Fingerprinting as a Mandatory Requirement for Employment

CPSU has received the following advice from the Victoria Police Human Resources Department.

This advice must be read against the Commissioner of Law Enforcement Data Security Act 2005. The advice is largely derived from the standards and protocols developed to underpin the Act.

It is as follows:

Protocol 8.1 the CLEDS standards states- . A person must be "deemed suitable" to access law enforcement data. The judgement of suitability includes satisfying the requirements of a full security check. A full security check is defined in the protocol and includes a fingerprint check.

This requirement is not prospective only but applies as of July 2006 to all employees of Victoria Police. Regardless of whether a person has already been granted access at some historical time, they must meet the current requirement for suitability.

Failure to meet the requirement obliges Victoria Police to withdraw the person's access to law enforcement information. It would be well nigh impossible for someone to work for Victoria Police without seeing law enforcement data, either electronic or hard copy. Access even to the Vicpol internet means access to law enforcement data. Note the definition in the Standards to law enforcement data, which is very broad.

The protocol also obliges Victoria Police to periodically review security checks to ensure that a person continues to be suitable.

The legal status of the Standards derives from section 11 of the CLEDS Act 2005 which empowers the Commissioner to establish standards for the security of law enforcement data, monitor Victoria Police compliance with those standards and refer non-compliance to the appropriate body for enforcement.

Given the consequences of not availing yourself for fingerprinting, we recommend that you comply with the direction. However, if you believe that you should be excluded from this process please contact Emily Castle on 9413 6644 to discuss further options

Professional Development Assessment (formerly known as PEP)
CPSU has discussed this matter at the AIRC jointly with The Police Association. CPSU has since met with the Inspector of the PEP Unit to further articulate our concerns with some of the new features of the assessment such as the ‚Äö?Ñ??voluntary contribution option‚Äö?Ñ??.

The discussions were robust but the parties were unable to resolve their differences. At this point in time, we are seeking further advice from the State Service Authority and Industrial Relations Victoria. We also have further access to the AIRC should we be unable to negotiate a satisfactory outcome, acceptable to all parties.

This matter is ongoing and by no means agreed to. We are implacably opposed to elements of this assessment system and will continue to explore other avenues for redress.

If you have any enquiries regarding the above matters, please contact Emily Castle on 9413 6644