A Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check lists an individual's disclosable court outcomes (DCOs) sourced from the databases of all Australian police agencies.

The results that are provided on a check will outline whether the applicant who is the subject of the check has No Disclosable Court Outcomes (NDCO) or Disclosable Court Outcomes (DCO). Further information about an NDCO and DCO result is provided below:

• NDCO means there are:
• No police information that is currently held against the applicant.
• No police information can be released or disclosed according to the purpose and category of the nationally coordinated criminal history check and the application of relevant spent convictions legislation and information release policies.
• DCO means there are:
• Police information that can be released by the police on the nationally coordinated criminal history check.

A nationally coordinated criminal history check result that contains a DCO may list the following police information on the certificate:

• Charges in Australia
• Court convictions, including penalties and sentences
• Findings of guilt with no conviction
• Court appearances in Australia
• Good behaviour bonds or other court orders
• Matters awaiting court hearing
• Warrants and warnings
• Traffic offences.

A check issued by the Australian National Character Check is valid throughout Australia and in New South Wales (NSW).

Employment background checks are requested by an individual's employer, organisation or an authorised third party. Only the decision-maker requesting the background check can decide whether or not they want an updated version of the individual's check.

A nationally coordinated criminal history check is a 'point in time check' with no expiry date. Most employers or decision-makers in NSW only accept nationally coordinated criminal history checks up to three months from the issue date.

When recruiting staff, organisations' decision-makers must protect their employees, customers and brand image.

A Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check can assist decision-makers in meeting this obligation.

Every recruiter must protect customers or staff from harm. Decision makers commonly utilise criminal records to assist with decision-making and risk mitigation strategies.

An individual can request a nationally coordinated criminal history check through the ANCC website. The application process is completed online and takes approximately 15 minutes to complete.

Applicants who apply through the Australian National Character Check experience a difference in speed and efficiency when obtaining their nationally coordinated criminal history check online. Seventy per cent of nationally coordinated criminal history checks are returned to applicants within 24 hours. Approximately thirty per cent of checks may be referred to one or more police agencies and can take longer than ten business days to be returned due to the manual nature of this process.

Results get emailed on the same day they are received. Overall, applicants save time and cost when applying for their check online.

Some of the information an applicant will be requested includes and is not limited to;

• All names that the applicant is known by (past and present, including aliases)
• The applicant's Date of Birth
• Identification documents
• A biometric link (e.g. a selfie) that establishes liveness and linkage between the applicant and the application form.
• Informed consent is required from the applicant, and informed consent is required from parents for applicants under 18.

You need certain documents to complete the application process when applying for a nationally coordinated criminal history check. These documents are divided into three categories and will assist ANCC in checking and confirming your identity.

When filling out the online application form, you will be required to provide the following ID documents:

• One (1) Commencement of ID document;
• One (1) Primary Use in the Community Document;
• One (1) Secondary Use in Community Document.

ANCC is an accredited service approved by the Australian federal government. The check provided by ANCC is valid Australia-wide.

For information about how the spent convictions scheme or information release policies apply to nationally coordinated criminal history checks, please refer to the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) website for links to the legislation.