Our objective was to assess whether agencies were adequately screening their employees to identify and assess criminal records, to check professional qualifications and verify an employee’s identity and right to work in Australia.

We tested a sample of 553 employees across 10 agencies to assess screening practices. Our sample included a mix of new and existing employees in the period January 2014 to June 2015.

Our lines of inquiry were:

• Do agencies have suitable policies and procedures for screening employees?
• Did agencies adequately screen new employees to verify their identity, check employment history and educational/professional qualifications, and perform risk based criminal record checking?
• Are agencies monitoring existing employees for changes in their status (new criminal convictions or discontinuance of essential qualifications)?

This was an Across Government Benchmarking Audit (AGBA), conducted under section 18 of the Auditor General Act 2006 and in accordance with Australian Auditing and Assurance Standards. AGBAs assess and benchmark agencies against common business practices to identify good practice and the types of control weaknesses and exposures that can exist so that all agencies, including those not audited, can consider their own performance.