What Is a National Police Check?

A National Police Check (NPC) — also called a National Police Certificate or police clearance — is an official document listing a person’s disclosable court outcomes from police agencies across Australia. Commonly required for: working with children (in addition to a Working With Children Check), employment in healthcare, security, government, education, aged care, and real estate, and for visa and immigration applications.

How to Apply

  1. 1

    Apply online at acic.gov.au

    Go to the ACIC website (acic.gov.au) → National Police Check → Apply Online. This is the direct government service. Alternatively, accredited bodies (Australia Post, Fit2Work, ZINC, CVCheck) also process NPC applications — same result, similar cost, sometimes slightly faster or more convenient.

  2. 2

    Complete the application form

    Provide: full legal name (and all previous names), date of birth, gender, current address and address history for the past five years, the purpose of the check (employment, volunteering, licensing etc). The purpose determines what information is disclosed on the certificate.

  3. 3

    Verify your identity (100 points)

    You must provide 100 points of identification. Common combinations: Australian passport (70 points) + Medicare card (25 points) + driver’s licence (40 points). The online process uses document verification through the Australian government’s Document Verification Service. No physical documents need to be posted.

  4. 4

    Pay and receive your certificate

    Pay $42 (ACIC direct fee) by card. Most straightforward applications return a certificate within 24–48 hours by email. Applications requiring manual review (due to name matches, complex history or international addresses) may take 15–30 business days.

National Police Check vs Working With Children CheckThese are different documents. The NPC is a general criminal history check. The Working With Children Check (WWCC) is a state-based clearance specifically for working or volunteering with children — it includes ongoing monitoring and is required in addition to an NPC for child-related work. Apply for the WWCC through your state’s relevant agency (NSW: Service NSW, Victoria: Working With Children Check, Queensland: Blue Card Services, etc).

Frequently Asked Questions

An NPC is a point-in-time document reflecting your criminal history at the date of issue — it has no official expiry date. However, employers, licensing bodies and organisations typically require an NPC less than 12 months old, sometimes less than 3 months. Check what the requesting organisation accepts. Some organisations require periodic re-checking (annually for security licences, for example).
What appears depends on the purpose of the check and the spent convictions legislation in your state or territory. Many old, minor or juvenile offences become “spent” after a crime-free period (typically 10 years for adults, 5 years for juvenile offences) and are not disclosed. More serious offences generally remain disclosable. The ACIC website provides information about spent convictions and what is typically disclosed for different check purposes.