Which Australian sectors require police checks for registration and licensing?

If you’re new to the job market and it’s the first time you’re considering applying for a position, you might be surprised to hear you will have to undergo a police check. Not all businesses require them but there’s been a marked increase in the number of companies doing this as a safety precaution, to protect their organisations against the risk of hiring a past offender. However, there are certain sectors for which such background checks are mandated by law.

Jobs that require a police check for licensing and registration

Police checks are mandatory for people who will be working with children or vulnerable people, such as the elderly or sick persons.

For professions such as teachers, healthcare professionals, people working in childcare or care for the elderly, you will have to undergo a national police check before being offered the job. Also, people seeking employment in correctional facilities will obviously need a clean criminal record. In many instances, transport sectors also need criminal history checks, for example, to drive a taxi in canberra, you will need to apply for the working with vulnerable people registration.

You might find it surprising that police checks are a must if you want to work in sectors such as real-estate, constructions, vehicle dealers, office administration or even management personnel. Under Australian law, any person that will gain a position of trust along with the job must submit to a full background check. Government employees, legal and financial services workers are required to undergo background checks. 

Police checks are also needed for those who want to work in the mining sectors, mostly because it’s a type of job that might offer access to dangerous explosives.

Other jobs that require a police check include public vehicle drivers such as taxi drivers, bus drivers and rideshare drivers, gaming licence holders, liquor sellers or pawn brokers.

Also, for any job in the security sector, from unarmed bodyguard to armed security guard you need to obtain a license which can only be granted after a national police check.

Can you still get a job with a criminal record?

There are many regulations meant to help those with past convictions to change their lives and gain meaningful employment. 

For instance, under Australian law, you are not required to disclose your criminal record during a job interview, unless there’s a specific requirement by law to do so and this only refers to a few sensitive sectors, where a clean record is an absolute must. At the same time, you must keep in mind that minor offences committed more than 10 years ago generally fall under the spent convictions scheme.

If you’re not sure what an employer might discover in your criminal record, you can easily order a national police check australia yourself, by using the services of an online accredited agency. Many businesses work with such agencies these days so if you’re going to get the job you will need such a check anyway. The results come back in 2-3 business days and are 100% accurate combining information obtained from the police databases in all Australian states and territories. 

Having a criminal offence on your record does not automatically mean you cannot obtain a certain job as there are laws to combat discrimination based on a criminal record.