Can A Criminal Conviction Affect Your Job, Travel Or Licence

Does a spent conviction still need to be disclosed for employment, overseas travel, a Working with Children Check or a professional licence?

A spent conviction will not usually appear on a National Police Certificate, but it may still need to be disclosed in certain circumstances. It can remain relevant when applying for particular roles, travelling overseas, undergoing a Working with Children Check or seeking and maintaining a professional licence. The outcome will depend on factors including the offence, its seriousness, how much time has passed and the rules of the relevant authority or country.

Our Criminal Team discuss this important topic.

Summary

A criminal conviction could potentially affect your job, travel and professional licence. However, it depends on the nature and seriousness of the offence committed, the time elapsed since the offence and several other factors. You could still overcome these obstacles, with honest disclosure of your convictions, adequate preparation and research on the relevant policies and procedures with regards to work, travel and professional license.

If you have a criminal conviction, you could apply for a Spent Conviction Order. If the order has been granted by the Court, this means that you do not have a legal obligation to tell anyone about their conviction, even where a criminal conviction is normally disclosed. For more information, please refer to the Spent Conviction Order article on our website.

However, what actually happens after you have been granted a Spent Conviction Order? When are you still required to disclose a spent conviction? Will it show up on your police clearance certificate? Can you travel overseas with a criminal record that’s been spent? Could it still affect a Working with Children check, or a professional licence?

If these questions sound familiar, you are not alone. This article is here to answer them.

Will a conviction show on my police clearance?

Once a conviction has been spent, in general, the National Police Certificate (NPC) will not disclose any spent convictions. However, there are exceptions where you will have to disclose that you have spent convictions. These include if you are working in the following sectors:

Aged care or with older people; or
With children; or
Teaching; or
Caring for people with disability; or
Immigration detention centre; or
Hospital; or
Firefighting or fire prevention.

There can also be other purposes for which there are exemptions from being disclosed:

Applying for a firearms permit; or
Applying for immigration or citizenship; or
Government security clearances; or
Overseas employment (some); or
Taxi, rideshare or bus driver accreditation

Can I travel with a criminal record?

A common misconception is that once a conviction is spent, it effectively disappears, even for travel purposes. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

A Spent Conviction Order only governs how a conviction is treated within Australia. It has no authority over how another country’s immigration system treats one’s criminal records. While many countries are welcoming to international visitors, others have strict immigration policies that may deny entry to individuals with a criminal record.

This creates several different risks, depending on the country and the nature of the conviction. Such risks/restrictions include:

Visa Refusals

Countries like the United States, Canada and New Zealand may refuse entry or deny a visa outright to someone with serious criminal convictions. Such include, murder, manslaughter, rape and sexual offences and manufacture and sale of drugs or drug trafficking.
In the US, convictions for serious offences like drug trafficking, violent crime or theft can result in an automatic bar from entry unless a waiver is obtained.
It is similar in Canada where entry can be denied to individuals with serious criminal records or even for minor offences if they occurred recently.

Deportation or Detention

Arriving in a country with an undisclosed or unresolved criminal record creates a real and serious risk of detention or removal, particularly in countries with stringent border controls.
The United Kingdom, for example, may detain travelers with serious convictions and can return them to Australia immediately. This is a risk that increases where the conviction is recent or relates to a serious offence.

Entry Bans or Restrictions

Some countries impose bans tied to specific offence types or require a minimum waiting period before entry is reconsidered.
The US system illustrates this well. Entry may become possible after a set period has passed, but only if a waiver is applied for and granted in advance.

Temporary or Permanent Barriers

Even where entry is not refused outright, some countries will allow travel subject to conditions, such as temporary or permanent restrictions while on stay. This is more common for less serious matters, like a minor drug offence, where a country may be willing to admit the traveler but only on conditions like limited entry periods or restrictions on employment.

It is possible to travel overseas with a criminal record, but as mentioned above, it depends on each country’s policies and the severity of the conviction, the amount of time passed and the details of each conviction. Research on immigration policies and be honest about disclosing your conviction history, for a smooth travel journey.

Can it affect my Working with Children check?

A Working with Children Check (WCC) is a background check that assesses the risk you may pose to children if you engage in child-related work. It considers not only your police history, but your spent convictions, non-conviction charges, and pending charges.

Common offences that trigger automatic refusals of WCC applications include:

murder;
manslaughter;
sexual assault or rape;
incest’
child pornography;
child abduction/kidnapping.

The Working with Children (Criminal Record Checking) Act 2004 (WA) (The Act) sets out a list of serious criminal offences. A conviction for any one of these offences will affect the outcome of a WCC application. Individuals who do not pass a Working with Children check are excluded from certain roles, without any discretion.

In Western Australia, other information like workplace complaints or disciplinary history cannot be considered when your WCC application is first assessed. The screening agency only looks at this information if your criminal history check first flags something concerning. So, unless a relevant criminal offence shows up on your record, other conduct issues generally will not come into play at this stage.

Therefore, a criminal conviction can affect your WCC application, but it depends on the severity of the offence committed and the inherent requirements of the job role you are seeking for. Make sure to find an employer and research their policies in relation to your circumstances.

Can it affect my professional licence?

In order to have a professional licence in Australia, you must be deemed a “fit and proper person”. This is a continuous obligation, rather than a one-time requirement.

When applying to become a healthcare professional, educator, accountant or a legal practitioner, criminal matters can be raised during the licensing process. The respective regulatory bodies will assess applications on a case-by-case basis.

Licensing applications usually require individuals to answer questions about their criminal records. If you had prior criminal convictions, it is imperative that you disclose them honestly when applying for such licences. However, regulatory bodies do not solely depend on the convictions or charges disclosed. They will consider factors like the nature of the offence, the time since the offence was committed, whether there was evidence of rehabilitation or not and the pattern of conduct.

A criminal record does not automatically result in the revocation of a licence. However, factors like the seriousness of the offence, whether the offence relates to professional duties, evidence of rehabilitation, compliance with court orders, time elapsed since the incident and the overall character and conduct of the applicant will be considered.

This article looks at how these considerations apply to two (2) professions in particular: healthcare workers and legal practitioners.

Healthcare Workers

Under s 130(3)(a)(iii) of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Western Australia) Act, a registered health practitioner must provide ‘notice of certain events’, which includes being charged with an offence punishable by 12 months’ imprisonment or more.
The Board has the power to take immediate action even before the court case is heard if it believes that there is endangerment to public safety. Such actions could include a total suspension of your right to work or could mean imposing restrictions.

Legal Practitioners

Legal Practitioners may be disqualified under s 119(2)(a) of the Legal Profession Uniform Law (WA) Act, if they have been convicted of a serious offence.
This means a person could be refused admission or re-admission by the Supreme Court, have their Australian Practising Certificate suspended, or be refused the grant or renewal of a Practising Certificate.

As such, professional consequences can extend well beyond the criminal matter itself, potentially affecting one’s ability to work, practise, or maintain their livelihood long after the criminal proceedings have concluded. Seeking legal guidance early can help individuals understand potential disclosure obligations and licensing requirements.

A Spent Conviction Order can offer relief, freeing you from the obligation to disclose a past conviction. However, as this article illustrates, ‘spent’ does not mean ‘erased’. Its protections have limits and those limits matter when you are applying for a role that involves children or vulnerable people, when you have travel plans or when seeking to become or remain a licensed professional. Whether a spent conviction affects you in these situations is dependent on the nature and seriousness of the offence and a variety of other factors.

If you have a criminal record, spent or otherwise and are unsure how it may affect your job, travel or professional licence, it is worth seeking legal advice early.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

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Can A Criminal Conviction Affect Your Job, Travel Or Licence

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Criminal Law

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Australia