How Can A Criminal Record Be Expunged?
Under most circumstances, expungement is not an option available to people who have committed a criminal offence or offences. There are limited circumstances where expungement of criminal convictions may be considered and even then, there are strict requirements such as a waiting period, good behaviour, etc.
What Is A Spent Conviction?
A spent conviction is a category of convictions which exists on every state and territory in some form. Spent convictions refer to offending which has occurred within a specific timeframe. If an individual has committed offences but there has been a period of ten years, or more, before any new offences are committed, the initial offences can be considered to be spent.
That is not to say of course that a spent conviction can automatically erase the damage it has caused. There are several circumstances whereby a spent conviction will still affect things. This may be due to license applications such as a gun license, certain employment opportunities such as disability or aged care work or things such as government security clearances.
One of the biggest ways a spent conviction can affect an individual’s life is an immigration or citizenship application. Criminal offending, of any nature, is a black mark against any immigration or citizenship matters.
How To Apply?
To apply for your convictions to be spent under the spent conviction scheme, you will be required to fill out an application form. Each state and territory may have slightly different processes in pace but generally, you will be required to provide supporting evidence or further information along with the application.
Specifically, a person’s criminal record will need to be provided as evidence that they have not committed a further offence for a minimum of 10 years. If offences have been committed as a minor, a period of five years needs to have passed before an application can be made for the convictions to be considered spent.
The application then needs to be filed with the Magistrate’s Court and served on the police. They need to have the right of reply.
