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Victoria boasts of vegetation, minerals, water and tourist resources, establishing stable job opportunities and a thriving economy. The employment rate in Victoria is 95.2 per cent, with major contributors being the education, digital technology, manufacturing, professional service, retail, tourism, food and telecommunication industries. A police check is a must for many employments and official processes these days. A police check online in Victoria is used to verify the applicant’s employment, education, credit, and criminal history.
What Are Criminal Records?
An applicant gets a criminal conviction when charged with an offence, especially involving theft/robbery, driving under the influence of alcohol, vandalism, offensive language etc. Generally, criminal records do not stay for life. The offence will appear in the Victoria Police Check record for 10-years post, which is considered “spent”. Spent criminal convictions do not generally appear in the police check. More serious offences involve possession and usage of illegal drugs, murder, rape and assault that can be a part of the criminal record which will never be ‘spent’. Some industries and companies in Australia do not hire individuals who have convictions related to their fields.
How to Be Employable with a Criminal Conviction?
Fear of exposure and not finding employment is one of the most common traits in applicants with a criminal history. However, having a criminal record in the police check online in Victoria does not necessarily need to be a barrier to finding a dream job, especially if they are honest about it. Here are a few hurdles that applicants can overcome during job hunting and the interview process.
Employers Do Not Require Perfectly Clean Records
The primary aim is to hire an individual who is qualified, can perform the job well, fit the team and turn up on time. Many companies are willing to overlook the minor errors that one might have committed years ago as long as they are convinced that the applicant has changed and fulfilled the criteria mentioned above. It helps the applicants with their case if they are upfront about the record and explain the circumstances to the employers. Applicants can also focus on what they have learnt from the experience, how they have made an effort to change and the capabilities they now have to make them a valuable addition to the company. Here’s a list of the best background check services.
Dealing with Spent Convictions
In Australia, convictions over 10-years are considered ‘spent’, and they generally do not appear in the police checks. It provides applicants with the right not to disclose their offences to potential employers, as it no longer exists in the record. However, one must disclose their criminal convictions in some exceptional cases. For example, if the applicant is being hired to work with the national security, law enforcement or children, they must disclose past relevant criminal history.
Be Honest and Gain Credibility
Employers look for potential employees who are reliable and credible. While applying for a job, it benefits the applicant, to be honest about their non-spent criminal records despite running a police check. To lie is hardly the best way to begin a relationship with an employer or a company. Disclosing prior convictions to the hirer and reassuring them builds trust in the employers. One would not have to worry about being discovered in the future and breaking the trust or facing the consequences.
Police Checks and Disclosure Must be Job-Relevant
The privacy and anti-discrimination law enforce the rule of police checks to be relevant to the job. Employers cannot request police checks without the consent of the potential employee. Some states and companies have specific rules against having offences that applicants must disclose during the hiring process to ensure transparency and safety. Such online police checks help in efficient screening and enables quicker recruitment of worthy candidates.
