Here are some alternative methods you may use to complete your police check. Please be aware that there are risks in sending information including copies of your identification via unsecured methods.

Slower

Email your documentation including certified photocopies of your ID to :[email protected]

Applications will be evaluated by our consultants before they are approved for processing.

Slowest

Mail this document and certified photocopies of your ID by registered mail to:

P.O. Box 611 Moonee Ponds, Vic 3039.

Documentation may take up to 2 days to reach us by post.

Certification of true copies can be carried out by:

• Justice of the peace
• A currently Registered Nurse
• Accountants - member of a recognised professional accounting body or a Registered Tax Agent
• Manager of a bank or credit union, other than managers of Bank Travel Centres
• Barrister, Solicitor or Patent Attorney
• Police Officer at a local police station
• Postal Manager or at Selected Australia Post Outlets
• Principal of an Australian Secondary College, High School or Primary School
• Registered Pharmacist
• Medical Practitioner
• Dentist
• Chiropractor
• Physiotherapist
• Veterinary Surgeon
• Optometrist
• Member of Engineers Australia - Other than at the grade of student

For a complete list of individuals who can certify your documentation please visit Australasian Legal Information Institute

The Certifying Person must:

• Write on the copy "This is a true copy of the original documents sighted by me"
• Sign and print their name
• State their profession or occupation group
• Write on the copy the date certified
• List the appropriate registration number; and
• Affix the official stamp or seal of the certifier's organisation on the copy (if available).

Photocopies of previously certified documents will not be accepted. The PharmacyID takes no responsibility for the failure to supply certified ID.

PharmacyID has been designed to eliminate the risk of someone stealing your identity and reduce the risk and inconvenience of copying your ID documents and then hunting around for someone to certify. Sending through the postal service can take a great deal of time and risks inteception by criminals. Your local trusted PharmacyID member can verify your identity quickly and securely by checking your original ID documents. No more copies and no waiting for the mail.

The Short Answer

75% of our police checks are returned within the hour whilst the remaining 25% can take anywhere between 2 - 20 business days to be completed and returned.

The Long Answer

Prior to Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) being formed, all police checks were State based only. Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) was formed to bring together police records from all the State and Territory Police Forces. The Chief Commissioners of the Police Forces are directors of Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC). The police records that Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) holds are the names and dates of birth of everyone who has a criminal conviction with any of the police forces. These records are held on what is known as the National Names Index (NNI). When a police check is conducted, the NNI is interrogated to see if there is a match between the applicant and a NNI record. When the NNI is interrogated, it also cross checks different spellings of the applicants name. For instance if the application is in the name Geoff Patterson, it will check all the spellings of both names, i.e. Geoffrey, Jeffrey, Jeff, Geoff and Patterson, Paterson, Pattision etc. If there is a match on the NNI, the check will be sent to the police force that holds the record and a manual search of the records will be conducted to ensure that the applicant and the record held are for one and the same person and, if there is a criminal record, whether the criminal record will be released. Release of the record will be dependent upon Spent Conviction legislation or protocols and it will also depend on the type of check conducted. i.e. an Aged Care check may return more criminal history than an ordinary check. Obviously then, a person with a common name will be more likely to match a NNI record than a person with an unusual name.

Police check applications cost $66.00 including GST and must be paid for online using a Credit Card.

Your employer may use our Lookup Tool to verify your existing police check. They may only be checked within 12 months of the certificate creation.

The police check results are dependent upon entering correct details of the Occupation and Purpose for the check. For example, more criminal history details are released by police if the purpose is working unsupervised in an Aged Care facility, than if you are working as an assistant in a grocery store. Full details of the occupation and purpose are critical in ensuring that you have the correct police check. Failure to properly disclose these details will render the police check invalid.

ACIC recommends that police checks are not transferable as they are only a “point in time” check. Changing employers therefore requires that a new police check be completed.

PharmacyID is an online service and do not provide an ‘over the counter’ service. The PharmacyID member pharmacy will check your required identity documents and submit your check but cannot begin your application.

Police checks are a point in time check and should not be relied upon for an unreasonable amount of time for this purpose. Legislative requirements differ in regard to how long a police check can be used. For example, in the Aged Care industry, a police check is valid for three years, after which time it must be renewed. N.B. ACIC recommends that police checks are not transferable as they are only a “point in time” check. Changing employers therefore requires that a new police check be completed.

The Working with Children Check and the Aged /Vulnerable/Children police check are the same police checks, however the WWC check includes additional background screening. Therefore a WWC must be applied for separately.

Yes. Our consultants are available Monday to Friday 8.00am to 6.00pm and 9.00am to 5.00pm on weekends on 03 9379 3383.