How long is a National Police Check valid in Australia?

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) says there is no standard timeframe that a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check result is valid for. It is a “point in time” check only: the result reflects police records on the date and time it is released. The organisation that requires the check typically decides the acceptable age, based on its own risk assessment or operational requirements.

That is why answers vary so widely in practice. A school, hospital or commercial cleaning contract might ask for a check issued in the last 3, 6 or 12 months. A professional body may set its own cycle. None of those windows is a legal “use-by” date printed by ACIC on the result itself.

ACIC also says a check is not suitable for reuse for a different purpose. A check obtained to volunteer as a sports coach, for example, cannot later be used to apply for an office job. The purpose on the application can affect what police information is released under spent-conviction laws. A later charge or conviction is also not captured on an existing result.

The 3-year rule in funded aged care

For registered providers of funded aged care services, official rules do set a validity period. The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing says all aged care workers and responsible persons (such as a CEO or board member) need either a police certificate that is not older than 3 years and does not record certain offences, or an NDIS Worker Screening Check.

The Department’s Aged Care Worker Screening Guidance Material (March 2026), which explains the requirements that commenced on 1 November 2025 under the Aged Care Act 2024 and the Aged Care Rules 2025, is explicit: “For the purpose of the Aged Care Rules, a police check is valid for three years from the date of issue and is recognised in all states and territories.”

Those requirements apply to people engaged directly by a registered provider, and also through associated providers, labour-hire agencies or digital platforms. The guidance’s examples of aged care workers include employees and contractors who deliver a funded aged care service in a residence, a community setting or a person’s home, and kitchen, cleaning, laundry, garden and office personnel employed by a registered provider to deliver that service.

The registered provider must assess the certificate for precluding offences. For most registered providers those include a conviction for murder, a conviction for sexual assault, or a conviction and imprisonment sentence for any other form of assault. Different precluding offences apply to Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) and National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Flexible Aged Care Program (NATSIFACP) providers — check the official table. Workers must notify their employer immediately if their circumstances change, and a provider must not continue to engage a person convicted of a precluding offence.

An NDIS clearance can replace the police certificate

If an aged care worker or responsible person holds an NDIS Worker Screening Clearance, the Department says they do not also need a police certificate. That clearance is valid for 5 years and is recognised across Australia, but a person can only apply for it if they work, or are seeking to work, with NDIS participants. Providers still have to verify the clearance and keep a record of it. See NDIS Worker Screening Check expiry for the renewal rules.

In South Australia, the guidance notes that an Aged Care Sector Employment Check can be issued for a responsible person or worker delivering funded aged care services in that state. A statutory declaration may also be required if the person has been a citizen or permanent resident of another country after turning 16, or will start work while a check is still pending — in which case they must also be appropriately supervised. The guidance is clear that a statutory declaration cannot replace an expired police certificate for an existing worker. A new certificate is needed.

Cleaning contracts and other host sites

Outside aged care, there is still no single national expiry. Cleaning companies that work in schools, hospitals or childcare centres should record the issue date and the refresh date the host contract, site policy or your own policy actually uses. A Working with Children Check or Queensland Blue Card is a separate clearance and does not replace a police check unless the contract says it does.

How to apply, and what to record

An application can be made by the person, or by an employer with the person’s consent, through an Australian police agency or an ACIC accredited body. The Department’s guidance says a police certificate can be printed or electronic, and must include the worker’s full name and date of birth, the date of issue, and a reference number or similar. The provider must be satisfied the certificate is genuine.

Registered aged care providers must keep records for each worker and responsible person, including the police certificate or NDIS clearance (and any statutory declaration) and the name of the supervisor who checked it, for 7 years from the day the record is made. Datesly can store the issue date, planned refresh date and reference number and remind you before it lapses. That helps your own register; it does not replace official verification or the written records the Rules require. See pricing or try the live demo.