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In 2021, the Victorian Parliament introduced the Spent Convictions Act to commence operation on 1 July 2022. It is intended to help people who have previously committed an offence but have since been rehabilitated by protecting their criminal record from public disclosure. Doing so may assist the individual in, for example, gaining employment or permitting them to travel overseas.
When a conviction is not publicly disclosed, it is referred to as a ‘spent conviction’. To be eligible for a spent conviction, the individual must meet certain requirements, such as they must not re-offend for a set amount of time after being found guilty.
The Spent Conviction Scheme typically sees less serious convictions (i.e. a sentence of 30 months or less) automatically being ‘spent’ when certain conditions are met (i.e. following a crime-free period). Where the Spent Conviction Scheme does not automatically apply (i.e. a sentence of more than 30 months), a person may be able to apply to the Magistrates’ Court to have their conviction declared ‘spent’.
The scheme works both retrospectively and prospectively, meaning that it applies to both convictions imposed before and after the Spent Conviction Scheme commenced.
A person might be able to apply to the Magistrates Court to have a conviction declared “spent”, if they:
A person can apply for a spent conviction order in relation to more than one conviction. However, if the Magistrates’ Court refuses to make a spent conviction Order, the person cannot re-apply for at least two (2) years.
Even if you have a spent conviction, it may still be disclosed to certain Government bodies and for specific reasons, including to:
Outside of these circumstances, spent convictions should not ordinarily be disclosed on the person’s criminal record.
If you are facing criminal conviction or have been criminally convicted, a specialist criminal lawyer may be able to help you protect your criminal record from being publicly disclosed. Contact the team at Executive Lawyers today on (03) 8376 6209.
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Our team is dedicated and talented, and we pride ourselves on our client-focused approach and commitment to excellence. A matter handled by Executive Lawyers, is a matter that is in safe, confident, and capable hands.
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We are Executive Lawyers, your commercial, family, criminal, property, and immigration law specialists. With our strong drive and results driven mindset, we execute strong strategies to help our clients achieve the best outcome.
Our team is dedicated and talented, and we pride ourselves on our client-focused approach and commitment to excellence. A matter handled by Executive Lawyers, is a matter that is in safe, confident, and capable hands.