Spent Convictions Act 2000

Dev Tripathi

06 Aug 2025 — 3 min read

Spent Convictions Act 2000

Under the Spent Convictions Act 2000, certain old or minor convictions won’t appear on your police check after a set period without reoffending helping you move forward without a past mistake holding you back.

Key points:

Automatic in some cases: You don’t have to apply; the police system omits it automatically after the period expires (depending on jurisdiction).
Exceptions: Serious offences (like sexual offences) or prison sentences above a certain length are usually never spent.

AFP Police Check - Spent Convictions

Spent Convictions for an AFP Police Check

Working in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT)

Offences recorded in the ACT that will be released

Code	Category	Exclusion	Offences Released (ACT)
8	Hospital Employment	F	ACT - All offences. Other State/Territory offences as legislation permits
9	Security Licence (Security Guard)	F	ACT - All offences. Other State/Territory offences as legislation permits
10	Aged Care Provider/Worker	F	ACT - All offences. Other State/Territory offences as legislation permits
11	Brothel or Escort Agency Owner/Operator	F	ACT - All offences. Other State/Territory offences as legislation permits
12	Child Care Provider/Worker	F	ACT - All offences. Other State/Territory offences as legislation permits
13	Disabled Care Provider/Worker or Hospital Employment	F	ACT - All offences. Other State/Territory offences as legislation permits
14	Explosives/Fireworks Permit	N	Unspent offences
15	Fire Fighting/Prevention	P	Unspent offences and Arson or Attempted Arson offences
16	Firearms Licence/Permit	F	ACT - All offences. Other State/Territory offences as legislation permits
17	Interactive Gambling Licence/Casino Employee	F	ACT - All offences. Other State/Territory offences as legislation permits
18	Prison Officer	F	ACT - All offences. Other State/Territory offences as legislation permits
19	Child/Aged/Disabled Care Provider/Worker	F	ACT - All offences. Other State/Territory offences as legislation permits
20	Working in a School	F	ACT - All offences. Other State/Territory offences as legislation permits
21	Teacher/Teacher's Aide	F	ACT - All offences. Other State/Territory offences as legislation permits
30	Pre Employment/Standard Disclosure	N	Unspent offences

Commonwealth Employment / Purpose

Code	Category	Exclusion	Offences Released (Commonwealth)
22	Aged Care Staff/Volunteers	P	Unspent offences and offences against the person where State/Territory legislation permits
23	Aged Care Key Personnel	N	Unspent offences
24	ASIC Employee	F	All Commonwealth offences. Other State/Territory offences as legislation permits
25	ASIC Financial Licensing	N	Unspent offences
26	AUSTRAC Employee/Consultant	F	All Commonwealth offences. Other State/Territory offences as legislation permits
27	Care of Intellectually Disabled Persons	P	Unspent offences and offences against the person where State/Territory legislation permits
28	Care/Supervision of Children	P	Unspent offences incl. sexual and any offence where victim was under 18, where legislation permits
29	Civil Aviation Safety Authority - ASSC	N	Unspent offences
31	Access to Secret/Top Secret Info	F	All Commonwealth offences. Other State/Territory offences as legislation permits
32	Immigration Detention Centre Employment	P	Unspent and violent offences where legislation permits
33	Immigration/Citizenship - Australia	F	All Commonwealth offences. Other State/Territory offences as legislation permits
34	Law Enforcement/Intelligence/Security	F	All Commonwealth offences. Other State/Territory offences as legislation permits
35	Overseas Visa (not for Australia)	F	All Commonwealth offences. Other State/Territory offences as legislation permits
36	Superannuation Role	P	Unspent and dishonest conduct offences where legislation permits
37	Children/Disabled/Aged Care	P	Unspent, sexual, offences against under-18s and other person offences where permitted
40	Other Commonwealth Purpose	N	Unspent offences
41	Overseas Employment - General	F	All Commonwealth offences. Other State/Territory offences as legislation permits
42	Overseas Employment - Aged/Disabled Care	F	All Commonwealth offences. Other State/Territory offences as legislation permits
43	Overseas Employment - Teaching	F	All Commonwealth offences. Other State/Territory offences as legislation permits
44	Overseas Employment - Working with Children	F	All Commonwealth offences. Other State/Territory offences as legislation permits
45	Overseas Employment - Nursing, Hospital	F	All Commonwealth offences. Other State/Territory offences as legislation permits