A background check is a cohesive investigation process that investigates (or “vets”) an individual’s background, in order to uncover undisclosed information such as criminal, commercial or financial records. Further, these checks can help to verify employee information, such as licences and certifications, and education.

As employers are legally liable for what occurs in the workplace, background checks are often conducted before a job offer in order to ensure the suitability of a certain candidate for a role. The background check process should be communicated to applicants in order to ensure consent.

Background checks are important for multiple reasons, however primarily, they help organisations to ensure safety practices by verifying the information on job applications in order to minimise the potential for criminal activity, violence, or workplace harassment.

Background checks can be used to verify a variety of information, including criminal records, credit checks, identity checks, personal and professional references, certification, training and education checks, and illicit substance use checks. The information that appears on background check reports should always be strictly applicable to the role or capacity to undertake the role.

While it is not necessary to get all required information from an application, the background check process should be clearly communicated in order to ensure consent. The amount of information needed is dependent on the kind of check that your organisation wishes to undertake, however should be able to be conducted with information from an applicant’s resume, forms and application.

A Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (NCCHC) will show all of the Disclosable Court Outcomes (DCOs) of any one person. DCOs are legal outcomes that result in a conviction including sexual and violent offences, traffic offences, penitentiary sentences, guilty convictions, and pending court cases

An AFP check, or Australian Federal Police check, is a process conducted by the Australian Federal Police. In this process an individual’s details are compared with a central index of names to determine if the individual;s information aligns with the AFP’s historical information. This check will further confirm if there is any information that needs to be disclosed such as a past conviction.

This process can occur when applying for certain roles or volunteer positions, working with children or vulnerable individuals, applying for a visa or overseas employment and applying for Australian residency or citizenship.

There is not a formal difference between an NCCHC and an AFP. In 2018 the Australian government decided that background checks should be referenced as NCCHC, however the information contained during these checks has not changed.

There are multiple red flags that could appear on a report; past criminal convictions, industry specific criminal charges, illegal working status, and so on.

An example of a red flag in a report would be an undisclosed criminal proceeding that affects a candidate’s ability to safely undertake the tasks required for a role. For example: Your organisation has undertaken an NCCHC for a potential candidate who would work in a position with vulnerable individuals. The NCCHC comes back indicating that they have an undisclosed conviction for assault. This may indicate that they cannot safely meet the requirements to work with vulnerable individuals.

In Australia a DCO cannot automatically disqualify a candidate from a role in some cases. It is against the law to discriminate against an individual based on their criminal record, if that record indicates that their crime was unrelated to the role or sector they have applied for. An employer must establish that a potential employee’s criminal history would directly impact their ability to safely undertake the role.

A financial probity check, or FPC, is an investigation that aims to discover the financial background of an individual in order to understand whether they meet the necessary criteria to work within a certain industry, such as finance and banking.

FPCs are important for organisations, as they help to ensure that your business and all employees meet the regulations and laws of the industry in which it operates. Further, it protects your business from fraudulent behaviours, thus minimising financial and people risk.

These three checks – Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Counter-Terrosim Financing Rules (CTF) and Global Official List (Sanctions) – are used to assist organisations in identifying potential safety and security risks of individuals. These risks could include involvement in past financial crimes, terrorism or terrorism financing, wanted criminals, or politically exposed persons.

While it is important for any organisation to conduct a background check, it is vital for high risk organisations to assess the need for AML, CTF or Sanctions checks. These specific background checks are often required under AML/CTF legislation for businesses working in the financial, gambling or bullion dealing sectors in Australia.