Criminal/Civil Records Search

Australia

Criminal History Checks are available from the Australian Federal Police (AFP). The AFP accepts applications with or without the submission of applicant fingerprints. The cost of these Checks is dependent upon whether or not an applicant supplies fingerprints with their application.

Application Procedure

There are 3 types of National Police Check from the Australian Federal Police (AFP):

• Fingerprint-based Check
• Name only Check (No fingerprints are required using this route)
• Fingerprint and name check application where fingerprints are to be taken and processed by the AFP. 

Applications for an AFP Criminal History Check should be made on pre-printed AFP application forms. These forms can be found using the following the link:

NPC Application form (pdf, 218kb, new window)

The AFP also require a photocopy of a Passport or photo-card driving licence to be submitted with the completed application form.

Individuals are also able to contact the Police jurisdiction in which they resided for information relating to their criminal history.

Cost

The cost depends on whether or not the applicant submits a copy of his or her fingerprints along with the application.

The costs are as follows:

• Fingerprint-based Criminal History search - $93.64 (Australian Dollars) (Where fingerprints are taken in the UK)
• Name-based Criminal History search - $43.00 (Australian Dollars)
• Fingerprint and name-basedCriminal History search - $118.18 (Australian  Dollars)

Payment should be in the form of a cheque or money order (in Australian Dollars) made payable to ‘The Australian Federal Police’.  (If an applicant is to make payment by cheque, then the cheque must be issued from a bank affiliated to an Australian bank, eg. Westpac Bank, ANZ Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia etc.)

Content of certificates

A spent conviction is a conviction for either a Commonwealth, Territory, State or foreign offence which satisfies all of the following conditions:

• It is 10 years since the date of the conviction (5 five years for child offenders) The individual was not sentenced to imprisonment or was not sentenced to imprisonment for more than 30 months
• The individual has not re-offended during the 10 year (5 years for child offenders) waiting period, and
• A statutory or regulatory exclusion does not apply (A full list of exclusions is available from the Privacy Commissioner)

AFP Certificates are watermarked. However if an employer has a doubt to the validity of a particular document they can always check with the AFP.

Turnaround time

The current processing time for a routine National Police Check is approximately 15 working days from the date received by Criminal Records. Please be aware that processing times for National Police Checks may vary as the AFP is reliant on other police jurisdictions for some information.

We also recommend that you allow sufficient time for processing and return by postal services before making enquiries regarding your application.

For up-to-date information regarding turnaround times please see the AFP website (new window) .