In a loose sense, the Australian dream is a strong belief that home ownership is an excellent expression of success and security, leading to a better life. Little wonder the Australian real estate industry is worth a whopping $9.7 trillion, employing a combined workforce of over 130,000 Australians through about 46,000 real estate business networks.
Employers use a real estate background check to ensure that real estate agents and other professionals working in this industry are trustworthy and qualified. From police checks to visa checks, there are different kinds of background checks employers use to assess the suitability of candidates. And in this post, we explore some of the top employment background check providers for real estate agents in Australia.
1. Australian National Character Check – australiannationalcharactercheck.com.au (for police checks)
Australian National Character Check (ANCC) is one of the leading police check providers in Australia. National police checks online, also referred to as nationally coordinated criminal history check (NCCHC), are essential when hiring real estate agents because they reveal applicants’ criminal histories. That way, employers can adequately assess the applicant’s criminal history and determine if they pose an operational risk.
ANCC offers police checking services to individuals and businesses. The individual portal makes it easy for applicants seeking employment in the real estate industry to conduct a background check on themselves. With this result, they can adequately assess their suitability for the role. The business portal is great for hiring managers in the real estate industry. This portal allows HR managers to order bulk police checks for multiple candidates, tracking the process in real-time.
Applying for a police check with ANCC is straightforward. You need to fill out an online application form with details on your name, DOB, and address. You’ll also have to submit four acceptable means of identification documents. You’ll then have to pay the application fee. ANCC charges a base fee of $48.90 for police checks. After applying, ANCC processes your application, and the result is typically available within one day or less than ten working days.
2. Xref – https://www.xref.com (for reference checks)
Reference checks offer several benefits to real estate employers. For one, reference checks help potential employers obtain relevant information (such as the application’s strengths, weaknesses, and skills). Given that about 40% of applicants lie on their resume, reference checks help employers verify applicants’ information, such as job title, duties, responsibilities, training, and skill sets. By speaking with former co-workers and managers, employers can get a natural feel for what the applicant is like in a work setting and if they exhibit any toxic behavior, helping to identify any red flags.
Regarding reference checks, Xref is one of the leading providers in Australia. They pride themselves on their simple, convenient, secure reference check process. Their automated platform makes it easy for HR managers to manage the reference checks of multiple applicants simultaneously. Their platform includes several other features, including survey builders, automated requests, insights, people records, integrations and template builders. Through its API access, Xref provides additional checks (including qualification checks, police checks, right-to-work checks, module identity verification, and employment checks) to provide a one-stop shop for HR managers.
3. Equifax (for credit checks)
The real estate industry is very money-intensive, with transactions quickly entering tens of thousands to millions of dollars. Consequently, employee theft or fraud can be catastrophic to the customer and employer. Credit checks give insight into potential hiring, especially signs of financial distress that may indicate high fraud or theft risks.
Equifax is the biggest of the three Australian credit bureaus. They obtain information from credit providers that enable them to build a person’s credit report. If you’re seeking employment in real estate, a great strategy is to obtain your credit report to assess how it will impact your job-hunting process.
Equifax’s credit reports can contain information such as personal info, account info, and inquiries. Account info includes credit limits and balances, payment history, dates of accounts, accounts in collections, bankruptcies and more. It also provides a list of companies and lenders that have requested to view your credit report.
Real estate employers can also request for credit history check from Equifax. Equifax returns a modified credit report which doesn’t reveal your credit score but contains the information the employer needs to assess your financial risk and make the right hiring decision.
4. WorkPro (for visa checks)
Australia is a culturally diverse society with people from around the world. Hence, employers must ensure that potential hires have the legal right to work in Australia. Failure to do so can spell severe legal limitations and even hefty fines for the employer. Moreover, hiring an illegal worker poses grave security risks to Australians as they cannot be adequately traced should anything go wrong. Given the sensitivities of the real estate industry, visa checks are a fundamental part of the background check process, especially for foreign workers.
WorkPro specializes in providing right-to-work checks to employers across Australia. Through its innovative and straightforward dashboard, WorkProk makes it easy for real estate employers to check applicants’ visa conditions and work right online with instantaneous results by connecting directly to the Department of Home Affairs Entitlement Online (VEVO) database. Moreover, the system constantly updates itself from the official government to ensure that legal obligations are always met. WorkPro helps the employer to avoid compliance fines and be audit ready.
Wrap up
The Australian real estate industry is an integral part of the economy, contributing 13% to GDP. To ensure that Australians are well-protected against scams and fraud, the hiring process in the real estate sector is stringent. Potential real estate agents must undergo rigorous background checks to confirm their reliability and suitability for the role.
Several providers in Australia provide different types of police checking services. In this article, we’ve explored some of these top providers, providing more details about their services. Armed with this information, you now know all you need to conduct a background check on yourself or a potential hire.
