What are background check for employment?

A background check for employment in Australia refers to the process that companies undergo to verify the person they are hiring is the individual who is claiming to be, and it provides the opportunity to check someone’s criminal record, education, employment history, credit history, bankruptcy, frauds. So, if the candidate can be trusted for the duties required for the job is applying for.

Why background checks are important for any organisation, for profit or charity?

It is important to check the candidates, especially if candidates will cover position of trust or high security, such as in schools, childcare, aged care, hospitals, courts, financial institutions, or government.

Organisations use the background checks to judge candidate’s past mistakes, characters, fitness and to identify potential risks for safety and security.

Background checks are also used to check candidate’s resume and references.

Background checks should not be used to exclude or discriminates candidates who have gone through troubles in the past, but just to make sure they can perform the job at their best. At SnowBell we think everyone deserve an opportunity, and we promote integration and inclusion as  key for the success of our community.

Background checks in Australia must be performed following the privacy laws and organisations must seek applicant’s consent.

What is included in a background check?

It can include depending on the organisation needs

• Identity verification

• Police check

• Credit check

• Reference check

• Right to work check

• Social media profiles

• Public records

What shows up in a background check for a job?

The identity verification is usually mandatory and it is the process for which the candidate is identified and gives the consent to perform the background checks on him.

Police checks for employment shows court outcomes which are related to the purpose of the job the candidate is applying for. So specifying the purpose on your police check application is really important to determine what will be disclose on the police check report.

Credit checks are usually done for positions in the financial sector. and shows the candidates financial history. You can find more information on Backy Check

Reference check is the process of checking the candidate’s references. This can be done manually from an HR department of through an automated portal.

Right to work check in countries like Australia, shows the visa status of the applicant and if someone can legally work for the job she or he is applying for.

Social media check it refer to the process of checking the social media profiles of the candidate don’t promote hate, or controversial content. Also they can double check the skills and working experience as an extra check against what is contained in the resume.

Public records are available information around the globe and can be used to check the the background of the candidate.

Where to obtain a background check?

In Australia there are public and private companies. We have partnered with AMICI Tech and their solution Backy Check provides those checks.