Is a police check from one state accepted in another?

Yes. A check requested via any state or territory page is accepted by employers and organisations anywhere in Australia, with one exception: the Australian Capital Territory.

What varies between states if the certificate is the same?

What can differ is which convictions become 'spent' and stop appearing on a check. This is set by each state's own spent convictions legislation, not by which page was used to apply.

Police Check by State — VIC, NSW, QLD, SA, WA, TAS, NT | Worker Checks

All States & Territories

One national police check. Every state and territory.

Q: Does the police check differ depending on which state's page I apply from?

No. Every state and territory page returns the same Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check, drawn from the same national database. The certificate is identical regardless of which page you used to apply.

Q: Can ACT residents get their police check through Worker Checks?

No. Residents of the Australian Capital Territory and Jervis Bay Territory are required to obtain their police check through the Australian Federal Police (AFP) rather than an ACIC-accredited provider like Worker Checks.

Whichever state you search for, you’ll get the same Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check — recognised everywhere in Australia, processed 100% online.

80%

returned within
1–3 minutes

national database,
every state

ACIC

accredited
screening body

Choose your state or territory

Same check, same accreditation, same speed

Pick where you’re applying from for state-specific notes on spent convictions and local requirements — the certificate itself is identical no matter which page you start from.

VIC

Victoria

Pending charges generally don’t appear on standard employment checks.

Get your VIC check →

NSW

New South Wales

Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, or anywhere else in NSW.

Get your NSW check →

QLD

Queensland

Spent convictions rules follow the convicting state, not where you live now.

Get your QLD check →

Western Australia

Convictions don’t become spent automatically — you must apply.

Get your WA clearance →

South Australia

Accurate spelling and spacing of your details matters for a clean match.

Get your SA clearance →

TAS

Tasmania

Vulnerable-sector roles may also need separate RWVP registration.

Get your TAS check →

Northern Territory

Sentences over 6 months can never become spent under NT law.

Get your NT check →

ACT

Australian Capital Territory

ACT residents need an AFP-issued check, not an NCCHC. See which check you need →

A note on the ACT Residents of the Australian Capital Territory and Jervis Bay Territory are required to obtain their police check through the Australian Federal Police (AFP) rather than an ACIC-accredited provider like Worker Checks. If you live in the ACT, see Which Police Check Do I Need? for how to apply through the AFP directly.

Why it doesn’t matter which page you pick

It’s one national check, not eight different products

Same database

Every state and territory page returns a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check drawn from the same national criminal history database — not a state-specific record.

Same certificate

The certificate you receive looks identical and carries the same legal weight, whether you applied from the VIC page, the NSW page, or any other.

Different rules, same database

What can differ by state is which convictions become “spent” and stop appearing — that’s set by each state’s own legislation, not by which Worker Checks page you used to apply.

One exception: the ACT

A check from any of the 7 pages above is accepted across every other state and territory. The one exception is the ACT itself — residents there need an AFP-issued check rather than an NCCHC from an accredited provider like Worker Checks.

Not sure which state to pick? It doesn’t matter.

Skip the state selection entirely and start your national police check directly — 100% online, ACIC-accredited, recognised everywhere in Australia.

Start Your Check →

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One national police check. Every state and territory.

Same check, same accreditation, same speed

It’s one national check, not eight different products

Not sure which state to pick? It doesn’t matter.

👥 Need Police Checks for Multiple Workers?

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