A national police clearance is a national clearance certificate provided by Australian accredited providers or state & federal police, listing an individual's disclosable criminal history.
Any information relating to that national criminal history check is obtained from all state and territory police agencies including WA, SA, VIC, NSW, QLD, ACT, NT and Tasmania. These police clearances can also be referred to simply as a police check, a criminal background check, a criminal record check, and Australian Police Check and a National Police Check.
The government does not directly process applications for a national police clearance. You are required to provide your national police check through either your local police agency (national police certificate) or with an accredited provider like Checked.
Checked offer you a fast-tracked service option that you will not be able to access if you choose to apply for your national police clearance through your local police. We also offer our applicants a completely online form, including online identity verification, which is a different process to lodging your form in person.
When you choose Checked to apply for your national police clearance, you can opt for an express service designed to return your clearance certificate back to you in as little as one hour. However in roughly 30% of applications a further review is required. This is due to a partial or whole match of the application’s information in the central government database. Unfortunately, we cannot know ahead of time if your express application will be delayed. If, however, you are not able to receive your application in our express timeframe, we will refund you the express service fee. Your application may then take between 1 and 15 business days to be released. This is the same situation if you apply for your police check directly through the state based police.
How long does a national police clearance last?
There is no set time of validity for a national police clearance. Whichever authority responsible for requesting your clearance certificate will have a set period time they deem your check is valid for. They will most likely contact you when it is time to renew your national police clearance.
How do I get a national police clearance?
To receive a national police clearance, you will need to apply through a government accredited provider. Checked is an online accredited provider able to process your application. We offer an online form using VerifyID™ to securely verify your identity documents. As long as you are comfortable using online forms, have reliable access to the internet, hold your identity documents readily at hand and have access to a camera or scanner, you can potentially complete your online application with Checked in 5 to 10 minutes.
How long does a national police clearance take?
If you were to lodge a paper form for your national police clearance, you could find yourself waiting weeks for that form to be received, processed and the clearance certificate posted. By using our online application, you can reduce that time.
If your application includes the express service, you will typically have your clearance certificate available via email in as little as an hour. However, should you application be flagged for review, that could take a further 1 to 15 business days to complete.
Where do I get a national police clearance?
Your national police clearance can be processed from any state or territory in Australia. It will be checked against a national database of information which includes criminal listings from all over Australia. To understand what kind of information might be included on your national police clearance, click here.
Before you start your application, it is important to confirm with the requesting organisation or department what kind of clearance you are required to provide. For immigration related checks, as well as some government department checks, you may be required to provide an Australian Federal Police (AFP) clearance which is a separate application process and cannot be obtained through Checked at this time.
How much is a national police clearance?
The type of national police clearance you are requesting will determine the price of the check. The cost of a volunteer application is slightly lower than a standard form. You cannot provide a volunteer police check in lieu of an employment check. Please confirm with your requestor exactly what kind of check you need to provide before you submit your application. You may discover that you are required to purchase another application if you provide the wrong one.
We offer applicants a fast, streamlined and completely online application for national police clearance checks. Our express service can deliver your National Police Check to you in as little as an hour after submission (please be advised this is only available within business hours). Don’t choose to wait weeks for your police check clearance, choose the quick, hassle-free and online alternative with Checked and access your clearance as soon as possible.