Overview
If you are aged 18 years or over, you must be of good character to be eligible for Australian citizenship.
Good character refers to the enduring moral qualities of a person. When assessing this, we consider if you are likely to:
- uphold and obey Australian laws
- meet the responsibilities of Australian citizenship.
You may be required to provide penal clearance certificates for countries you have lived in or visited outside Australia since turning 18 years of age.
In some circumstances, we cannot approve a citizenship application, regardless of age. This may apply where there are serious criminal matters or offences.
National Police Checking Service (NPCS)
The National Police Checking Service (NPCS) is delivered by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) in partnership with Australian police agencies.
Through the NPCS, a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (NCCHC) is conducted. This is an important part of assessing your citizenship application.
As part of this process, we may share information from your application with relevant police agencies, including:
- Australian Federal Police
- New South Wales Police Force
- Victoria Police
- Queensland Police Service
- South Australia Police
- Western Australia Police Force
- Tasmania Police
- Northern Territory Police Force
By signing the NPCS consent section in your citizenship application (either online or paper), you agree to:
- allow police agencies to access your records to obtain your criminal history
- allow those agencies to share relevant information with us, in line with applicable laws disclosure policies.
Criminal history information may include:
- court outcomes and convictions
- pending charges
- spent convictions (where permitted by law)
- good behaviour bonds or other court orders
- matters awaiting court hearing
- traffic offences
- other relevant police-held information.
Having a criminal record does not automatically mean you will not meet the good character requirement.
We assess each application on its individual circumstances. It is important that you provide complete and accurate information in your application.
You have the right to dispute your police check result if you believe it is incorrect. For further information, see ACIC Appeals and disputes.
