Three Types of Police Checks in Australia

• Court appearances
• Court convictions, including any penalty or sentence
• Findings of guilt with no conviction
• Good behaviour bonds or other court orders
• Charges
• Matters awaiting court hearing

The name check is the most common type of police check used for employment purposes in Australia. Over six million name checks are processed each year in Australia. This name checks an applicant's name against a national persons of interest database. It is a collation of police and conviction history information that is sourced from databases of all Australian police agencies. Name checks can be obtained from accredited Australian providers like Australian National Character Check.

The official name for a name check in Australia is Nationally Coordinated Coordinated Criminal History Check.

Other commonly used terms for a name check include: police check, Police Record Check, Criminal History Check, Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check, etc.

A Fingerprint check can only be conducted where there is a legal or regulatory requirement for such a check to be conducted. With this type of check, fingerprints are checked against a central database of police records. An additional cost is associated with the fingerprint check service.

Fingerprint checks can only be conducted from a local Australian police jurisdiction. The original of the fingerprints must be posted with a completed off-line application form.

This type of application is a name check and ASIO security assessment. The applicant's check is provided to ASIO and the Australian Federal Police for the purpose of conducting a security assessment.

This check is sought by persons employed or seeking employment with companies that are licensed to access security sensitive Ammonium Nitrate. Examples may include Australian mining companies.