Police Check in ACT: How to Apply, Fees and the Fingerprint Booking Fork

In the ACT, there is no separate territory police check: applicants use the Australian Federal Police's National Police Certificate, for $56.00 standard or $113.00 with fingerprints, the same national product used everywhere outside a state-accredited pathway.

The Check Is the AFP's National Police Certificate, Not a Territory Product

ACT Policing is the Australian Federal Police's community policing arm for the Territory, not a separate state-style force, so there is no ACT-branded national police check product. Applicants use the same AFP National Police Certificate (NPC) used for Commonwealth and general purposes elsewhere, for $56.00 standard or $113.00 with a fingerprint check, plus a payment processing surcharge on online payments. Applications run online for name-based checks, or by post whenever fingerprints are requested, addressed to Australian Federal Police, Criminal Records, Locked Bag 8550, Canberra City ACT 2601. A minimum 100 points of identity documents is required. For the AFP's full process and fee detail, see the the Australia background checks hub and national police check overview; this page covers only what differs for ACT applicants.

Fingerprint Bookings: Access Canberra vs ACT Policing, and the Unresolved $26.00 Fee

The one genuine ACT-specific step is where fingerprints get taken. The AFP directs ACT residents booking fingerprints for any ACT security licence to Access Canberra (13 22 81). For every other fingerprint purpose, including immigration checks, overseas passports, gaming licences, Casino Canberra and employment verification, applicants book through ACT Policing's own platform at bookings.police.act.gov.au, at City Police Station, Woden Police Station or Winchester Police Centre, with photo ID and, for an under-18 applicant, a parent or guardian present. ACT Policing charges $26.00 per applicant, paid by card, for the appointment itself. Neither the AFP's page nor ACT Policing's own page states whether this $26.00 is additional to the AFP's $113.00 fingerprint-check total or charged on a different basis. Treat the combined cost as unconfirmed and check with ACT Policing before budgeting for a fingerprint-based application.

Turnaround

The AFP states it completes and posts most certificates within 48 hours of receiving a postal application, and that most digital certificates for online, non-fingerprint applications arrive within a few days. Fingerprint-based checks take between 15 and 30 business days. A certificate is valid from the application date and will not record court outcomes that occur afterward; the AFP does not itself set an expiry, so how long a requesting organisation will accept it as current is up to that organisation.

Using an Irrelevant Criminal Record Against You in the ACT

The Discrimination Act 1991 (ACT) lists an 'irrelevant criminal record' as its own protected attribute at s7(1)(k), defined broadly enough to cover an unresolved charge, an acquittal, a quashed conviction, an infringement notice, a conviction not directly relevant to the situation, and both spent and extinguished convictions under the Spent Convictions Act 2000 (ACT). The ACT Human Rights Commission enforces this through its own discrimination-complaint process, applying to ACT-regulated employment generally, a materially stronger route than the federal Australian Human Rights Commission's non-binding conciliation process described on criminal record and employment rights in Australia. It remains lawful to be asked for criminal history when applying for registration under the Working with Vulnerable People (Background Checking) Act 2011 (ACT); see the WWVP-ACT page for that scheme.

Spent Convictions and International Checks

An ACT certificate is filtered by the Spent Convictions Act 2000 (ACT); see spent convictions in the ACT for the waiting periods and the stricter permanent-exclusion threshold. International or immigration checks run through the AFP, the same national process covered on the national police check overview; there is no separate ACT step.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a separate ACT police check, or does everyone use the AFP?

ACT residents use the AFP's National Police Certificate, the same national product used across Australia for Commonwealth and general purposes; no separate ACT-branded product exists.

How much does a police check cost in the ACT?

$56.00 standard, or $113.00 total where fingerprints are required, the AFP's national fee schedule with no ACT-specific variant.

Do I pay extra for fingerprinting in the ACT?

ACT Policing charges $26.00 per applicant for the in-person fingerprinting appointment itself, separate from the AFP's processing fee. Whether this adds to the AFP's $113.00 fingerprint total is not confirmed by either agency.

How long does an ACT police check take?

Most postal applications are completed and posted within 48 hours of receipt; most online, non-fingerprint applications arrive within a few days; fingerprint-based applications take 15 to 30 business days.

Can an ACT employer hold a spent conviction against me?

Generally no. The Discrimination Act 1991 (ACT) makes an irrelevant criminal record, including a spent or extinguished conviction, its own protected attribute under s7(1)(k), enforceable through the ACT Human Rights Commission.