In this article, you'll learn about the Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Checks offered through InterCheck Global Pty Ltd (InterCheck Australia, "InterCheck"). InterCheck is a wholly owned subsidiary of Certn and is an accredited body authorised by the National Police Checking Service to provide Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Checks (NCCHCs).  

Introduction

Certn Intercheck offers several methods for clients to order background checks on their candidates in Australia. The method you use depends on where your company is based. This article focuses on Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Checks, which InterCheck only offers to clients based in Australia via its InterCheck platform. 

A Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check is a check of disclosable criminal history that applies across the whole of Australia. Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Checks can help your organisation make informed decisions about the suitability of candidates for a range of purposes. For example, a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History check is often part of screening for employment, volunteer, and not-for-profit positions. It is also used to help determine suitability for occupation-related licensing or for licensing applications. 

How do Nationally Coordinated Criminal History checks work?

Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Checks are processed via the National Police Checking Service, in partnership with Australian state and territory police agencies. Our InterCheck platform makes it fast for you to initiate a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check, and our online application makes it easy for your candidate to submit the information that the National Police Checking Service requires to process the check. Our service also includes several validation steps to help ensure that we collect all of the information that the National Police Checking Service needs to process the check. This helps to minimize potential delays in processing.

To get a better understanding of the overall process of ordering this check, refer to Stages of this check and our article about ordering this check. 

What results do Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Checks return?

When a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check is completed, you receive a report that indicates whether or not any disclosable court outcomes have been identified. Whether records are disclosable is determined by the state or territory police agencies and information releasing policies in those jurisdictions. 

Who can order this check

To order a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check through our platform, your business must operate in Australia and have a valid Australian Business Number (ABN).

Typically, clients who order Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Checks are Human Resources (HR) or compliance users who are performing screening for employment, volunteer, or not-for-profit positions or occupation-related compliance or for licensing applications. However, other acceptable purposes for using this check do exist. In any case, it is your responsibility to ensure that you have a lawful purpose for ordering a background check, in accordance with data protection laws applicable to you.

For clients outside of Australia

If your business does not operate in Australia, but you need to order a check for a candidate who currently lives or previously lived in Australia, you can order Certn's International Criminal Record Check instead. Using this check, you can request a screening for Australia. These checks are undertaken through the Australian Federal Police (AFP check). For more information about this check, visit our website or contact us.

Turnaround time for this check

As outlined in the section Stages of this check, Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Checks initiated through our platform begin with your order and your candidate’s application. When we receive your candidate’s completed application, our team will review it to ensure it meets the requirements of the National Police Checking Service.  If all required information is present, the request is released to the National Police Checking Service for processing, typically within one business day. Starting from the time we can submit the request to the National Police Checking Service for your check, turnaround times are as follows: 

• On average, the National Police Checking Service returns 70% within two business days or fewer.
  Some checks, such as those that result in a no disclosable court outcome, can even return within minutes from the time we submit your request to the National Police Checking Service.
• On average, 30% of checks may take or exceed three to 15 business days.
  Typically, this occurs when the National Police Checking Service initial search locates records that match details that may be the same as our candidate. In this case, the National Police Checking Service refers checks to Australian state or territory police agencies who assist with manual processing. A longer processing time does not always mean that your candidate has a criminal history. The following are examples of scenarios that can increase turnaround time:

• • The candidate has a common name or similar personal details to someone who has a criminal history. In this case, police agencies perform a review using your candidate’s provided information to determine whether the history found belongs to your candidate and is disclosable.
  • Police agencies need additional time to coordinate with police agencies in other states or territories to complete their processing.
  • Police agencies need additional time to manually retrieve or process hard-copy records.

When the check is complete, you will receive one of two standard results: Disclosable Court Outcomes (DCO) or No Disclosable Court Outcomes (NDCO). 

Stages of this check

We offer several ways to help you initiate a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check such as API or integration options available. 

When you initiate a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check using our web application, the stages of this check are as follows:

How to get started

If you're new to Certn InterCheck and you want to start ordering this check, start by creating your account.