Are there any provisions in South Australia for certain convictions to be removed from a person’s record after a certain period of time (‘spent’ convictions)?

SA Police are bound by the Spent Convictions Act 2009 (SA) when determining what to release on a National Police Certificate.

Under the Spent Convictions Act 2009 (SA), it is an offence to release information regarding the convictions of a person if those convictions are deemed to be spent under the Act.

A spent conviction is one that cannot be disclosed or taken into consideration.

Eligible convictions become spent following a ten year qualification period if no further offences are committed, in South Australia or elsewhere. For juveniles, a five year qualification period applies.

For further information see Spent Convictions.

Interstate offences

Interstate offences will be released in accordance with the spent conviction and rehabilitation legislation and policy of the State or Territory concerned. While South Australian Police are unable to release traffic history from some states and territories, this information can be obtained upon application to the specific departments in those states.

I have a conviction for theft that occurred over 10 years ago and which does not show on my National Police Certificate, if asked do I have to disclose details about this?

Under the Spent Convictions Act 2009 (SA) you do not have disclose any convictions which have become spent, however, there are a number of exceptions to this provision (for example, if a person is applying for work looking after children or vulnerable people, or if applying for employment with a government security agency).

For more details see Spent Convictions.