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National Crime Check takes all complaints very seriously and have processes in place to handle these complaints.
Complaints about check processing timeframes
National Crime Check provides the service as an accredited agency of the the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC), they are the facilitators of the National Police Checking Services (NPCS).
The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) works with Australian police agencies and Accredited Bodies such as ours here at National Crime Check to deliver the National Police Checking Service (NPCS or the Service). The Service allows people to apply for a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (check).
The NPCS facilitates over 5 million checks each year, which may result in over 7000 referrals to police each day. Resourcing constraints within all affected agencies, will also likely impact upon the ability to turn around these check results more quickly, particularly during peak periods.
The NPCS completes around 70% of police checks within minutes, providing a result back to the submitting accredited agency. The remaining 30% of checks are referred to one or more police agencies for manual processing (further manual review). When responding to concerns about timeframes, the NPCS team escalates concerns to the relevant police jurisdiction, however as there is no definitive amount of time it takes to process a police check it is always advisable to allow as much time as possible.
The ACIC is part of the Attorney-General’s portfolio and a member of the Five Eyes Law Enforcement Group. They are also part of the National Intelligence Community.
When your check is referred for further manual review, this is done by the ACIC who then manages this in partnership with the police services. National Crime Check has no control over which checks are referred and which are not. Once submitted to the National Police Checking Service, National Crime Check has NO control over how long they take to process your police check. We rely on the ACIC to manage this process in consultation and partnership with the state-based police services and they may be waiting on information from other agencies to finalise the result. The police agencies endeavour to return results in up to 10 to 12 business days, most are back in this timeframe but it is not guaranteed by them.
If you feel that your check has taken too long (past 20 business days) please contact us. You can contact us via email on support@nationalcrimecheck.com.au.
Prior to making a complaint or instigating a legal dispute it is recommended you obtain prior legal advice in relation to the Federal Government's liability in the provision of this Service.
Complaints about other aspects of the service
You can contact us via email on support@nationalcrimecheck.com.au.
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