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Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some of our frequently asked questions that will help you better understand what we offer and how our employment background screening services can help your organisation.

About VerifyNow

VerifyNow is a digital employment screening platform. It was developed streamline its employment screening service, making the process faster and simpler for both employers and applicants.
The purpose is to help employers recruit with confidence by providing efficient and effective employment screening.
Cogent provides a range of checks and assessments to support the screening of new hires and the existing workforce.

Cogent Business Solutions (Cogent) developed VerifyNow, a digital employment screening platform. Cogent was established in 1996 as a management consultancy company with extensive experience in risk management, security, procurement and ICT. Today, Cogent is a leading provider of security vetting services.

All of our data is stored in Australia.

You need to be a current client to access the VerifyNow platform. We provide Australian and International clients with our quality employment screening services.

Yes, you can access the VerifyNow platform on mobile phone, tablet and desktop.

Types of Checks

The Australian Federal Government’s Document Verification Service (DVS) is an online system for comparing identifying information with a government-issued record.

The DVS checks whether the personal information on an identity document matches the original record. The DVS makes it harder for people to use fake identity documents.

Organisations processing Identity Verification need to make sure the applicants are who they claim to be. The Identity Matching Services provide a secure, fast and private way for identity documents to be verified.
VerifyNow utilises a gateway service provider to complete DVS activities.

Australian Federal Government Document Verification Service (DVS) is an online system for comparing identifying information with a government-issued record.

ACIC requires you to provide four documents from 3 categories, as below:

  • ONE Commencement of ID Document
  • ONE Primary Use in the Community Document
  • TWO Secondary Use in the Community Documents.


In all instances, the combination of identity documents must contain at minimum your full name, date of birth and a photograph. If you have provided identity documents using a former name, such as a maiden name, you must provide evidence of the name change in addition to the four identity documents.

The nature of the documents in each of the categories is summarised below:

Commencement of ID:

  • full Australian birth certificate (not an extract or birth card)
  • current Australian passport (not expired) (P)
  • Australian visa current at time of entry to Australia as a resident or tourist
  • ImmiCard issued by Department of Home Affairs (previously the Department of Immigration and Border Protection) that enables the cardholder to prove their visa and/or migration status and enrol in services (P)
  • certificate of identity issued by Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to refugees and non-Australian citizens for entry to Australia
  • document of identity issued by DFAT to Australian citizens or persons who have the nationality of a Commonwealth country for travel purposes (P)
  • certificate of evidence of resident status.


Primary Use in Community Document

  • current Australian driver’s licence, learner permit or provisional licence issued by a state or territory, showing a signature and/or photo and the same name as claimed (P)
  • Australian marriage certificate issued by a state or territory (church or celebrant-issued certificates are not accepted)
  • current passport issued by a country other than Australia with a valid entry stamp or visa (P)
  • current proof of age or photo identity card issued by an Australian Government agency in the name of the applicant, with a signature and photo
  • current shooters or firearms licence showing a signature and photo (not minor or junior permit or licence) (P)
  • for persons under 18 years of age with no other Primary Use in Community Documents, a current student identification card with a signature or photo (P).


Secondary Use in Community Document

  • certificate of identity issued by DFAT
  • document of identity issued by DFAT (P)
  • convention travel document secondary (United Nations) issued by DFAT (P)
  • foreign government issued documents - for example, driver’s licence (P)
  • Medicare card
  • enrolment with the Australian Electoral Commission
  • security guard or crowd control photo licence (P)
  • evidence of right to an Australian government benefit - Centrelink or Veterans’ Affairs (P)
  • consular photo identity card issued by DFAT (P)
  • photo identity card issued to an officer by a police force (P)
  • photo identity card issued by the Australian Defence Force (P)
  • photo identity card issued by the Australian Government or a state or territory government (P)
  • Aviation Security Identification Card (ASIC) (P)
  • Maritime Secu+C16rity Identification Card (MSIC) (P)
  • credit reference check
  • Australian tertiary student photo identity document (P)
  • Australian secondary student photo identity document (P)
  • certified academic transcript from an Australian university
  • trusted referees report
  • bank card
  • credit card


ACIC has also advised that expired identity documents will no longer be acceptable.

For Clients

New clients can be set up within 5 business days once the required agreements are signed and returned. After clients are set up on the VerifyNow platform, they will be able to order checks immediately.
Our client support team is available by email and phone from Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm AEST. There are also handy FAQs and how-to guides on the VerifyNow dashboard to help you.
Yes, training is available. We provide training for all new clients as part of our onboarding process.
Client support is available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm AEST.
Take advantage of our team’s knowledge of what may be required in either a basic or comprehensive employment screening check. Choose from 3 levels of service offering and let VerifyNow get on with the business of screening for you.
I don’t want a package; can I still order individual checks? The answer is Yes. We can create custom packages to suit your organisation’s requirements. Get in touch to discuss this further.

For Applicants

If you are an applicant, you will receive an email from VerifyNow with the login information.

Yes, file size limits will be outlined on the relevant sections when completing the form.
There is no standard timeframe that a police check result is valid for. A police check is considered a ‘point in time’ check only, which means the results only reflect police records on the date and time the result is released. The organisation that requires the police check will typically determine the timeframe acceptable for a police check result to be valid, based on their own risk assessment or operational requirements. Learn more from the ACIC website here.
The VerifyNow team is available to support applicants with questions relating to the application and process via verifynow@cogent.com.au. For information about results, you should contact your prospective employer who requested these checks.

Disputes in Relation to Personal Information
If you disagree with any personal information we hold and wish to dispute its accuracy you can contact us through the contact details below and we will address the issue to the best of our ability.

Where the dispute is in relation to the content of a Criminal History Check the dispute is forwarded to the ACIC for review and investigation. If you have a dispute please contact us through the details found below and we will initiate the process.

The ACIC dispute process is summarised below.

You the applicant will need to:

  • Review the police check result
  • Advise us of any incorrect information in the result
  • Provide us with all information and supporting evidence we need to complete and lodge the ACIC’s Nationally coordinated criminal history check Dispute Form (dispute form).


You the applicant can raise a dispute about a police check result for:

  • Claim type 1—when police information released does not belong to you
  • Claim type 2—when part of the police information released does not belong to you
  • Claim type 3—when police information belongs to you, but the details are inaccurate
  • Claim type 4—when police information belongs to you, but should not have been released.


We the accredited body will:

  • Complete the dispute form on your behalf
  • Provide the dispute form and any additional identity and supporting documentation to the ACIC.
    We will inform you of the outcome of the dispute as soon as practicable.