Criminal history checks

Australian criminal history check

When you apply for registration or permission to teach, the QCT requests an Australian criminal history check from the Queensland Police Service (QPS) or a Blue Card verification from the relevant agency if you hold a current Queensland Blue Card. This is a legislative requirement, even if you have been registered before.

The fee for the criminal history check or Blue Card verification is included in your general application fee. If the blue card agency advise us further screening is required you will need to pay a QPS fee before we can continue to process your application.

Where the QPS confirms a person has no relevant criminal history, it occurs through a secure exchange of data with the QCT. There is not a physical document which can be forwarded to you for other purposes. The QPS provides a criminal history document to the QCT only if you have criminal history. The QCT would forward this to you with an opportunity to respond, even if you have done so before. Only the date of a registered teacher’s last Australian criminal history check appears on a Certificate of Queensland Teacher Registration.

Overseas criminal history check

If you have lived in any country other than Australia for 12 months or more in the last 10 years, since the age of 18, you will need to provide a police record check from that country. The police record check needs to cover the entire time you lived in the country and show ALL names by which you are/have been known.

The QCT uses the RISQ Group as a preferred supplier for international police record checks. A unique link to their web portal will be on the confirmation submission email you receive when you submit your online application. Click on the link to take you to RISQ where you can submit information and pay a fee directly to the service provider. Results of the check will be made available to you and to the QCT by RISQ.

If you already have an international police record check or prefer to apply for one through the official channels of a particular country the following delivery methods to the QCT are acceptable:

• post the original, or a correctly certified copy of the original document
• have an electronically-issued national police record check delivered directly to the QCT by the issuing institution.

Please note that the QCT does not accept electronic delivery of a police record check via a third-party, such as the applicant for registration. Exceptions may apply in a minority of cases where it is known that a particular country will only release the document electronically to the applicant.