Key changes are as follows: 

1. Identity documents are reduced from 4 plus a Linkage of Identity to 3 plus a Linkage of Identity 
2. A 'Customer' cannot share the Police Check Certificate with a third party (even with the applicants consent) 
3. A Customer can only administer checks on their own or prospective employees 
4. A parent/guardian will need to provide a Linkage of Identity,  not just a signature and date for an individual who is under the age of 18

A candidate can purchase their own check in WorkPro if the option is configured on your WorkPro account. Once the check is finalised, the result and certificate is securely stored in the candidate's profile, and is in their control. The certificate will be removed after 90 days.

Regardless of who pays for the check, a copy of the certificate will always be securely stored in the candidate’s WorkPro profile. It will be removed from visibility after 90 days. You will have visibility of the check in your WorkPro dashboard once the check is finalised.

Under the Agreement the transfer and storage of personal or police information offshore is not permissible, except in very specific circumstances; and only after written approval by the ACIC has been provided.

There are limited circumstances that WorkPro may transfer personal or police information outside of Australia, without ACIC approval.

The offshore storage of Personal Information or Police Information will not be permitted in any circumstance; and will not be approved by the ACIC.

No,  the new Terms do not apply to AFP checks, including sharing of an outcome.

The ACIC permits the transfer of data by an Accredited Body located in Australia when requested by an individual who is located outside of Australia at the time of applying to the Service for a NCCHC. 

No. In fact because of WorkPro's digital identity solution, we are confident that we can reduce the time taken to process and finalise a police check.

No, nothing changes if you are requesting Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Checks (NCCHC) for your own employees. You can continue to operate as you have been.

The ACIC require you to be specific when entering the purpose and detail for a police check as it is taken in to consideration when an applicant's details match police information found in the database, and in determining what information can be released in accordance with the State/Territory spent convictions legislation. Police agencies also use the 'purpose' of the check to further support what information can be released, and it can affect the disclosure decisions made by police partners.

Best practice examples: 

Pick/pack, Adidas, Parramatta, NSW

Aged Care Support Worker, Facility ABC, Strathfield, NSW

Data entry, Datacom, Home Address, VIC

Courier Driver, Transportation, Sydney, NSW

Under the new Access Agreement, staffing and labour hire companies can request police checks on their own or prospective employees/candidates prior to or while they are employed with the company, however, they are not permitted to provide a copy of the certificate to third parties, except where required by law. ACIC's reasoning for this change is due to the perceived 'oversharing' of certificates over a period of time where the NCCHC outcome could not be relied upon, without the candidate's consent or visibility of that sharing.

You cannot share the police certificate or give it to the client for their records, nor share the outcome of the check. The candidate is provided a copy of their check in their secure WorkPro account.

You are not allowed to share a copy of the police check certificate, nor provide the outcome of the check, even with the candidate’s consent. You can advise that a check was completed.

You can provide a third party with the link that is published on the WorkPro police check certificate to authenticate that a check has been completed.

https://my.workpro.com.au/verifypc#/

You are not permitted to share a copy of the certificate with a third party. The candidate possesses a copy of the completed check in their secure WorkPro profile.

You can provide a third party with the verification link shown on the WorkPro certificate to authenticate that a check exists.

'By Law' as it relates to sharing a certificate, is as directed as part of a legal case, or regulatory requirement. This does not include sharing because it is incorporated in a Client Contract.

All organisations are impacted by the new changes. Staffing and labour hire companies are not able to 'on-disclose' a Certificate to a client or the outcome, and can only administer checks on prospective/existing employees.

If a workforce management (including payroll) company is employing the person, e.g. an independent contractor, and they are working on site for the company's client, then they are the employee and therefore can process Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Checks (NCCHC).

If you are administering checks on your own staff, there is no change. If you are managing a permanent placement role for a client, then you will need to explain the new ACIC arrangements to your client and either have them utilise WorkPro, or your client may become accredited with the ACIC. For workers being placed on site, you are not able to share a copy of the Certificate, nor share the outcome.  

It is important to note that a police check is completed for particular purpose, e.g role, workplace, location, and on this basis, police agencies do take this in to consideration when determining whether criminal history is released as part of a check. This includes the application of a Spent Convictions Scheme.

The requirements to become accredited are stringent and the first step is consider the elements included here. Of particular attention is your anticipated annual volume, the access provided by ACIC to the national criminal database, how you securely manage the collection, vetting, storage and destruction elements, along with candidate support. 

We cannot answer this question as we are not the accrediting body. You can find out more here.

If you are engaging an independent contractor, and you are paying an independent contractor, nothing changes and you can continue to operate as you have been.

No, nothing changes. If you are requesting Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Checks (NCCHC) for your own employees you can continue to administer police checks.

If you are managing an entire recruitment process for a customer as part of their team, and have an email associated with that customer to administer Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Checks, there is no change and you can continue to administer Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Checks.

If you are intending to become accredited by the ACIC, there are many additional costs and requirements that you will need to adhere to. You can find out more here.

Yes, if the candidate pays for their own Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (NCCHC), it is their property and they are in control of who they share it with. 

Your current integration with the ATS/CRM platform will not be impacted.

We are expecting the ACIC to be targeting accredited agencies to be audited early 2025 to ensure we are adhering to the new requirements and they will work with us to correct as necessary.

Should you continue to process Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Checks via WorkPro, WorkPro will ensure that all relevant compliance practices are upheld in processing the NCCHC. If you are processing Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Checks separately outside of WorkPro, it is advisable to remain up to date with all ACIC news and industry releases.

Advise your client that following an extensive consultation process, and user feedback, ACIC made the decision to alter who and how Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Checks (NCCHC) and a new Agreement was introduced in January 2025.

Amongst a range of changes includes the adjustment whereby companies are only able to conduct police checks on their own/prospective employees and they cannot share the outcome of a check with a third party, even with candidate consent.

Part of the changes is reducing the number of parties who are privy to a candidate's background as they have no responsibility for the individual nor employing them.

ACIC have not supplied any formal communication advising of the new requirement in a format that is shareable. The change was communicated in their newsletter, distributed to Accredited Agencies. You may of course share this webpage with your clients.

It is important for everyone to protect an individual's identity and their personal data. This includes ensuring that criminal history information is only able to be viewed by those that 'need to know' as part of an employment process. WorkPro, as an ACIC Accredited Agency, is committed to protecting its users' personal data. This change reduces the number of people with visibility to an individual's criminal history.

If the candidate is applying for a permanent role via a staffing agency, and needs to complete other WorkPro tasks such as probity checks, the candidate will be sent two invitations - one from the staffing agency for certain tasks, and the other from the prospective employer directly. The candidate will be able to log in and use the Tokens provided by both companies to fulfil the requirement. 

In all cases, the candidate possesses a copy of their police check in their secure WorkPro profile. It is removed from visibility after 90 days.

You can provide WorkPro's verification link that confirms the check was completed - https://my.workpro.com.au/verifypc#/

You are not able to share a copy of the certificate, nor the outcome.

You can conduct a police check for your prospective employee who may be a temporary worker and you are placing at a host site. If the worker transitions to permanent employment at a host employer, the host employer will need to complete a new police check as they will be the new employer.