Many Australian visa applicants have to provide police certificates from other countries. If a certificate is not in English, Home Affairs asks for an English translation as well.
Last reviewed 30 October 2026 against official sources.
The Department of Home Affairs says you must meet the character requirements to be granted a visa and to stay in Australia, and that the character requirements are set out under section 501 of the Migration Act 1958. It says that after you apply, it may ask you to provide a police certificate, among other documents.
Which countries you need certificates from depends on your visa and your history. For skilled visas, Home Affairs says you must give police certificates for yourself and your family members aged over 16, including certificates for every country where you have lived for 12 months in the past 10 years since turning 16. Other visas and citizenship applications have their own rules, so follow the instructions for your visa subclass.
Home Affairs is explicit about this on its skilled visa guidance: if the police certificate is not in English, you must also give a certified copy of the translation. The same page says to translate all non-English documents into English, and sets out what the translation must show:
Home Affairs evidence guidance says the same thing in another way: in Australia, use a translator accredited by NAATI; translators outside Australia do not have to be NAATI accredited; and all translator details should be provided in English. It also asks for both the original document and the English translation, and warns that not providing a translation may delay the application.
If the translation is done in Australia, Home Affairs guidance points to a NAATI certified translator. NAATI explains that every certified translator holds a practitioner number and uses a translator stamp to certify their translations, and that the practitioner number can be checked with NAATI’s online verification tool. Our certified translations are completed by NAATI certified translators.
Applicants who have lived in Australia may also need an Australian check. Home Affairs evidence guidance says that visa applicants and family sponsors who have lived in Australia for a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years must also provide an Australian Federal Police clearance.
The reverse also happens: an Australian police check may need to be used overseas. DFAT lists documents issued by courts and police among the Australian Government documents it can legalise. If the other country also wants a translation, ask it which language and whether the translation must be legalised too.
If you need certificates from more than one country, send them together. Each certificate is translated in full, and names, dates and reference numbers are kept consistent across the set, which makes them easier to read alongside the rest of your application.
Police certificates often carry handwritten notes, codes and seals. These are translated or described in place, and anything that cannot be read is marked as illegible rather than guessed.
We are translators, not migration agents or lawyers. Check what your visa needs on the Home Affairs website, or with a registered migration agent or lawyer, before you order. See our police check translation page, or upload your documents for a quote.
We translate what your documents say. We do not advise on their legal effect, and we cannot confirm whether a particular court or agency will accept them. Please check requirements with the receiving body or your lawyer.
Home Affairs skilled visa guidance says that if the police certificate is not in English, you must also give a certified copy of the translation. Check the instructions for your own visa subclass.
Home Affairs guidance says that if the translation is done in Australia, you should use a NAATI translator and include their practitioner number. Translators outside Australia do not have to be NAATI accredited but must give their full details.
Home Affairs evidence guidance asks for both the original document and the English translation. We only need a clear scan of every page to translate it.
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