Why is Criminal History Information Limited to 10 years?

This seems to be one of the most common questions that our consultants field.  Firstly the reason that it is limited to 10 years is so that our agency and all relevant jurisdictions are compliant with all relevant legislation.  Individual acts exist for each of the States and Territories, together they state that as a rule a conviction becomes spent after 10 years for an adult (3 - 5 years for a juvenile) if there are no subsequent charges or convictions and they fall outside of the convictions listed below.

There are however instances where a conviction may not become “spent” for more serious convictions which we will touch on.

· A conviction for which a sentence of imprisonment of longer than 6 months has been imposed

· A conviction for a sexual offence

· A conviction of a corporation

· A conviction where the victim of the offence was a child

 Now whilst these are the standard limitations we are faced when it comes to reporting on Criminal Convictions there are certain industries, instances and job functions where the complete concept of “spent convictions” will not apply these include; 

· Child Related Employment

· Casino Licences and employees

· Security Industry (juvenile convictions)

· Medical Professionals

The rationale behind this legislation and the reason that it exists pertains to the concept that many of the offences covered within the Spent Convictions Legislation relates to relatively minor offences, often committed at a young age.  It has been found that despite periods of crime free behaviour a substantial proportion of these people may be unable to live down their past offences because they are required to reveal their criminal history to employers, insurers, licensing bodies and the like, often becoming the target of discrimination.  Even people who have suffered no real problems as a result of having old criminal records may feel insecure because of the possibility that one day they may be embarrassed by details of their past convictions being revealed. 

Spent convictions are designed to give people a chance to live down a minor criminal conviction.  The concept of these laws are linked to a value which has considerable influence in our society that people who do wrong should be given a second chance because they have the capacity to reform their ways.

 A further justification for establishing spent conviction schemes is the fair administration of justice.  The law prescribes a punishment to be imposed for the commission of an offence and once that has been served the offender has paid his or her “dues” to society.  When society is satisfied that the person is not likely to re-offend, it should relieve that person of the stigmatising effect of his or her criminal conviction.  Otherwise the punishment, in effect, extends beyond that imposed by the court and the system does not meet its fundamental objective of making punishment just.

 Conversely it can be argued that continued discrimination after a person has fulfilled the terms of their criminal conviction is a violation of human rights.