Victoria Police Check Appointment

[willandnaz 0]

Hi everyone, I just have a couple questions about the national police check. We are due to receive packet 3 any day now and are rushing to get everything done. Unfortunately, we have left the police check until now, not knowing how long it would take. I spent some time reading some threads about it yesterday and was under the impression that there were a number of local police stations that could do fingerprints. Some people even said that you could go to a regional station if the Melbourne ones didn't have any available upcoming appointments. However, on the Victoria police website it lists the World Trade Centre as the only place to get fingerprints done. The soonest available appointment is on December 4th, which I have accepted and is relatively soon considering how late we are doing this, but I was hoping to have it done much sooner. I asked them if I could book an appointment at a regional office but they said that you have to live in the regional area to have an appointment booked there. Is it true that I can't get fingerprints done anywhere but at the World Trade Centre and that I can't go to a regional station? Perhaps the information I read on here was outdated, but I swear some of it was from this year or the last. Also, approximately how long did it take for you to get your certificate and is there any way to expedite it? Any information at all would be a huge help. Thank you!

[Lainie B 465]

Mine took about 5 working days. Pretty fast.

If you keep calling you might be able to get an earlier appointment at the WTC. When I called the first time the earliest was 3 weeks away. I called again and suddenly they had 3 appointments available for the next day.

Edited November 18, 2013 by Lainie B

[J and P 2]

Hi everyone, I just have a couple questions about the national police check. We are due to receive packet 3 any day now and are rushing to get everything done. Unfortunately, we have left the police check until now, not knowing how long it would take. I spent some time reading some threads about it yesterday and was under the impression that there were a number of local police stations that could do fingerprints. Some people even said that you could go to a regional station if the Melbourne ones didn't have any available upcoming appointments. However, on the Victoria police website it lists the World Trade Centre as the only place to get fingerprints done. The soonest available appointment is on December 4th, which I have accepted and is relatively soon considering how late we are doing this, but I was hoping to have it done much sooner. I asked them if I could book an appointment at a regional office but they said that you have to live in the regional area to have an appointment booked there. Is it true that I can't get fingerprints done anywhere but at the World Trade Centre and that I can't go to a regional station? Perhaps the information I read on here was outdated, but I swear some of it was from this year or the last. Also, approximately how long did it take for you to get your certificate and is there any way to expedite it? Any information at all would be a huge help. Thank you!

Why do you have to do fingerprints as NSW needn't?You should apply for National Police Check from now and send your document off when you have everything ready.Make sure double check when you send your document off.I dont know how long it will take in Victoria PL but normally takes 15days in NSW.You should check apf.gov.au website.

Good luck with everything Willbofffa

[willandnaz 0]

I have read everywhere that it is required that the police certificate is based on a fingerprint check and have read about people getting RFEs for only submitting name checks. We have been very busy this week and haven't had time to call the WTC again, but we'll do so today and hopefully we can get an appointment for an earlier date. Thank you so much for your help everyone!

[willandnaz 0]

Hi all, we've just been sent packet 3, and there doesn't seem to be any mention of the necessity of a police check or anything in that area. All it mentions is requiring the DS-160 (Confirmation Page Only), I-134 (Affidavit of Support), and DSL-1076 (Applicant's Statement of Readiness to be Interviewed). They also mention that a medical examination is required, for which we already have an appointment.

Is it possible that the requirements have changed? Or is the email incomplete?

[willandnaz 0]

Never mind, we were so excited to receive the email we didn't open the DSL-1076 where it mentions the police check. Well, we've tried calling the WTC but they keep saying there are no available appointments before December 4, so we may just have to suck it up and wait until then. Thanks for all your help again!

[JBW 0]

I got my certificate from Victoria Police a few weeks ago. Originally they gave me an appointment 4 weeks ahead, saying that was the earliest available. I called a couple of days later to see if there was any chance of getting in sooner. I was told they had a cancellation that day, about 75 minutes from the time I called. I said I'll take it and dashed into the city, and just made it. They get a few cancellations, so it worth calling regularly to check availability. Be ready to move quickly, as you may have no time to spare. They do not have an expedited processing service. I had my certificate in 2 weeks, although they say up to 20 days. If you live in metropolitan Melbourne you have to go to the WTC, otherwise they only have regional offices that can do the fingerprinting, and they may only do it one day a week.

[Anna&Adam 0]

I had the same problem - the huge waiting times between NOA2 and Packet 3 took up half of my four month deadline! When I called, I too had a four weeks wait. And despite calling every few days, I never managed to get a cancellation or reschedule

Strangely though, it's really casual at the WTC. I got there an hour early (paranoid about being late or forgetting something!) and was processed in ten minutes, out the door 50 minutes before my actual appointment! If it's so lax to be processed, why do we have to wait so long for an appointment...?

Also (worryingly), I was told 4-6 weeks, based on the popularity of your name and if there are any priors. Luckily I have a fairly rare surname and a squeaky clean records (to my knowledge).