FAQ’s

A Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check also known as a police check provides information on an individual’s disclosable court outcomes and pending charges sourced from the databases of all Australian police jurisdictions, subject to relevant spent convictions / non-disclosure legislation and / or information release policies. A police check may be used to help screen and make informed decisions about individuals within the Australian community for many reasons, including but not limited to:

• recruitment and job applications
• volunteer and not-for-profit positions
• working with children or vulnerable groups
• licensing or registration schemes applications
• work-related checks due to legislation or regulations
• Australian permanent residence and citizenship
• visa applications for some countries
• employment overseas

From 1 July 2018 the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) changed the name of Police Checks. When you request a Police Check the result document you receive will be titled Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check.

There is no difference between a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check and a National Police Check. Since July 2018, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, the government body that regulates police checks, has decided that the formal name for the check should be Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check, but the information produced in the check has not changed.

The ACIC recognises that many organisations contribute to community through not-for-profit, charitable or volunteer services. The Volunteer Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check type is intended for applicants seeking to uptake a genuine volunteer position.

A VNPC can be requested if the applicant:
will freely hold the position or perform the role on a voluntary basis for the common good
will not be an employee or contractor and will not be entitled to a salary or any other entitlements associated with the position or role, other than payment of out-of-pocket expenses, or
is a student undertaking a compulsory unpaid vocational placement as part of a training course requirement of an Australian-based educational institution
An applicant should be able to provide evidence about the role they are applying for to ensure that they are entitled to a VNPC. A VNPC cannot be submitted for applicants applying for the Australian Government’s Work for the Dole Scheme.

• Businesses looking to hire new staff
• Recruitment Agencies
• Companies that have existing staff that deal with sensitive and confidential information
• Individuals needing to meet employment or security requirements

An applicant must be at least 16 years of age. Anyone under the age of 18 will need signed consent from a parent, guardian or legal representative.

Apart from certain and limited circumstances, a check can only be conducted with the consent of the applicant. When completing an application, applicants must:
read and understand how their personal information and related police information will be handled and disclosed
permit an accredited agency or police agency to submit a check on their behalf
if applicable, permit their potential employer to use their check result to assess their suitability for employment
provide their informed consent. In doing so, they are consenting to the specific purpose of a check. If the applicant requires a check for a different purpose, they must provide their informed consent again.

Under certain and limited circumstances, a check can be conducted without consent for law enforcement, immigration and administration of justice purposes.

A Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check will detail any disclosable court outcomes or pending charges incurred across all Australian police jurisdictions. Disclosable Court Outcomes means the record of court convictions and findings of guilt, to which provisions of relevant spent convictions/non-disclosure legislation and/or information release policies have been applied. The type and amount of information that is released will depend upon the category and purpose of the check, as well as the jurisdiction where convictions are recorded (and vetted). Spent convictions legislation or information release policies will be applied to this process by vetting police agencies. The result of a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check will either be:

• No Disclosable Court Outcomes (NDCO) – means that there is no police history information that is held or that can be released
• Disclosable Court Outcomes (DCO) – Existing records that can be released to the submitting organisation. This may include:
  • Any conviction sentenced in court
  • Details pertaining to the court, date and location related to the conviction
  • Good behaviour bonds
  • Traffic convictions
  • Charges not yet convicted in court
  • Findings of guilt by a court

A Volunteer Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check lists any disclosable court outcomes or pending charges across all Australian police jurisdictions, subject to relevant spent convictions/non-disclosure legislation and/or information release policies.

The type and amount of information that is released will depend upon the category and purpose of the check, as well as the jurisdiction where convictions are recorded (and vetted). Spent convictions legislation or information release policies will be applied to this process by vetting police agencies.

The result of your check will either be:

• No Disclosable Court Outcomes (NDCO) – meaning there is no police history information that is held or that can be released
• Disclosable Court Outcomes (DCO) – meaning police history information exists that can be released to the submitting organisation. This may include:
  • charges
  • court convictions, including any penalty or sentence
  • findings of guilt with no conviction
  • court appearances
  • good behaviour bonds or other court orders
  • pending matters awaiting court hearing
  • traffic history

The following people may have access to an applicant’s personal information and check result:

• authorised police staff involved in the check assessment process
• authorised ACIC staff to support accredited bodies and police agencies when processing the check
• authorised staff of the accredited agency or police agency that requests the check and receives the result
• accredited agency’s customer organisations (Legal Entity Customers)
• a third-party organisation, either with the applicant’s informed consent, identified on the application form, or through relevant legislation

Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check conducted through ProbityPeople are accepted throughout Australia.

A Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check will contain all releasable court outcomes from every state and territory of Australia.

ProbityPeople, police agencies and the ACIC work together to deliver the Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check service, aiming to process 95% of checks within 10 business days, noting that:

• around 70% of checks are completed in real-time with results being returned within minutes
• around 30% of checks are referred to one or more police agencies because a ‘potential match’ is found. On limited occasions, this process can take longer than 10 business days to process, due to the complexity of the check

A ‘potential match’ may be found if the applicant shares similar details with other individuals recorded in police systems, particularly if they have a common name. Processing of a check in these instances can take longer to progress.

No. An NPC is not suitable for reuse for multiple purposes. For example, a check conducted for the purpose of becoming a volunteer netball coach cannot be used later to apply for a job as an administration officer. This is because the purpose identified on the check application may be used to determine what (if any) police information is released, based on the various state and territory spent convictions legislation and information release policies that apply.

Additionally, an NPC is considered a ‘point in time’ check. This means an applicant can receive a no disclosable court outcome (NDCO) result one day, and then be charged or convicted of a crime the following day. Charges or convictions that occur after the check result has been issued are not captured on the applicant’s existing check, deeming the result unsuitable for reuse.

No, you will need an Australian Federal Police (AFP) check for Visa and Immigration purposes.

Yes. A certificate will be sent via email upon completion of the check. You can also access your certificate via your user portal on the ProbityPeople website.

ProbityPeople will retain police history information for 12 months. As an Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) requirement, all police history information is destroyed after 12 months. You can obtain a copy of your Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check results within 12 months of issue. After this period, a new Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check application will be required.

When your check is submitted to the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC), your name, date of birth and gender are checked against a central database of names to find potential matches with people who have police history information.

If you have a common name (for example Michael Smith or Amandeep Singh), or your name is similar to someone that has police history information, your application will be manually reviewed by the police for further investigation. The relevant police agency will then manually process your check to determine if your details are a match or not.

Referred is when your police check is submitted and has been flagged for further review, before the check can be finalised. This usually happens when your information may be a match against someone on the database with a similar name, date of birth and/ or gender. When this match occurs then there needs to be a manual review of the application by the relevant police agencies, to resolve the match and provide the overall outcome.

If an applicant believes the result of their Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check is incorrect, they should contact ProbityPeople on 1300 333 246 or email enquiries@probitypeople.com.au.

We will need to discuss in detail the reason for the dispute and you should provide us with as much information as possible to assist in the investigation of your dispute. This will be investigated by the relevant police agency and we will notify you when an outcome is reached.

You need to contact ProbityPeople on 1300 333 246 or email enquiries@probitypeople.com.au outlining the reasons for the dispute. You will be asked to provide documentation to support your claim.
ProbityPeople will lodge the dispute for further investigation. Further information may be requested to support the investigation.
Once the dispute has been concluded, ProbityPeople will advise the individual of the outcome.
A successful dispute outcome means that the dispute has been successful and the check result will be amended.
An unsuccessful dispute outcome means the dispute has been unsuccessful and the result will remain the same. The individual may challenge this outcome and additional documentation may be collected to support the challenge.

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) is Australia’s national criminal intelligence agency. They work with our state and territory, national and international partners on investigations and to collect intelligence to improve the national ability to respond to crime impacting Australia.

The ACIC works with Australian police agencies to deliver the National Police Checking Service (NPCS). The Service allows people to apply for a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (previously known as a police check).

The ACIC accredits organisations who submit a significant volume of checks to facilitate individuals’ access to their Service. These organisations are known as accredited bodies.

Once you have submitted your application there is no way of changing it. Therefore, it is important that you read over your answers before submitting your check.

If you want some inessential identifying information removed from your police check result, such as your gender, or previous names, please contact ProbityPeople on 1300 333 246 or email enquiries@probitypeople.com.au.

You cannot ask for any police information to be removed from your result.

You cannot ask for the primary name in which your result has been issued to be removed.

In addition to providing the minimum four identity documents, the applicant must also provide a self-captured photo of themselves holding their photo. This is a legal requirement by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) to ensure that the applicant presenting the identity documents is the person to which the documents relate.