Police Check in Western Australia: How to Apply, Fees and What Shows Up

In Western Australia, a National Police Certificate costs $66.00 (last updated 1 July 2026), can only be applied for online through WA Police Force, with no in-person police-station lodgement option, and typically arrives within minutes if no further investigation is needed.

This page covers the Western Australia layer on top of the national system, part of the wider Australia background checks coverage on this site. For how the AFP and the ACIC-coordinated National Police Checking Service fit together generally, see National Police Checks in Australia.

How to apply for a National Police Certificate in WA

WA Police Force issues the National Police Certificate (NPC), and the state does not brand a separate walk-up product the way some jurisdictions do. WA Police's own FAQ is direct about the application channel: there is no in-person option at all. Applications can only be made online, through an identity-verification flow run with Australia Post, with the finished certificate delivered to the applicant's Australia Post Secure Document Vault. That contrasts with states that let an applicant lodge in person at a police station; treat it as a genuine, WA-specific procedural difference, not an oversight.

Identity is verified against a 100-point check, and WA Police is explicit that only original documents are accepted, not copies. Primary documents worth 70 points each include an Australian birth certificate, an Australian passport, an Australian citizenship certificate, an international passport paired with a current Australian visa, and registration of descent. Secondary documents, worth 40 points for the first and 25 points for each additional one, include a driver's licence, a government employee ID, tertiary ID, a Working With Children Card, a Medicare card, and everyday documents such as utility bills and bank statements.

An applicant outside WA who cannot complete the online identity verification is directed to apply through the police force of the state or territory where they actually live, so WA's fully self-service online process is oriented toward WA residents in practice, even though the certificate itself is a national product.

Fees, as at the schedule's 1 July 2026 update

These figures come from WA Police Force's own information access fee schedule, legislated through the Police (Fees) Regulations 1981, last updated 1 July 2026. The schedule visibly moves on an annual cycle, generally each 1 July, so treat $66.00 as current as of that date and confirm the live figure on WA Police's own fee page before paying.

There is no fingerprint-based check product, and no separate fingerprint fee, for a standard applicant in WA. The NPC is a name and ID-based search. Fingerprints only come into play if an applicant later disputes information appearing on an issued certificate, and WA Police's own FAQ states that no additional fee is charged in that situation.

There is also no discount for an individual walk-up applicant. WA Police's FAQ says so directly: current fees are on the information access page, and there are no discounts or concessions available. The $17.60 VNPC rate is a separate program, not something an individual can apply for solo. It runs through a registered Western Australian volunteer-involving organisation, which handles the application on the volunteer's behalf; an unregistered organisation, or an individual without a sponsoring organisation, does not appear to have a self-serve path into that rate, though WA Police's own answer to that exact question could not be confirmed word for word in the course of this research and should be treated as inference rather than quotation.

Turnaround, and how long the certificate stays current

WA Police's own processing-times guidance states that an NPC can be delivered within minutes if it is submitted online and needs no further investigation. Where further investigation is required, for example to confirm identity, resolve a common name, or check licence, permit or other police-contact information, it can take up to 10 business days. A mailed hardcopy adds 3 to 6 business days of postage on top of that. WA Police asks applicants who have received nothing after 15 business days to get in touch, and notes it cannot reissue a certificate more than three months old.

On currency, WA Police's own wording is exact: a National Police Certificate is a point in time check, current as of its date of issue, so WA Police Force imposes no period of validity, and it is at the discretion of employers and organisations whether a certificate is current enough for their purposes. The three-month reissue limit sits alongside that statement as a practical boundary: WA Police will not vouch for currency by reissuing on request once three months have passed, even though it also declines to set a formal expiry date.

One WA-specific procedural point worth knowing: the standard NPC application form itself incorporates a request for WA Police Force to spend any eligible WA convictions. An applicant who wants that considered separately, without also applying for a fresh certificate, can instead submit a standalone spent-conviction application.

How an employer verifies a WA certificate

WA Police's own FAQ describes several built-in security features on the electronic certificate: a watermark, UV-reactive fluorescent threads, a microtype border, heat-sensitive ink images, and a scannable barcode or QR code that can be checked through the Australia Post app. That detail is worth knowing if an employer or volunteer coordinator wants to confirm a certificate presented to them is genuine, rather than a doctored copy.

What shows up, and WA's spent-convictions mechanism

The full spent-convictions mechanism, including the discretionary District Court route for a serious conviction, the non-discretionary Police Commissioner route for a lesser conviction, and the automatic lapse for a youth conviction under the Young Offenders Act 1994, already lives on Spent Convictions in Western Australia and is not repeated here.

Working With Children Check and other hand-offs

Anyone working or volunteering in a role covered by WA's child-related work laws needs a separate Working With Children Check, not a standard NPC. See Working With Children Check in WA for that regime.

Using a criminal record against you in WA employment

The WA Equal Opportunity Act 1984's own objects clause lists its protected attributes: sex, marital status, pregnancy, family responsibility or family status, race, religious or political conviction, impairment, age, and gender history, alongside separate sexual and racial harassment provisions. Criminal record, or an irrelevant criminal record, does not appear on that list.

That means a WA employer is not restrained by the state's own anti-discrimination law from declining to hire, or from taking adverse action, on the basis of an applicant's criminal record. The only avenue is the federal, conciliation-only mechanism under the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986, covered on Criminal Record and Employment Rights in Australia; this page does not restate that federal process.

International or immigration checks

Someone in WA who needs a check for an overseas visa or immigration application uses the AFP's National Police Certificate route rather than the WA Police product described above. See National Police Checks in Australia for that route.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a police check cost in Western Australia?

A standard National Police Certificate costs $66.00 including GST, as at WA Police Force's fee schedule update of 1 July 2026. The Volunteer National Police Certificate, available only through a registered sponsoring organisation, costs $17.60. Confirm the live figure on WA Police's own fee page, since it moves roughly annually.

Can I apply for a police check at a WA police station?

No. WA Police Force's own FAQ is explicit that applications can only be made online, through an Australia Post identity-verification process, with no in-person lodgement option at a police station.

How long does a WA National Police Certificate take?

Within minutes if it is submitted online and needs no further investigation. If further investigation is required, for example to confirm identity or resolve a common name, it can take up to 10 business days, plus 3 to 6 business days postage for a mailed hardcopy. Contact WA Police if nothing has arrived after 15 business days.

Does a WA National Police Certificate expire?

WA Police describes it as a point in time check with no formal period of validity, leaving currency to the discretion of the requesting employer or organisation. WA Police will not, however, reissue a certificate that is more than three months old.

Is there a fingerprint check option in WA?

Not for a standard applicant. The NPC is a name and ID-based search. Fingerprints are only taken if an issued certificate is later disputed, and WA Police charges no additional fee in that situation.

Can I be discriminated against for a criminal record in Western Australia?

The WA Equal Opportunity Act 1984 does not list criminal record among its protected attributes, so there is no direct ground under state law. The only avenue is the federal, conciliation-only mechanism under the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986.