What is an Employment police check?

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Australian National Character Check (ANCC) makes every effort to provide updated and accurate information to its customers. However due to the continuously changing nature of legislations for the Commonwealth and various States and Territories, it is inevitable that some information may not be up to date. The information on the website is general information only. The contents on the website do not constitute legal or professional advice and should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal or professional advice. While we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, suitability, accuracy or availability with respect to the information.

A Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check for an Employment purpose can be obtained online via the Australian National Character Check website.

When prompted, applicants should select the “Employment” option in the purpose field of the online police check application form.

Most criminal history checks are dispatched to applicants within 24 to 48 hours, with the remaining that get referred for manual processing taking longer.

Applicants can obtain a nationally coordinated criminal history check online for a base price of $52.90 + GST. Payment options include debit card, credit card or PayPal.

The ‘Employment’ purpose on a police check application form appropriately covers the majority of individuals seeking a police check.

Depending on the purpose you stipulate when applying for the police check, an Employment police check can be useful for the following purposes. The examples below are not exhaustive;

• Personal Care Worker
• Youth Worker,
• Graphic Designer,
• Administration Assistant,
• Child care educator,
• House sitter.
• And thousands of other employment related job roles.

What is a police check for Employment?

Employment is one of the most constant and recurrent practices in Australia.

Depending on the corporation's size, employers have to deal with hundreds if not thousands of applications each year. Selecting candidates from such large amounts of applications can be strenuous and demanding.

However, far from their academic or other specified qualifications, employers and decision makers have a duty to ensure that the candidates are the appropriate people for the job. And one way to confirm their suitability is to assess their criminal records and compliance with the law.

When you apply for a police check with "Employment" as the purpose, the national check agency will return a police check containing a record; relating to the purpose stated on the check and any despicable court outcomes that may be deemed relevant to the role.

What is the difference between a police check for employment and other checks?

A Police check for employment is similar in all regards to other police checks except that;

• It contains conviction history relevant to the job or role the candidate is applying for.

For an employment police check, the applicant’s criminal offences or other related violations are essential. These are the convictions that take priority in the criminal history check certificate.

If an employer requests your criminal history check certificate, they usually refer to the check for employment purposes.

Who needs a police check for employment?

The majority of employers and decision makers in Australia request a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check before admitting a candidate to their organisation. For some sectors (e.g. aged care), the legislation mandates that the candidate must provide a police check certificate.

You will generally have to submit an employment police check for the following sectors

• Personal care worker,
• Nurse,
• Fireman service,
• Graphic designer,
• Childcare educator.
• House sitter,
• Administration assistant,
• Youth Worker,
• Private Tutors,
• CPV drivers,
• Security guard,
• Medical practitioner,
• Factory worker,
• Teacher,
• Educator,
• Solicitors,
• Welfare representatives,
• Financial roles,
• Teachers
• Real estate,

An applicant may also need to submit a background check for employment purposes if their roles will involve interacting with vulnerable groups or other sensitive positions in the Australian system.

Can you use a Police check for employment for other purposes?

No, a police check is a purpose-specific assessment document, and it cannot be used generically. It may be rejected for other purposes that are not stated on the check. The police check can only be used for the purpose it was stipulated for and not for other purposes.

The reasoning behind this is that when Australian police agencies determine the releasable disclosable court outcomes for a check, they will generally only release disclosable court outcomes (DCOs) that are relevant to the purpose stated on the check.

Why do you need a police check for employment roles?

Employers have to protect their customers as well as their brand from all forms of compromise. And that is why they must adopt good practice principles during recruitments.

• It may improve a brand’s image

Customers only want to deal with brands that they can trust. And the best way to build trust is to employ quality and sound strategy to bring your procedures up to standard. If customers discover that you are irregular or compromised in your employment policies, it may lead to a loss of trust.

• A sound form of assessment

There are numerous other background checks that an employer can request from a candidate. However, Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Checks have become the most popular and standard background check of them all.

Also, a police check is specific to the purpose you intend for it. And it means the employer can get precise details about the employee as it should relate to the role.

• Generally faster and easier to obtain when completed online

Getting a nationally coordinated criminal history check for employment is generally faster than getting other background checks. If you apply for a police check online, you can get your check result within 24 to 48 hours. Those that get referred for manual processing will take longer. The e-copy can be sent as quickly to the applicant.

• Reveals all the disclosable details of criminal records

The police check not only states a person’s offence or their number of violations, but it also discloses the details. The released convictions on a Check result are those that the jurisdiction allows based on the purpose of the check.

This Disclosure on the police check can help the employer make better assessments on the individual when assessing Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check results related to the roles.

How to apply for a police check

There are various ways to apply for an Employment police check in Australia.

An applicant can apply through any of the methods they find easier. However, some employers may specify a preferred source for their required police check.

If an employer specifies a source, make sure to apply through the requested source.

Generally, you can apply for employment police check by;

• Applying online via Australian National Character Check (ANCC)

When you apply online through approved service providers, you will get your police check result mostly within 48 hours. If the application requires manual processing by Australian police agencies then it will take longer to get the result. The application time and checking process are quicker and easier when you apply online. Filling the application forms should take less than 15 minutes if you have all of the identification documents on hand.

You can apply for a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check online through a Mobile, Tablet or PC device. And you can do it anywhere as long as you are connected to the internet.

• Applying via a Local Australian Police Force

The local State and Territory police forces handle police check applications and provide applicants with their certificates.

Applying through a police force may be in-person and may also require an in-person visit to verify or attest to identification documents.

Applicants should allow 14 working days to get a completed Check certificate via the local police force.

• Applying through the Local Post office

The Post office also serves as a broker for Criminal History Check applications from applicants to the National Check agency.

What is the difference in applying through any of these methods?

The Employment police check certificate issued through any of these means has no difference in its legitimacy. They should all contain the same information and hold the same legal validity all around Australia.

The only variance in these methods is the format of the certificate or the names of the issuer.

However, no matter who issues or processes the Employment police check, they are all equally valid when obtained from an approved service provider.

An issue may only arise if the employer already specifies a specific source and the applicant disregards such.

What shows up on an employment police check?

The Employment police check will include the most relevant details to employment and working in such roles.

If an applicant has a conviction or other pending convictions, it will appear in their Employment police check.

For an employment police check, an applicant can expect to find their;

• Conviction records, especially those relevant to the role,
• Pending charges, especially those applicable to the role,
• Finding of guilt where the court does not give a conviction,
• Offences against corporate bodies,
• Assault cases at work or otherwise,
• Fraud offences or stealing offences committed against an organisation,
• Mismanagement of funds for which the court found you guilty,
• Misappropriation convictions,
• Other related crimes,

Not all offences in a person/s criminal records show in their Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Checks. Offences that appear in a police check are referred to as Disclosable Court Outcomes (DCOs).

The jurisdiction of each state according to their disclosure policies precludes some offences from being revealed. These offences are;

• Not relevant to be disclosed under the State laws.

Offences that do not appear on a criminal record are the No Disclosable Court Outcomes (NDCOs).

What are the requirements for the police check application?

There are various requirements for applying for an employment Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check in Australia. The National Check agency requires certain information to process the checking of the person.

• The Name of the applicant, including aliases,
• Date of Birth,
• Address(es) including history of places lived over five years.

The application will also require the applicant to state the “purpose” of the check.

The application will require the applicant to submit details like;

• Proposed position, title, occupation,
• The proposed place of work,
• The location or area of the work; including the town, State or City.

Stipulated identity documents must back up all the information the applicant submits. These documents for criminal history checks are categorised into three forms;

• ✔ One Commencement of ID Document,
• ✔ One Primary Use in the Community Document,
• ✔ Two Secondary Use in the Community Documents.

What is the process to apply for an Employment police check online?

Of the three methods of applying for the police check, generally a preferred and convenient method is to apply online. Applying for an employment police check online can be completed in the following steps;

• ✔ Step 1

Go to the Australian National Character Check website and select the "Start a new police check" option.

• ✔ Step 2

Fill and complete out the application form with your accurate personal details.

• ✔ Step 3

Enter all contact details and extra information required on the Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check. Verify all previous data before you submit.

• ✔ Step 4

Select and fill the purpose of the police check application, Employment check, licensing police check, Probity Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check and so on.

• ✔ Step 5

Remit the check payments via any of the online payment options; PayPal, Debit/Credit card, and co.

• ✔ Step 6

Submit any of the preferred Identification documents by;

• Submitting files online.
• Scanning and uploading the files,
• Mailing copies (for in-person application).

• ✔ Step 7

Complete your application by submitting the ID.

• ✔ Step 8

Sign the informed consent online before submitting the application.

• ✔ Step 9

Applicants can track their applications through the "Track a Check" option on the ANCC website.

• ✔ Step 10

A soft copy of the nationally coordinated criminal history check certificate will be sent. A hard copy is sent to your postal address by request.

How can I obtain a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check for Employment purposes?

Individuals

If you are an individual, you can obtain a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check certificate online via Australian National Character Check’s police check application form. The results are dispatched via email.

Business and Enterprise Customers

Business and Enterprise customers are able to sign up to ANCC’s business portal where they can order, manage, track and view candidates’ criminal history check results on their business portal. Organisations will undergo a process for approval prior to being granted access to ANCC’s business portal.

ANCC sends an invite to the applicant to complete their Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check online and handles the application and informed consent form. Contact ANCC’s business and enterprise partnerships team today to enquire about setting up a business portal for your organisation.

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