In January 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of a new coronavirus disease in Hubei Province, China to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
Most of the countries are under lockdown, including Australia. The Government of Australia has imposed strict measures to help stop the exponential spread of this virus. We are aware of the fact this situation has taken a heavy toll for the healthcare industry for every country affected.
In this moment of crisis, while workers of other industries are specifically told not to leave homes, people connected to health services, i.e. physicians, nurses, ambulance professionals, paramedics, etc are constantly staying at work to help battle the situation.
To help support healthcare workers to cope with their long hours at work, many people in Australia have extended their hands on social media to provide voluntary support like babysitting their children, shopping for groceries, etc.
To help the aged care sector, the Government of Australia is also easing working conditions in aged care facilities and home care providers for foreign student visa holders. It will allow foreign nursing students and other aged care staff to work more than the forty hours a fortnight. About 20,000 international nurses currently study in Australia.
As a preventive measure, people who have returned from overseas are ordered to self-isolate themselves, which includes healthcare and aged care workers. In case of any symptoms, they must seek medical attention immediately. The Australian Government has also announced there will be no charges imposed for childcare services.
It’s imperative that all sectors must play their part to overcome this crisis. KONCHECK attempts to extend a helping hand to combat the situation and deliver police checks for required applicants in a more effective way.
We have the advantage of being a web-based solution; our service is 100% online. Applicants can lodge their Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check application online, in a hassle-free manner. As we believe, the show must go on. Our mission is to provide a fast, reliable and affordable service, and we are working hard to maintain that for those who are in an urgent need of a police check.
We also understand the challenging situation for a large number of employers. While some sectors might face problems in having to lay down non-essential workers, there are a few sectors where the demand for some job roles is really high, such as supermarket workers, supermarket and food delivery drivers, etc. We are aware that these sectors must be able to hire employees immediately and we can assist applicants obtain a police check in a fast and secure way for this to happen.
So, in this hour of need, KONCHECK can process an Urgent police check behalf of an applicant/organisation. The applicant/organisation must convey via phone or email the circumstance they are requesting the urgent check. We expect that applicants should not be applying for Urgent checks only to avoid the minimum processing time and confirm employment faster.
A reason must be deemed urgent if the delay in Police checking results may have a significant effect on the health industry or emergency services. For a better understanding, we have mentioned a few reasons that will be considered as urgent:
Some reasons may include but are not limited to:
- Nurses specialising in Intensive Care to help battle COVID-19
- Urgent requirement of Medical Specialists to help battle COVID-19
Some reasons which will NOT be considered as urgent and will be processed under normal priority are:
- Hastening the employment check process
Please note, on a normal priority basis, 70% of all certificates are provided in 1-2 business days.
KONCHECK highly appreciates the dedication of all emergency service providers, especially healthcare workers all over the world. We firmly believe that we will be defeating this crisis and come back stronger soon. Last but not least, to respect the efforts of doctors, nurses, paramedics, we must act with solidarity, empathy and understanding. We urge everyone to stay home and stay safe.