On Sitterly, verification means one thing. Every member confirms their email address before they can create a sitter profile or a home listing, and that is the only check the platform runs. Sitterly does not run, collect or display police checks or identity-document checks, and there are no verification badges beyond email status. That is deliberate. A badge tells you, at best, who someone is or what a court record said on one day. It does not tell you how they will behave in your home, and the checks that come closest to that are ones you run yourself: references you ring, a conversation, a video call and a meeting.
Australians are right to be sceptical of trust badges anyway. Claims that every sitter is screened get used loosely, and when the wording outruns the process the badge stops carrying information. Know what each kind of check covers, and which part of the checking no platform can do for you.
- Email confirmation proves someone controls an inbox. On Sitterly every member must confirm theirs before creating a profile or a listing. It is a spam control, not a safety measure.
- ID badges, which some other platforms offer, confirm a person matches a government document. Identity and reliability are separate questions.
- Police check badges, also offered elsewhere, reflect a point-in-time record of disclosable court outcomes. Not monitoring, not a character assessment, and silent on animals.
- References are the only check that speaks to how someone behaved in another person's home. A Sitterly sitter can show References available, and you ask for the details in messages.
- Sitterly does not vet, screen or approve members. Choosing a sitter, and checking them, is your decision.
What Sitterly verifies, and what it does not
Email confirmation is the one check Sitterly requires of everyone. Someone enters an address, receives a link and clicks it, and until they do they cannot create a sitter profile or publish a home listing. That keeps out bulk fake sign-ups and gives the platform a way to reach the account holder. It confirms no name, no address and no history, so a confirmed email should never be read as a check on the person.
Police checks and ID checks are not part of Sitterly. We do not run them, ask members to upload them, review them or show them on a profile, and there is no police check or ID filter on the Find a Sitter page. If a sitter mentions a certificate they hold, that is between the two of you, and Sitterly has not seen or checked it.
A document badge answers a narrow question and tends to be read as the answer to a much bigger one. Whether this person will follow the feeding routine, lock the back gate and tell you promptly when something goes wrong is answered by people who have hosted them and by your own conversation. So Sitterly puts its weight there: references on request, messaging before anything is agreed, and the reply rating and reviews described further down.
What References available means on a Sitterly profile
A sitter can indicate on their profile that they can provide references, and the profile then shows References available. The referees' names and contact details are never shown publicly, and Sitterly does not store them. You ask the sitter in Sitterly messages, they share the details there, and the phone call is yours to make before you agree to a sit.
Consumer Protection WA suggests asking for references you can personally contact. A reference is the only source that speaks to behaviour in someone else's home. Ring rather than email. A call gives you tone, pauses and the things people only say out loud.
- How did they come to stay with you? This confirms the referee is who the sitter says they are.
- What did they do well? Open questions only. Anything answerable in one word is wasted.
- What went wrong, and how did they handle it? A referee who cannot name one hiccup either was not paying attention or did not host them.
- Would you have them back? Ask it last, then stop talking. The pause is usually the answer.
The sitter chose the referee, so you are hearing the best available case. Two references beat one, and ideally one is a homeowner they sat for. A newer sitter may offer a former landlord, a neighbour whose pets they minded or a shelter volunteer coordinator instead, and our guide to house sitting references in Australia covers what each of those can tell you. Questions to ask before confirming a sit covers the conversation with the sitter.
What ID and police check badges on other platforms show
Some platforms sell or include identity and police check badges, so it is worth knowing what they contain. Government ID verification matches a person to a document such as a driver licence or passport. That is worth something: the name belongs to an identifiable person. It cannot tell you whether that person will remember the tablets or lock the back gate.
A police check, where a platform offers one as a badge, is the check people read the most into. Its formal name is a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check. The result is either no disclosable court outcomes or a list of the outcomes that can be released. The Australian Federal Police describes its certificate as a summary of your offender history, covering criminal and traffic court outcomes, outstanding warrants and pending charges, and at the time of writing charges $56 for a standard check. Only the applicant can apply, so it is never something a homeowner can order about somebody else. Results can exclude spent convictions, and those rules differ by state and territory.
What a police check does not show
- It is not ongoing. The ACIC states that a check is a point in time check only, reflecting police records on the date it was released. Someone can return a clear result one day and be charged the next.
- It is purpose specific. The purpose on the application affects what can be released, and the ACIC advises a check is not suitable for reuse across purposes.
- It is not a character assessment. It records court outcomes, not temperament, honesty or judgement under pressure.
- It says nothing about animals. No national record exists of people who have looked after pets badly.
A clear result describes one day
No disclosable court outcomes means there was no releasable police information on the date the certificate was issued. It says nothing about the weeks afterwards. Check the date on any certificate you are shown.
If a sitter offers to show you a certificate, ask for the whole document with the name and issue date visible, and remember that Sitterly has not checked it. The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission publishes a list of accredited bodies, which is how you confirm the issuer on the letterhead is real. Then ring the referees anyway, because a clear certificate and a good reference answer different questions.
The new problem: AI-written profiles and messages
A well-written profile no longer proves much. Anyone can produce warm, fluent paragraphs about a lifelong love of animals in seconds. That cuts both ways: tidying a bio with a writing tool is not dishonest, and clumsy writing is not a warning sign. You are testing for a real person with real experience, not for good prose.
- Ask something only a real answer can satisfy. Not "do you have cat experience", but "our cat spits out her tablet unless it is hidden in food, how have you managed that?" Someone who has done it describes the fiddly parts.
- Ask about something specific in your listing. If you mentioned the pool gate or the neighbour who feeds the chooks, ask a question that depends on having read it.
- Have a video call. Two unscripted questions on a live call show whether the profile and the person match. Scamwatch notes that scammers use AI to create fake videos and cloned audio, so treat a call as a strong signal rather than proof.
Keep it on the platform. Scamwatch's guidance on buying and selling online is to keep communications there, which preserves a record if you need to report someone.
If it is free, is it less safe?
A membership fee is a payment barrier. It filters on willingness to pay, not on conduct, and someone with a valid card and bad intentions clears it as easily as anyone else. Subscription revenue can fund moderation and support, and preferring a paid platform for that reason is reasonable, but it is a different claim from the idea that paying users are safer people. When something goes wrong, no platform stands behind the arrangement regardless of what it charges, and your own cover is a separate question, covered in home insurance when a house sitter stays.
Cost and safety are only loosely related. What lowers risk is the same everywhere: a person you have spoken to and met, references you ring, a conversation before you commit, and a written record of what you agreed.
The trust signals a Sitterly profile does show
- Email status. Every member has confirmed an email address before creating a profile or a listing.
- References available. The sitter has said they can provide references. Ask for them in messages.
- Reply rating. A rating from 1 to 5 based on how quickly a member replies to messages.
- Reviews. These only appear after a booking is completed, so on a newer platform there are fewer of them, and a short history is not by itself a warning sign.
- The profile and the messages. Photos, experience, how specifically someone writes about animals, and a written record on the platform if you ever need the Report function.
What Sitterly does not do
Sitterly does not vet, screen or approve members, and does not run, collect or display police checks or ID checks. It does not supervise sits or provide insurance. Choosing a sitter, and checking them, stays with you.
As the about page puts it, Sitterly supports the connection. Homeowners and sitters remain responsible for getting to know each other, discussing expectations and deciding whether to proceed.
Where trust signals get over-read
- Reading References available as a reference. It tells you the sitter will give you names. The reference is the call you make.
- Reading a confirmed email as a check on the person. It confirms an inbox and nothing else.
- Skipping the call because the profile read beautifully. That is now the profile that most needs one. Our guide to pet sitter red flags covers what to notice in conversation.
A due-diligence sequence you can run yourself
- Read the whole profile and note what is missing rather than what is present.
- Send one specific question through Sitterly messages that depends on your listing and your animals.
- Read the reply for detail rather than warmth.
- Ask for two references in the same thread, and ring both before you agree to anything.
- Book a video call and ask two questions you did not send in advance.
- Meet at your place with your animals in the room where practical, and watch the animals more than the person.
- Write down what you agreed, including vet authority, spending limits and emergency contacts.
Our meet and greet checklist for homeowners covers the visit in detail.
Frequently asked questions
Does Sitterly run police checks or ID checks on sitters?
No. The only verification on Sitterly is a confirmed email address, which every member needs before creating a sitter profile or a listing. Sitterly does not run, collect, review or display police checks or identity-document checks, and it does not vet or approve members.
What does References available mean?
The sitter has indicated they can provide references. Names and contact details are never shown on the profile and Sitterly does not store them. Ask the sitter in Sitterly messages, they share the details there, and you contact the referees yourself, ideally by phone, before agreeing to a sit.
Can I ask a sitter to show me a police check?
Yes, you can ask, and some sitters will already hold one. It is a private arrangement between the two of you, and Sitterly has not seen or checked the document. Ask for the full certificate with the issue date visible, and treat it as one narrow piece of information rather than a replacement for ringing their referees.
Is a sitter without References available a bad choice?
Not necessarily. Plenty of good sitters, particularly new ones, have not added it yet. Ask in messages whether they can put you in touch with someone who has seen them care for animals or a home, and judge the answer, along with how they handle specific questions and whether they will do a video call.
What verification is worth
Verification is useful because it is narrow. A confirmed email confirms an inbox, an ID badge confirms a document and a police check reports court outcomes on one day. How this person will look after your animals and your home is answered by referees, conversation and a meeting.
Browse sitters near you, and once your listing is published, message one whose profile suits your animals and your dates. Ask one specific question, request two referees and suggest a time for a video call. How someone answers that message tells you more than any badge.
This article is general information about verification in Australia and is not legal advice. Police check fees, timeframes and spent conviction rules change and differ between states and territories. Confirm current details with the AFP or an ACIC accredited body.
