Australia and New Zealand have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to exchange the checking of criminal information. Both countries will benefit from the criminal history checking service to evaluate people for registration, training and employment purposes.

Under the agreement, the approved New Zealand agencies will be able to make request for Australia-wide criminal information via CrimTrac. Australian agencies can also make a similar request to the New Zealand Police.

The Australian Minister for Justice Michael Keenan, along with New Zealand's Minister of Justice Amy Adams and Police Minister, Michael Woodhouse have signed the MoU. The MoU is a culmination of the commitments made by both countries in Feb. 2014, according to a New Zealand government press release.

Adams said, while the exchange of violent criminals' information with the Australian government is still under progress, she added that the exchange did not cover the information about deported criminals. Adams further revealed that though the New Zealand government has always been notified of individuals with criminal records entering the country, other details related to security risks have never been shared.

New Zealand’s Justice Minister said that both the countries support the move towards exchanging such information, however, privacy issues will also have to be addressed. Besides, Australia decided to tighten its laws to keep a check on overseas nationals in the country's prison.

Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key held a press conference after their meeting in Auckland. The sharing of criminal history information was part of the formal talk between the two leaders. Mr. Abbott congratulated Mr. Key for deciding to join the fight against ISIS in Iraq by sending troops to help train Iraqi government forces. New Zealand troops are expected to work alongside their Australian counterparts in Camp Taji for two years, reports New Zealand Herald.

Mr. Abbott said the fight against ISIS was considered an international one. He added that New Zealand’s decision was “right and proper.” He believes the world should be involved in stopping the terror group. He was proud of the fact that Australia and New Zealand would be working together for a common cause.

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