National Police Certificate

Read on to find out how what a national police certificate is used for, how to obtain one, the differences between it and a national police check, and the fastest way to have your certificate returned to you.

How do I get a national police certificate?

National police certificates are designed to help protect the Australian community. You may be asked to provide one for specific requirements, licensing bodies you wish to join, or when you apply for a firearm licence.

A national police certificate is often required when applying for specific purposes, such as specific licensing applications, applying for an Australian Visa, or when applying to be eligible for IVF in Victoria. There are a range of other circumstances that you may be required to specifically obtain a national police certificate, that can only be issued directly through a state or federal police agency in Australia. As such, it is important to ensure you check with the requesting organisation what the requirements are, and whether you specifically need one issued by the police, or just an Accredited Body.

If you need to apply for a national police certificate, specifically, you will need to contact your local police station or the Australian Federal Police, as it can only be issued directly through them. This may also involve you visiting a local police station or post office, having identity documents certified by a JP or other suitable party, and typically requires extended period of time to await issue of the physical copy of the national police certificate in the mail.

In most cases, however, a specially accredited body through the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) will be able to provide a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check Certificate (NCCHC), commonly referred to as national criminal history check, police check, a national police check, a police clearance or a national police clearance. This check is suitable for the majority of employment and volunteering purposes and in the case of one issued by Checked Australia (an accredited body under the ACIC), comes with a 100% acceptance guarantee, which means if you apply for an eligible purpose, and it is still not accepted by the requesting body, we will provide a full refund.

Checked also offers an express option for national police check (also called a criminal record check or criminal background check) which if you require it, means we will fast track your check to our priority queue, and in most cases, your application can be returned to you in as little one business hour after you have submitted it. Additionally, if delays occur with your application, we can refund you our express service fee.

What is shown on a national police certificate?

When a national police check or national police certificate is conducted, they both check the same government database for potential matches based on the person of interest. When the the document is issued, it will list any disclosable offences belonging to an individual. Those offences listed may be from any Australian states and territories. For example, if an individual has a criminal background in QLD, then those offences, along with any other offences obtained in NSW, WA, SA, VIC, TAS, NT and ACT, may appear. For further information about what can be listed on your national police check, click here to read more.

Checked also offer a full integrated national police check process designed to help organisations remain up-to-date and compliant with their background checks. Contact one of our team for more information on how we can help you streamline and fast-track your police checks with our digital platform capable of integrated with leading HR and ATS platforms. 

There are two types of online application forms for an Australian police check: a standard application and a volunteer application. If you have been requested to provide a copy of your police clearance for employment purposes, then you must select the employment application, also referred to as a standard form. If you do not and provide a volunteer check, then your employer may request another certificate and you will need to apply for your new application. 

How long are national police certificates valid for?

There is no defined validity of a national police certificate, as it will only detail the date in which it was issued, and it is up to the requesting organisation that has a set period of time that your certificate is considered valid for. Validity will differ between employers, organisations and departments so double check with the requestor for more information.

How do I apply for a national police certificate?

After assessing the information above, if you determine that a national police check is suitable for your requirements, we offer a completely online application form that is designed to be completed within 5 to 10 minutes. We utilise VerifyID™ to verify your identity documents through documents provided from a camera or scanner. As long as you are comfortable with an online form, have reliable access to the internet and your identity documentation with you, you should be able to complete your application in a matter of minutes and hassle-free.

Should you complete your application during business hours and request our express processing option, then you could have your national police check returned to you in as little as one hour. This is assuming that your application has not been flagged for manual review which can occur in roughly 30% of cases. Should your application be delayed, and you opted for our express service, then Checked will refund your express service fee. Unfortunately, we are not able to know whether this will occur before you submit your application.

There is another type of police check provided by the Australian Federal Police (AFP), known as a national police certificate. Please double check with whichever organisation or department that has requested your national police certificate that you are applying for the correct type of certificate before you submit your application.

Get your national police check emailed to you in as little as one hour with Checked. Start your application right now and save yourself time and hassle with our online application form and express service option.