Over the past decade, criminal record checks have become commonplace in Australia, with more and more businesses looking at ways to improve the safety of their organizations. How are things done today and how did they work before? Is it easier to run background checks today in Australia? Are the results more accurate? Let’s find out.
The challenges of a Commonwealth state
Preventing crime and keeping track of dangerous people or organizations is not easy for a country the size of Australia. What makes the task so difficult is the fact that all Australian states and territories have their own police force and institutions. Sharing information across all the states has always been a challenge. Federal legislators have been looking at ways to close loopholes criminals might exploit for decades.
Two institutions played an important role in integrating the various national police forces in Australia.
One of them was the National Exchange of Police Information (NEPI), which was established in 1990. This operated as a common national police service, but in an increasingly digital world, it was decided that NEPI was simply not enough to combat crime.
What followed was CrimTrac, an initiative launched in 1998 as a means of tackling crime through a national crime information system.
CrimTrac was created to improve on NEPI by modernizing their IT systems and adding new systems that were deemed necessary to meet national law enforcement needs. Its main role was to develop workable national information-sharing protocols between all the Australian states and the federal police organizations.
What is the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC)
CrimTrac had a good run, but it too became outdated in an ever-changing world. In 2016, CrimTrac merged with the Australian Crime Commission to form the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, which has broad investigative and information-sharing functions. ACIC works with both national and international crime-fighting organizations to keep Australia and its people safe.
One of the most important aspects of the commission’s activity concerns criminal background checks which are also referred to as police checks or nationally coordinated criminal history checks (NCCHC).
Before the creation of federal bodies working in close partnership with national police in every state, criminals had a chance to escape justice by moving to a different part of the country and continuing their illegal activities undetected. Moving to a different state often meant leaving your criminal past and your criminal record behind.
Now, all that has changed.
Welcome to the era of online criminal history checks
Running background checks is now easier in Australia. Recruiting agents don’t have to send job applicants to the police station anymore for a criminal history check, which was a tedious and time-wasting process. Now, most things can be done online.
Online character check agencies are reliable as their activity is regulated by the federal government. They also play a crucial role in providing timely information to the Australian community and reliable access to the police checking service. Only agencies accredited by the government can provide background checks. These service providers are granted the right to provide criminal record checks as a broker to members of the community. No matter if you ask for a criminal background check in Victoria, the agency will run a name through all the databases available.
If a person commits a crime in New South Wales, the Victoria-based decision-maker will be informed about that from the applicant's criminal history check result (which can only be obtained with an applicant's informed consent).
Basically, running a criminal history check through an online agency is the same as getting a traditional police check, only faster and with less red tape. You get the results back via email in 24 hours or in some instances up to 15 business days, if not faster. This helps businesses protect against dangerous criminals and keep their workforce safe.