The types of pre-employment checks Australian businesses use when hiring new employees depend largely on the activity of that company, but there are also some screening tools every company should use. Let’s have a look at the main types of pre-employment checks Australian recruiting agents have at their disposal.

Education checks

You cannot rely on what people write on their CV as it’s well-known that job applicants tend to lie or at least embellish their qualifications. In the digital age, it’s extremely easy to get in touch with the schools people put on their resume and make sure they did in fact attend those institutions and graduated.

The same goes for scholarships or educational programs with fancy titles. You need to check up on them and see if they’re real and reliable.

Work history checks

It’s the recruiting agent’s duty to see if the work history on a candidate’s CV checks out. Contact the companies mentioned, or at least the most important of them, and see if the candidate did work there. If possible, ask in what capacity and what sort of responsibilities came with that job. At the same time, ask what sort of person the candidate is and if they were happy with their performance.

References checks

If a potential employee brings any sort of character references, do your duty and see if they’re genuine. On the other hand, if you’re not convinced a candidate is worth a shot as they have little to put on their CV, it might be a good idea to ask for some references yourself, from a former employer or teacher, for instance.

Police checks

Hiring someone new is always a risk, not only from a professional point of view, but also in terms of character. Just to be on the safe side, you should make background checks standard practice in your company. It’s a simple procedure if you use an online character check agency like Australian National Character Check (ANCC) which is accredited with the federal government, so you have the certainty that their criminal history checks are 100% reliable. 

Such agencies have access to police databases in all Australian states and territories, so if a candidate committed any offence anywhere in the country you’ll know about it. What you do with the police check it’s up to you. Some candidates are worth a shot even if they do have a criminal record, some are not.

Identity checks

It might sound weird, but identity fraud is a real problem and it’s not even a new phenomenon. With all the modern technology around, forging documents is a simple job if you have the right skills. Make a point of checking out your candidates are who they say they are.

Professional checks

Many jobs require some sort of licence. Check if the candidate for a job holds the required licence. Also see if they belong with a reputable professional organisation.

Immigration checks

When you hire a foreigner you run the risk of paying a hefty fine if it turns out they don’t have the right to work in Australia. Ask for their work permit or visa, and get in touch with the relevant authority to verify their immigration status.