Online Police Check - a Simple and Easy Process with Veritas Check

For those people who require a police check, the process is a simple one that involves very few steps, costs very little and can be accomplished relatively quickly.

How to apply for a National Police Check

·         Many companies can provide you with a National Police Check. The first step is to choose a company that you trust and feel comfortable applying through.

·         Once you have chosen which company you wish to go through, you will typically be asked to complete an online application. This is usually a quick procedure which should not take up too much of your time.

·         Next, you will be asked to confirm you are who you say you are by providing certain forms of identification. Acceptable identification is defined as providing the typical 100 points of identification as often used in Australia.

·         Lastly, you will need to lodge your application by having copies of your 100 points of identification certified as true copies by someone who can witness statutory declarations.

·         You will then need to post your application and documents to the appropriate company.

Timeframes for a National Police Check

Generally, you should expect to receive your police check back from your designated company within one to two days from the time they have received your posted application. This is not too long to wait for something so important, and it seems a triumph that companies can provide such speedy processing times for such a check, especially when many people move between states and thus their records in all states must be checked. If you are anxious about your application, many companies will allow you to track the progress of your application using basic information such as your surname, email and a reference number you have been given.

Proving the authenticity of a National Police Check

Once your police check has been finished, you will be emailed the results of this check. However, how can you prove to potential employers or others that your police check is genuine? Generally, the company that you have gone with will provide you with a reference number to allow those who wish to to verify your check on the company's website. Some companies will also give you a QR code which you or those who you give access to the code can scan using a mobile device to confirm the validity of your police check.

Costs of a National Police Check

You may think that the cost of a police check will be unbearably prohibitive, considering the costs of other work-related testing, security cards, etc. However, police checks are surprisingly affordable and as such should not prohibit people from applying to jobs or other opportunities on the basis of cost. One can get a National Police Check for as little as $12.34 including GST. This is a very reasonable amount.

Validity of a National Police Check

It will be up to your employer, future employer or any company or business who requests you to provide a police check on how long they will accept your police check. As a police check can only confirm your criminal record or lack thereof at a single point of time (the point at which it is checked), how long it is acceptable is up to whoever requests it. Often times, companies will accept a police check that has been done within the past year or two, perhaps even more. However, even if you must have one done more frequently than this, the low cost and speed at which you can obtain a new one should mean that it will be easy for you to obtain a new one whenever you require it.

Do Police Checks Unfairly Discriminate?

Many people believe that National Police Checks provide a valuable service in allowing employers to identify those individuals who should be excluded from active employment in certain fields based upon their past criminal history. However, is this the full story? Are people with criminal records being discriminated against unfairly as they seek to gain employment?

How might a criminal record affect employment opportunities for individuals?

Potential employment discrimination against individuals was studied and discussed as far back as December 2004 by the Australian Human Rights Commission. They have found that there is significant prejudice against those who have a criminal record when they apply for jobs, which contributes to a higher level of unemployment amongst those who possess a criminal record.

They note that when employers have the option to employ those without a criminal record versus those with a criminal record, they will often chose individuals without the criminal record rather than people with one. To some extent this is basic human nature, which prejudices people against those who may be dangerous or irresponsible. National Police Checks facilitate this process by allowing employers to gain knowledge of potential employees' past records.

In other industries and fields, it has less to do with active discrimination and more to do with a requirement for hiring managers to exclude those individuals who have a criminal record from consideration for employment. This is due to the specific nature of those fields. For example, organisations who work with young people or vulnerable adults or work in hospitals and health care facilities have what many would believe are valid reasons for not allowing people who have criminal records to apply for employment.

In addition, one may argue that the requirement to provide a police check to gain employment unfairly disadvantages young people and Indigenous Australians. For young people who already possess a criminal record, their future may look bleak, with any future prospects of employment hindered by what they have done in their past. Their opportunity to gain meaningful employment may be curtailed before they have even entered the job market. For Indigenous Australians, who are disproportionally represented in criminal figures, their chances of gaining employment are severely affected by any criminal record they may have.

'Inherent requirements' as a solution

The Australian Human Rights Commission advises that one of the best ways to avoid unfair discrimination on the basis of criminal history against individuals seeking employment, is to clearly identify the 'inherent requirements' of particular roles and assess an applicant's suitability against these requirements, taking into account any affect their criminal history might have on whether they can satisfy these requirements. This decision must be made without bias against the individual.

We can all sympathise with the desire not to let our pasts determine our futures. Even if one does not have a criminal record, often there are aspects of each person's past that they would not like to resurface. This is particularly true in employment situations, when individuals seek to be judged based upon the merit of their past positive work experiences and present proven performance, competencies, and abilities.

What is mentioned over and over again in the report is the important role trust plays in employment decisions. Employers must be able to trust that their employees can perform their roles without causing issues and disturbances. By allowing employers to view police history checks, they may lose trust in a candidate's proven abilities on the basis of past convictions. 

One can only hope that by being honest and up-front in interviews, those individuals can actively seek to gain this trust back and fight against this prejudice. The police check may then actually end up being a tool to gain this trust back by allowing employees the opportunity to disclose and discuss their past.

Like it or Not - Police Checks are a New Reality

In order to gain employment, many potential employees are now being required to obtain a  Police Check from a relevant agency which has been allowed by CrimTrac to access the National Police Checking Service and to issue police history checks.

Once received, employers may use the results of the police check to determine the suitability of a candidate for a particular role based upon a person's criminal history, including any past convictions and pending charges they may have.

The Benefits of Obtaining a National Police History Check for Employment

The benefits of obtaining a national police check are largely enjoyed by the employer. These checks allow them to be satisfied that those people they employ do not have an undesirable criminal record which might indicate that the past behaviour of the potential employee suggests possible future problems and issues with that employee.

It is also beneficial to the populace in general to be assured that those who are employed in positions where they have contact with vulnerable people do not have a criminal history which might endanger these individuals. And moreover that one's colleagues do not possess a criminal record.

For potential employees, having a police history check which indicates that they do not have any disclosable or pending court charges may allow them the 'edge' in their job hunt over other similar candidates. They can give future employers the confidence that they are responsible and law-abiding citizens.

The Downsides of National Police History Checks for Job Searchers

However, some would say that the whole idea of police history checks is rotten, that no employer has a right to access such personal information about applicants and employees. Indeed, for those individuals who do have a criminal record, but have since altered the way they live their lives and have not re-offended, providing their police history check may prejudice future employers against hiring them. Especially, as it can take up to 10 years for a conviction to become spent.

In addition, particularly for those individuals who do not have a criminal history, having to obtain a police history check can be an unnecessary added burden and a barrier to their gaining employment. While the cost of these checks are low, they are not free; and while they usually can be processed fairly swiftly, they do not come through instantaneously. In the worst case scenario, if an individual who cannot afford it requires a police check immediately or within a day or two in order to secure a job interview or obtain a job, it is possible they will miss out completely on being considered for a role or even on an employment opportunity.

Striking a Middle Ground

However, one can see that overall the requirement of some employers for their potential employees to provide evidence of a clear police history check is mostly beneficial. Certainly, for businesses and organisations there is not downside. For those individuals who have not committed any relevant crimes in the past, a little forethought in ensuring a police history check is obtained, if they think they will require it, early on in their job search should allow them to search for work unimpeded by this requirement and may give potential employers more confidence in hiring them. Also, overall, the fees to obtain a check are not overly prohibitive and can be viewed as a necessary expenditure in their job search.

For those who do have past convictions that would appear on a police history check, they may still be given the opportunity to argue their case to potential employers that that which appears on their check is no longer relevant as it happened, for example, a long time ago and they do not intend to do such things in the future.

For those with recent or pending charges, obtaining a national police check may well damage their changes of gaining employment in certain fields. However, many hold the belief this is a 'necessary evil', and one that primarily penalises and punishes those who have chosen in the past to commit crimes without thought to how their actions might affect their future or damage society at large.