Airport and aviation worker police checks in Australia

Ever since aeroplanes entered the scene in the early twentieth century, transportation has never remained the same. Air transport makes life considerably more manageable. Little wonder the air transportation industry contributes a stunning $39 billion annually to the Australian economy. The airline industry employs over 90,000 people, ranging from flight instructors to pilots to cabin crews to technicians.

Airline companies must maintain an excellent safety track record, offer exceptional customer service and avoid damaging public perception to remain profitable. That’s why the recruitment process in the airline industry can be rigorous.

If you’d like to be an airport or aviation worker in Australia, expect to undergo a background check.

A police check details an applicant’s disclosable criminal history. The results provided on a 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.

Here’s how you can get a police check in Australia:

Step 1: Apply through an accredited ACIC agency or a police agency.

Most applications are online, and all you need to do is fill up the online application form. In this form, you’ll fill in your name, date of birth, address, the purpose of the check, and other relevant details.

You must also upload four means of identification. They include:

• ✔ One commencement ID document
• ✔ One primary use in the community document
• ✔ Two secondary use in the community documents
• ✔ A biometric link to confirm your identity

Finally, you must pay the application fee. Australian National Character Check (ANCC) - one of Australia’s foremost accredited bodies - charges $52.90 + GST as the base fee for a police check.

After submission, the accredited body or police agency verifies the validity of your personal information and identification documents. After that, they submit your details to the National Police Checking Service. It runs a name-matching algorithm to pull out the criminal record of a potential match.

If there’s no match, it means you do not have a criminal record. Consequently, the system automatically returns a ‘No Disclosable Court Outcome’ (NDCO). Conversely, if there’s a match, the result is sent to the relevant police agency(s) for further processing as a precautionary step to ensure the match's validity. If that’s not the case, the police agency returns an NDCO. If the match is valid, the police agency conducts a vetting process. The vetting process involves determining which criminal record is releasable per the spent conviction scheme. After that, the police check result is returned to the accredited body or police agency that requested the check.

Once the accredited ACIC body or police agency receives the police check result, they notify the applicant.

About 70% of application results are available within 24 hours. About 30% of applications can take longer than 15 days to process.

A police check is considered a ‘point-in-time’ check because it reflects only records up until the date and time the check result is released. Hence, employers usually set an acceptable time frame based on operational requirements and risk assessments.

Are you looking to get a police check for aviation workers? ANCC provides fast, efficient, and affordable police checking services for Australians.

You can complete a nationally coordinated criminal history check for individuals seeking aviation jobs with our individual portal. Please fill out the online police check application form.

Police checking service for HR professionals or decision makers in the aviation industry is made easy through ANCC’s Business Portal. You can order/track multiple police check applications in real time. All businesses undergo a process of approval prior to being granted access to the ANCC Business Portal.