Criminal Background Checks for Employment

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Not All Criminal Records Checks Are Created Equal

Sterling helps employers to make safer hiring decisions. Whether your hiring program is Australia-focused or you’re looking to extend your recruitment strategy to reach the global talent pool and onboard international candidates, getting a clear and complete picture of an applicant’s criminal history can be quite complex. We use a combination of robust solutions leveraging the latest technology and automation to:

  • Deliver fast, accurate criminal records check results via secure, simplified, and streamlined experiences;
  • Increase results accuracy with an identity-first approach to capture improved candidate data, accelerate hiring, and achieve more accurate results;
  • Help you to effectively manage risk with our technology-enabled compliance tools.
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Global Reach, Local Knowledge

Depending on the country in question and the agency conducting the criminal record check, any associated service will vary. Sterling works closely with national organisations as well as a wealth of other global protection authorities, ensuring we are perfectly positioned to offer the appropriate level of criminal record check for any employment position located anywhere in the world.

When it comes to criminal checks, our dedicated team of experts will assist in determining the appropriate level of criminal record check for your candidates and will help to ensure the correct candidate information is captured to mitigate processing delays.

What is a Criminal Record Check?

A criminal record check is a crucial step towards a robust employment screening program for many organisations. This is particularly the case when a role involves working with vulnerable populations or positions of trust, and may include roles within education, healthcare, financial services, and government organisations, amongst others.

After Right to Work checks, which are obligatory for all Australian employers, the criminal record check is the most commonly performed background check. There are different levels of criminal record checks and related services available to employers in the ANZ region.

Sterling is an ACIC Accredited Body. Contact us to find out how we can support your hiring needs.

International Criminal Record Searches

Sterling is able to provide international Criminal Record Searches, where available and legally compliant. The process, turnaround time, and cost will vary depending on the jurisdiction.

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Old Convictions

Each state in Australia has different laws when it comes to old convictions, also known as ‘spent convictions.’ Under spent conviction laws, employees and job applicants don’t always have to disclose old convictions to anyone unless the law specifically requires them to.

In certain cases, old convictions must be disclosed, such as when applying for a blue card.

Police will not give an employer information about a spent conviction unless they are legally required to do so.

If an employer finds out about a spent conviction by other means, such as word of mouth, they are not allowed to consider that information as part of the hiring decision process.

Find out about criminal records, including examples of spent convictions in Australia here.

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Why is Identity Verification Essential to Improve Background Check Accuracy?

Sterling's Identity Verification is designed to improve criminal background check services by verifying your candidate's identity and collecting more accurate candidate data before initiating the criminal background check for employment.
What does a thorough background check encompass, and how are our background check services different? Sterling’s background check services are designed for today’s modern global workforce. Our robust suite of background screening services can be tailored to fit your specific business needs and hiring requirements.
Based on the candidate’s address history in the last three years or more, Sterling is able to run a criminal records search, or a best practice equivalent, in almost every country of the world. The process, turnaround time, and cost will vary depending on the jurisdiction. The Global Criminal Search is for records in countries based on the candidate’s self-disclosed address history, and may include various levels of courts, police records, or other sources of information. Records are reported in accordance with regional and local laws and regulations. Major coverage areas include Asia Pacific (APAC), Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
The Global Sanctions Search examines millions of records worldwide sourced from foreign governments, courts, regulatory enforcement, law enforcement agencies, and other public and proprietary data sources around the globe. Data sources are subject to availability and applicable reporting restrictions. This search reviews restriction, sanction, and exclusion records maintained by Australian and international legal and regulatory enforcement organisations and public sources., The search accesses sources containing information from 1,700+ watchlists and sanctions with 4+ million records, as well as Politically Exposed Persons (PEP).

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