Crime agency would keep charging for police checks
Anyone who needs a national police check for a job, volunteering or a licence pays a fee. This bill would keep that fee going under a new law. The minister would set the price. That is the Minister for Home Affairs, who looks after security, police and borders.
Official name: Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (National Policing Information Charges) Bill 2026
- National police checks would keep costing money under a new law.
- The minister would set the price, after hearing from a group of police agencies.
- Different prices could apply to different people, such as volunteers, and some could pay nothing.
- The money would go into a separate fund that pays for national police computer systems.
Who it affects
- People applying for jobs that need a police check: They would keep paying a fee for a national check of their criminal record.
- Volunteers: The minister could keep setting a different, lower price for volunteer checks.
- Police: Checks for police work could stay free, and police agencies would help suggest prices.
- Businesses and groups that arrange checks: Approved groups would keep asking for checks for the people applying, under the new law.
Police check fees need replacing
The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission is the national agency that gathers secret information on serious and organised crime. Organised crime is crime run by gangs and groups. We will call it the crime agency. It also runs the national police check system.
A national police check shows a person's past crimes from every state and territory. Bosses, charities and licence offices use these checks. They help them choose staff and volunteers. That matters most for people who work with children or people who need extra care.
The crime agency charges a fee for checks. It does this under a 2016 law with a long name, the Australian Crime Commission (National Policing Information Charges) Act.
An independent review looked at the crime agency's main law. The government now wants to rewrite that law. A partner bill does that. It is called the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission Bill 2026.
This bill replaces the 2016 fee law, so the crime agency can keep charging.
By law, this fee counts as a tax. The Constitution, Australia's founding rule book, says a law that sets a tax can only deal with that tax. That is why the fee sits in its own short bill.
The charge itself
The bill puts a fee on each request for a national criminal record check. The minister must list the kinds of checks that cost money, in a public document.
Right now the only paid check is a normal one done at one point in time. In future the crime agency might offer ongoing checks. These would send almost instant updates on a person's record over a set time. The minister could set a fee for that too.
Say you want to coach a junior football team. The club asks for a national police check. Under this bill you, or the club, would still pay the fee the minister sets.
Property owned by a state does not have to pay the fee, though a state can choose to pay.
Who sets the price
The minister would decide how much each check costs. The price list must be published as a formal rule that anyone can read.
The minister can set different prices for different kinds of checks. They can set different prices for different groups of people, including a price of zero.
Today, checks for paid jobs cost money. Checks for police work are free. Volunteer checks can have a different price. The government says this will stay the same.
Before setting prices, the minister must think about advice from the National Policing Information Committee. The partner bill sets up this group.
The group includes the crime agency, the Home Affairs department, which handles security and borders, and all federal, state and territory police. Each year it must say if prices should change.
It must aim for fees that cover what the checks really cost the crime agency. But the minister still makes the final choice.
Where the money goes
Money from the fee goes into a separate government fund. It can only be spent on national police computer systems. These systems let police share facts across state borders.
This is how the crime agency pays its own way. Fees for checks help pay for other services it gives police and governments for free.
Start date
The bill would start at the same time as the main crime agency bill. If that bill never starts, this one will not either.
The Parliamentary Library works for all MPs and takes no side. It says the start date is a bit unclear, because parts of the main bill start on different days.
It looks like the fee would start with most of the main bill. That would be on a date the government sets, or 18 months after it is signed into law at the latest.
The bill was brought into the House of Representatives on 25 March 2026. A minister spoke on its main idea that day.
Both bills were sent to a group of MPs and senators who look at spy and security matters. It is called the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. It will look into them.
The House still has to debate and pass the bill. Then the Senate, Parliament's second house, must pass it. Then the Governor-General, who stands in for the King, must sign it.
Its journey through Parliament
| 25 Mar 2026 | House of Representatives: Introduced and read a first time |
| 25 Mar 2026 | House of Representatives: Second reading moved |
| 28 Oct 2026 | House of Representatives: Second reading debate |
| 28 Oct 2026 | House of Representatives: Referred to Federation Chamber |
| 28 Oct 2026 | House of Representatives: Second reading debate |