Cleaning worker police check in Australia

With about 40,000 commercial cleaning businesses employing over 160,000 people, Australia's retail cleaning market is worth over $12 billion - not to mention the household cleaners market.

Here's why cleaning jobs in Australia require a police check:

Cleaners have access to products, information, and lots of other documents. Hence, cleaners must be honest individuals that would not misuse their access for personal gains - for example, stealing store items or selling classified information. A background check ensures that the cleaner doesn't have a prior record of theft.

Cleaners must be able to manage pressure well. Clients and customers can sometimes mistreat cleaning workers. However, cleaning workers must maintain their cool at all times. With a police check, a cleaning agency can ensure that the applicant has demonstrated cool-headedness by not having violence-related criminal charges.

A police check - also called a nationally coordinated criminal history check (NCCHC) - reveals an individual's past convictions, arrests and criminal proceedings.

The results provided on a police check will outline whether the applicant has No Disclosable Court Outcomes (NDCO) or Disclosable Court Outcomes (DCO):

• NDCO means there is:
• no police information held against the applicant
• no police information that can be released according to the purpose and category of the police check, and the application of relevant spent convictions legislations and/or information release policies.
• DCO means there is:
• police information that can be released.

A check result with a DCO may list the following police information:

• charges
• court convictions, including penalties and sentences
• findings of guilt with no conviction
• court appearances
• good behaviour bonds or other court orders
• matters awaiting court hearing
• warrants and/or warnings
• traffic offences.

Getting a police check in Australia is easy. Here are the steps as stipulated by the ACIC:

Police check applications can be made through ACIC-accredited bodies or a police agency. Most applications are online and require filling out an online form stating your name, address, contact details, and the purpose of the check.

Moreover, you must submit other documents with your application. They include:

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

To complete your application, you must also pay the associated fee.

After receiving your application, the accredited body or police agency verifies the applicant's identity. After that, they forward your application to the National Police Checking Service.

This generated record is forwarded to the relevant police agency for additional assessment. If there's no match, a No Disclosable Court Outcome is returned to the agency that submitted the check on the applicant's behalf.

On the flip side, a 'Disclosable Court Outcome' is returned if there's a match and the police agency performs further vetting.

In this vetting stage, the police agency applies the relevant spent conviction scheme to determine which criminal record can be included in the police check result.

After receiving the police check result, the accredited ACIC agency or police agency notifies the applicant of their result. The report contains information of the applicant as well as criminal offences like charges, court convictions, finding with no conviction, court appearances, good behaviour bonds, pending matters awaiting court hearings and traffic offences.

70% of police checks are returned to applicants within 24 hours, typically through an email. However, 30% of checks are sent to one or more police agencies for further processing. This is a manual process and can take longer than 10 business days.

ANCC is a reputable accredited agency that provides efficient police check service to individuals and businesses across Australia.

If you want to prepare for getting a cleaning job, having a police check result may be required. To apply, fill out our online form and submit the necessary documents. The base fee for this service is $52.90 + GST.

Cleaning businesses can conduct background checks for aspiring applicants through ANCC's business portal. All you need to do is open up a business account. Moreover, approved businesses can track the progress in real-time.