in becoming an Uber or Uber Eats driver? Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about the background check process.

The NCCHC is not limited to use with only Uber. In most cases you can also use them to apply as a driver on other rideshare service providers (where the purpose of the check is the same) in Australia like Ola, DiDi, Shofer, Deliveroo and Menulog, to name a few. However, most of these providers insist that your check must be less than 3 months old to be considered valid.

Police checks are point-in-time checks, meaning they are valid to the processing date. While these checks do not expire technically, organisations usually set their preferred validity period. Hence, do well to check with the organisation to know if your NCCHC is still valid.