Most companies find it necessary at some point to conduct employee screening. It helps you to verify that your prospective employees are who they say they are, know what they say they know, and have the skills and experience they claim to have. In Australia, however, as in many other countries, there is a limit to the sort of screening you can undertake on your employees, and you can get into serious trouble if you cross the line.

1. Best Employee
Screening Practices
for Australian
Companies
www.aisintl.com.au
AIS International Group

2. Most companies find it necessary at some point to
conduct employee screening. It helps you to verify
that your prospective employees are who they say
they are, know what they say they know, and have
the skills and experience they claim to have. In
Australia, however, as in many other countries,
there is a limit to the sort of screening you can
undertake on your employees, and you can get
into serious trouble if you cross the line.
So before your reference checks and education
verification efforts turn into something more and
land you in hot water, here’s what you need to
know about various kinds of screening in Australia.

3. Medical
Screening
It’s not illegal to require medical screening in
Australia in certain jobs and industries, particularly
if the job requires a specific level of health. It is
illegal, however, to discriminate against
prospective employees based on the results of
tests. As a general rule, medical screening should
be reserved for jobs where health is a factor, and
only become a reason for not hiring if the condition
of the applicant would be a direct risk to
themselves, other employees or the public.

4. Reference
Checks
Reference checks, including contacting past
employers, exploring reasons for leaving former
positions and past track records is allowed in
Australia, which can—and should—be conducted
routinely when you’re hiring. Because of the
increase in fraudulent references and other issues,
it’s usually best to hire an outside screening
agency to conduct thorough checks for key
positions.

5. Criminal
Record Checks
Criminal record checks are one area of employee
screening where Australian employers can find
themselves in a tight corner. Generally, it’s not a
good idea to enquire about any irrelevant criminal
history, or to discriminate against a candidate
based on past history that is not directly related to
the job. Although there are cases where criminal
record checks are necessary, there are many laws,
regulations and privacy restrictions, and it’s vital to
ensure you follow best practices for doing so.

6. Education
Verification
Education verification is a fairly routine aspect of
Australian employee background screening, and
can usually be performed fairly easily. The difficult
part comes when employees claim to have
qualifications from foreign or now-defunct
institutions, where a little more digging may be
required to verify that the education credentials
presented are bona fide.

7. Balancing Corporate
Needs and Legislation
Education verification is a fairly routine aspect of
Australian employee background screening, and
can usually be performed fairly easily. The difficult
part comes when employees claim to have
qualifications from foreign or now-defunct
institutions, where a little more digging may be
required to verify that the education credentials
presented are bona fide.

8. 1300 300 007
info@aisintl.com.au
Surfers Paradise, QLD, 4217, Australia
www.aisintl.com.au
Get in Touch
with Us