What Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission does

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) is a Commonwealth statutory agency established under the Australian Crime Commission Act and operating from 1 July 2016, formed by merging the Australian Crime Commission with CrimTrac. It sits within the Home Affairs portfolio and is one of ten members of Australia's National Intelligence Community and the Australian member of the Five Eyes Law Enforcement Group. Headquartered in Canberra with offices in all eight state and territory capitals, the agency employs approximately 1,000 staff and supports more than 72,000 law enforcement officers across Australia.

The ACIC operates an integrated suite of national policing information systems built on shared infrastructure. Core platforms include the National Criminal Intelligence System (NCIS) for cross-agency intelligence integration, the National Police Checking Service (NPCS) infrastructure (NSS) handling more than 5 million checks per year, the National Police Reference System (NPRS) with 13.2M+ records and 13.5M+ photographs, NAFIS (12.5M+ fingerprint sets across ~7M individuals, searched 4,000+ times daily), the National Criminal Investigation DNA Database (NCIDD) with 1.7M+ profiles, and the National Missing Persons and Victim System (NMPVS). The architecture connects every Australian police agency and operates on a cooperative outsourced model for the NPCS via approximately 150 Accredited Bodies.

The ACIC's revenue model combines Commonwealth parliamentary appropriations (its primary funding mechanism) with transaction-based fees from the NPCS (A$28 standard check, A$7 volunteer check). It generates additional value through coercive investigative powers similar to a Royal Commission, child protection systems (NCOS, WWCC NRS), firearms and ballistic intelligence (AFIN, ABIN, NFID, NVOI), wastewater drug monitoring reports, and multi-agency task forces targeting serious financial crime, illicit tobacco, illegal phoenix activity, and the black economy.

Name

Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission

Legal name

Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission

Website

https://acic.gov.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The ACIC is a Commonwealth statutory agency (est. 2016) that operates Australia's national criminal intelligence, biometric (fingerprint, DNA, facial), and police checking systems, serving all Australian police agencies and approximately 150 Accredited Bodies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Canberra

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. National Police Checking Service Fees: The ACIC generates revenue through fees for police checking services. Standard checks cost $28 each and volunteer checks cost $7 each. There are approximately 150 accredited bodies accessing the service, facilitating over 5 million checks per year.
2. Government Appropriations: As a Commonwealth statutory agency within the Home Affairs portfolio, the ACIC is funded through government appropriations to perform its statutory functions including intelligence collection, analysis, and dissemination.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) is a Commonwealth statutory agency that collects, assesses, and disseminates criminal intelligence to combat serious and organised crime in Australia. It operates national policing information systems (NCIS, NPRS, NAFIS, NCIDD, NMPVS, NVOI, NFID, AFIN, ABIN), delivers the National Police Checking Service (NPCS) with over 5 million checks processed annually, and supports more than 72,000 law enforcement officers across all Australian states and territories.

Product overview

The ACIC provides an integrated suite of national policing information systems and services designed to support law enforcement across Australia. The core architecture centres on the National Criminal Intelligence System (NCIS), which connects data from Australian law enforcement agencies, alongside the National Police Checking Service (NPCS) for criminal history checks and multiple specialist subsystems. The biometric and forensic portfolio includes NAFIS (National Automated Fingerprint Identification System), NCIDD (National Criminal Investigation DNA Database), and NMPVS (National Missing Persons and Victim System). Frontline policing is supported by the National Police Reference System (NPRS), National Vehicles of Interest (NVOI) system, National Firearm Trace Program, National Firearms Identification Database (NFID), Australian Firearms Information Network (AFIN), and Australian Ballistic Information Network (ABIN). Child protection is served through the Working with Children Checks National Reference System (WWCC NRS) and National Child Offender System (NCOS). All systems are underpinned by the NSS (National Police Checking Service Support System) for check processing. The ACIC operates across all seven Australian states and territories from offices in Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, Hobart, and Darwin.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• National Police Checking Service (NPCS) A nationally coordinated criminal history check service that allows individuals and organisations to apply for police checks, facilitated through approximately 150 accredited bodies and Australian police agencies. Processes over 5 million checks per year, with 70% completed within minutes.
• National Criminal Intelligence System (NCIS) A joint project with Australian police agencies and the Department of Home Affairs that connects data from Australian law enforcement agencies and provides secure access to a national view of policing information and criminal intelligence for law enforcement officers.
• National Police Reference System (NPRS) Enables Australian police agencies to share essential policing information and intelligence. Provides access to more than 13.2 million records and 13.5 million photographs, including persons of interest data, warrants, offence history, protection orders, and missing persons information.
• National Vehicles of Interest (NVOI) system Assists frontline officers to record and enquire on vehicles of interest at local and interstate levels. Integrates with NEVDIS (National Exchange of Vehicle and Driver Information System) to enable searches on stolen, suspect, wanted, and recovered vehicles.
• National Firearm Trace Program Determines the history of seized firearms to identify diversion methods to the illicit market through serial number structure, importation data, and historical dealer records. Consolidates information to create a national picture of firearm types in the Australian illicit market.
• National Firearms Identification Database (NFID) A nationally agreed standard helping Australian police identify and record firearms consistently using details such as make, manufacturer, model, chambering, and magazine capacity. Available for public access via nfida.acic.gov.au.
• Australian Firearms Information Network (AFIN) Helps police and law enforcement agencies manage the registration, licensing, and movement of firearms nationally. Also referred to as the National Firearms Interface in the ACC Regulations.
• Australian Ballistic Information Network (ABIN) Provides intelligence to police across Australia to electronically match crime scene ballistic evidence to the weapon used by comparing microscopic markings on fired projectiles and linking crimes where the same firearm is used at multiple scenes.
• National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) The national fingerprint and palmprint matching capability providing Australian police with 24/7 critical fingerprint matching. Holds over 12.5 million fingerprint sets for approximately 7 million individuals and is searched more than 4,000 times per day on average.
• National Criminal Investigation DNA Database (NCIDD) Holds more than 1.7 million DNA profiles uploaded by Australian police from crime scenes, convicted offenders, suspects, volunteers, missing persons items, and unknown human remains. Provides familial searching and kinship matching capabilities.
• National Missing Persons and Victim System (NMPVS) Provides Australian police with the ability to undertake national searches on long-term missing persons and unidentified human remains. Also used by Australian and New Zealand police for identifying victims of disasters.
• Working with Children Checks National Reference System (WWCC NRS) Allows screening agencies in each state and territory to share key negative decisions for applicants who have applied for a Working with Children registration. Only stores negative decisions.
• National Child Offender System (NCOS) A web-based application enabling Australian police to record and share child offender information and manage key information to meet requirements under respective state and territory child protection legislation. Consists of the Australian National Child Offender Register (ANCOR) and the Managed Person System (MPS).
• National Police Checking Service Support System (NSS) The national IT system owned by the ACIC that manages police check submissions. Accredited bodies and police agencies access the NSS to submit check applications, monitor progress, access reports, and retrieve results. Supports manual input, batch upload, and system-to-system messaging via WebSphere MQ or Web Services.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5 million+ police checks facilitated annually, with 70% completed within minutes
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and key.

• Five Eyes Law Enforcement GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe ACIC is a member of the Five Eyes Law Enforcement Group, an international intelligence sharing partnership with law enforcement agencies from the US, UK, Canada, and New Zealand. ACIC CEO Heather Cook participates in meetings with Five Eyes Law Enforcement Group agencies to develop new tech partnerships and AI solutions.
• National Intelligence CommunitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe ACIC is part of the National Intelligence Community comprising 10 Australian organisations that collect, analyse and disseminate intelligence information in accordance with Australia's interests and national security priorities.
• Australian Police AgenciescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe ACIC works with all Australian state and territory police agencies to coordinate decision making and share intelligence. Board members include senior officeholders from these agencies. The NCIS is a joint project with Australian police agencies.
• Department of Home AffairscoreTechnology or IntegrationThe NCIS is a joint project led by the ACIC with Australian police agencies and the Department of Home Affairs.
• Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe ACIC supports and works closely with the AIC, with the ACIC CEO serving as Director of the AIC. The two agencies are co-located, with AIC's high-quality research integral to ACIC's work.
• Criminal Assets Confiscation TaskforcekeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-agency national task force cooperation to disrupt criminal enterprises through intelligence-led responses and confiscation of criminal assets.
• Illicit Tobacco TaskforcekeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint task force with Australian Border Force and other agencies targeting illegal tobacco and vaping markets.
• Phoenix TaskforcekeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-agency task force coordinated by the ATO targeting illegal phoenix activity.
• Serious Financial Crime TaskforcekeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-agency task force targeting serious financial crime including tax fraud and money laundering.
• Black Economy Standing TaskforcekeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerWhole-of-government task force addressing the shadow economy.
• Joint Organised Crime Task Forces (VIC, WA, NT, QLD)keyStrategic or Co-development PartnerState-level joint task forces cooperating with the ACIC to investigate and collect intelligence on high-risk criminal entities.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• INTERPOL: International organisation enabling cross-border police information sharing, including criminal records and biometric databases, overlapping directly with ACIC's intelligence cooperation and biometric matching capabilities.
• UK National Crime Agency: The UK's lead agency against serious and organised crime, with national intelligence, task-force, and cross-border cooperation functions structurally analogous to ACIC's role in Australia.
• Europol: EU agency for law enforcement cooperation that aggregates criminal intelligence, operates shared databases, and supports member-state investigations — closely analogous to ACIC's NCIS/NAFIS-style intelligence aggregation model.

Broad incumbents

• Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP): Canada's national federal policing service combining intelligence, criminal records, and forensic identification services, providing a similar mix of policing, intelligence, and biometric functions as ACIC.
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): The US federal law enforcement and intelligence agency operating national criminal databases, biometric systems, and intelligence dissemination functions that overlap with ACIC's mandate at much greater scale.
• Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN): US Treasury bureau administering BSA data, collecting financial intelligence, and sharing it with law enforcement — comparable to ACIC's intelligence dissemination function but focused on financial crime data.

Emerging players

• Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC): Australia's financial intelligence unit within the Home Affairs portfolio, sitting alongside ACIC within the National Intelligence Community and sharing intelligence on serious financial crime — directly comparable in domestic positioning.
• Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO): Australia's national security intelligence agency and fellow member of the National Intelligence Community, with overlapping threat-priorities and information-sharing relationships with ACIC.

Regional players

• New Zealand Police: New Zealand's national police service, which participates in Five Eyes intelligence sharing with ACIC and jointly uses the National Missing Persons and Victim System for cross-Tasman victim identification.

Others

• LexisNexis Risk Solutions: Commercial provider of public records, identity verification, and risk data used for background screening and law enforcement support — adjacent to ACIC's NPCS and intelligence data services in product/market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ACIC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/acic-govau
• Instagraminstagram.com/acic_govau
• Xx.com/ACICgovau

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission