Spent Convictions Regulations 1992 (WA)
Western Australia
Spent Convictions Act 1988
Western Australia
Spent Convictions Act 1988
These regulations may be cited as the
These regulations come into operation on the day on which the Act comes into operation.
For the purposes of the definition of “minor punishment” in section 3 of the Act, the amount of $1 500 is prescribed.
The form of application set out in Schedule 1 is prescribed for the purposes of section 7(1) of the Act.
For the purposes of section 28(2) of the Act —
(a) each person specified in Column 2 of an item in the Table is prescribed in respect of the law specified in Column 3 of that item; and
(b) each law specified in Column 3 in the Table is prescribed.
1. | The Commissioner for Fair Trading appointed under the | |
2. | The Commissioner of the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission referred to in the | |
3. | The Children’s Guardian appointed under the | |
4. | The Screening Agency as defined in the | |
5. | The Screening Authority established under the | |
6. | The Screening Agency as defined in the | |
7. | The chief executive referred to in the | |
8. | The Queensland College of Teachers established under the | |
9. | The chief executive referred to in the | |
10. | The central assessment unit established under the | |
11. | The central assessment unit established under the | |
12. | The Registrar appointed under the | |
13. | The Disability Worker Registration Board of Victoria established under the | |
14. | The Victorian Disability Worker Commission established under the | |
15. | The Victorian Disability Worker Commissioner appointed under the | |
16. | The Secretary as defined in the |
The form of notice set out in Schedule 2 is prescribed for the purposes of section 33(2) of the Act.
(1) In this regulation —
(2) In relation to a conviction incurred before amendment day, regulation 3 continues to apply as if it had not been amended by the
Spent Convictions Amendment Regulations 2023 regulation 4.
[r. 5]
SURNAME: ......................................................................................................... OTHER NAMES: ................................................................................................ ANY NAME PREVIOUSLY USED (ALIAS): .................................................. DATE OF BIRTH: ......../......../........ PLACE OF BIRTH: ................................. RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS: ............................................................................... ............................................................................... POSTAL ADDRESS (If different from above): ................................................. ................................................. |
I apply to the Commissioner of Police for a certificate that any lesser Western Australian convictions that may be eligible in accordance with the
Signature of applicant: ___________________________________
(To be signed in the presence of an authorised witness*)
* see Information for Applicant
I declare that I have —
sighted original identification documentation that confirms the identity of the applicant; and
witnessed the applicant’s signature.
Signature of witness: ____________________________________
Full name of witness: ____________________________________
Authority of witness: ____________________________________
Date: / /
This form is only to be used for lesser convictions for offences against the law of Western Australia.
A lesser conviction is one for which imprisonment for one year or less, and a fine of less than $15 000, was imposed.
All other convictions only become spent by order of the District Court.
An application for a certificate that a lesser conviction is spent cannot be made until a period has expired after the conviction without any further conviction being incurred (unless no punishment or only a fine of $1 500 or less was awarded for the further conviction).
The period is 10 years plus any period of imprisonment relevant to the conviction.
There are rules in the
The period is different if there is a subsequent conviction.
The following persons are authorised to witness the applicant’s signature —
an Australia Post officer;
a police officer;
any other person listed in the
Identification documents to a value of 100 points, as set out below must be produced and sighted by the person witnessing the applicant’s signature. At least one identification document must include a photograph of the applicant.
70 points for each document produced —
Birth certificate (not extract of birth)
Australian passport (current or expired within last 2 years)
Current overseas passport
Australian citizenship certificate.
40 points for the first document produced;
25 points for each additional document produced —
Drivers’ licence with photo identity issued under the
A current photo card as defined in the
Licence with photo identity issued under the
Employee identity card (with photo identity) issued by a State or Commonwealth government department or agency
Photo identity card issued by a tertiary education institution
Learners’ permit issued under the
Department of Veteran Affairs card
Centrelink or Social Security card.
25 points for each document produced —
Proof of age card issued under the
Medicare card
Local government rates notice
Property lease/rental agreement
Property insurance papers
Motor vehicle registration or insurance papers
Professional or trade association card.
25 points for each document produced —
(Each document must be from a different organisation)
Utility bills (e.g. telephone, gas, electricity, water)
Credit or bank account card
Bank statement or passbook.
The certificate will be posted to the postal address shown in the application. Should this change you should notify the Commissioner of Police.
[Regulation 6]
Notice under section 33(2)
The following is a summary of the legal effect of a conviction becoming spent under the
A reference in a law of this State to a conviction of a person does not include a spent conviction.
The conviction and the charge that led to it do not have to be disclosed by the person concerned or anyone else, except where required in court or tribunal proceedings, and even then the court or tribunal has to act to avoid or minimize publicity.
It is an offence for a person to obtain information about a spent conviction, or the charge that led to it, from official criminal records, unless the person has a lawful reason.
A person who would otherwise be able under a law of this State to take into account a conviction or the charge that led to it when assessing a person’s character or fitness cannot do so in the case of a spent conviction.
A person from whom a person is seeking employment cannot use a spent conviction against the applicant —
Ÿ in arrangements made for deciding who should be offered employment
Ÿ in deciding who should be offered employment
Ÿ in the terms or conditions on which employment is offered.
An employer cannot use a spent conviction against an employee —
Ÿ in the terms or conditions of employment provided
Ÿ in access to opportunities for promotion, transfer, training or any other benefits
Ÿ to dismiss the employee
Ÿ otherwise to the detriment of the employee.
The position is similar as for applicants for employment and employees.
An employment agency cannot use a spent conviction to discriminate against a person in relation to any service that it provides —
Ÿ by refusing to provide the service
Ÿ in the terms or conditions on which the service is offered
Ÿ in the way in which it provides the service.
A union or employer organisation cannot use a spent conviction against a person —
Ÿ to reject an application for membership
Ÿ in setting the terms or conditions of admission to membership
Ÿ to take away membership or vary its terms
Ÿ in access to benefits provided
Ÿ otherwise to the detriment of the person.
A principal cannot use a spent conviction against a contract worker —
Ÿ to refuse to allow the contract worker to work
Ÿ in the terms or conditions on which the contract worker is allowed to work
Ÿ in access to any benefits associated with the contract work
Ÿ otherwise to the detriment of the contract worker.
A body that has the power to confer an authorisation or a qualification for the carrying on of an occupation cannot use a spent conviction against a person —
Ÿ to deprive the person of the authorisation or qualification
Ÿ in setting the terms and conditions on which the person may hold the authorisation or qualification.
If you believe that a person has discriminated against you in a way that is prohibited, you may lodge a complaint under the
There are a number of exceptions to the above.
There is general exception for decisions as to bail for a court appearance.
The other exceptions relate to persons who are being considered for certain positions (for example, police or prison officers, school teachers and other school staff) or who have applied for certain authorisations (for example, security agents, child care or education and care service providers, casino employees). These exceptions are in Schedule 3 to the Act which was added by the
This is a compilation of the
26 Jun 1992 p. 2715‑22 | 1 Jul 1992 (see r. 2 and | |
4 Nov 2005 p. 5318‑19 | 4 Nov 2005 | |
1 Apr 2008 p. 1280-3 | r. 1 and 2: 1 Apr 2008 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 2 Apr 2008 (see r. 2(b)) | |
24 Dec 2010 p. 6806-7 | r. 1 and 2: 24 Dec 2010 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 25 Dec 2010 (see r. 2(b)) | |
13 Aug 2013 p. 3736-7 | r. 1 and 2: 13 Aug 2013 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 14 Aug 2013 (see r. 2(b)) | |
13 Jun 2014 p. 1897 | r. 1 and 2: 13 Jun 2014 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 14 Jun 2014 (see r. 2(b)) | |
27 Jun 2014 p. 2351 | r. 1 and 2: 27 Jun 2014 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 1 Jul 2014 (see r. 2(b)(i) and | |
23 Sep 2014 p. 3476‑7 | r. 1 and 2: 23 Sep 2014 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 24 Sep 2014 (see r. 2(b)) | |
12 Dec 2014 p. 4719‑20 | r. 1 and 2: 12 Dec 2014 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 13 Dec 2014 (see r. 2(b)) | |
10 Feb 2015 p. 621 | r. 1 and 2: 10 Feb 2015 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 27 Apr 2015 (see r. 2(b) and | |
SL 2021/6 29 Jan 2021 | r. 1 and 2: 29 Jan 2021 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 1 Feb 2021 (see r. 2(b) and SL 2021/4 cl. 2) | |
SL 2023/122 2 Aug 2023 | r. 1 and 2: 2 Aug 2023 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 3 Aug 2023 (see r. 2(b)) | |
SL 2024/300 21 Dec 2024 | 31 Mar 2025 (see r. 2(b) and SL 2024/289 cl. 2) | |
amendment day........................................................................................................... 7(1)
conviction..................................................................................................................... 7(1)
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