Spent convictions
If you are convicted of an offence, it will form part of your criminal record. If that conviction is ‘spent’, you generally do not need to tell anyone about that conviction. The conviction will not appear on your National Police Certificate.
There are laws in WA that protect you from having to tell people about spent convictions and from being discriminated against because of a spent conviction.
Quick Answers Video: What is a spent conviction?
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This information explains what it means to have a conviction that is spent. Find out:
- What happens when a conviction is spent
- Whether you need to disclose spent convictions
- When you have to disclose a spent conviction
- How you can apply for a conviction to be spent
What happens when a conviction is spent?
Having a conviction spent does not change the penalty (sentence) for a conviction.
If a conviction is spent, the conviction doesn’t disappear completely. It remains part of your private criminal record kept by the police. It will appear on your History for Court and can be taken into account when police or a court are considering bail, or a court is sentencing you for a new offence.
However, a spent conviction will not be included on your National Police Certificate.
If a conviction is spent, you generally do not have to disclose that you were convicted of that offence. Since spent conviction are not included on your National Police Certificate, this generally means you do not have to tell people about convictions that are not on the Certificate.
You don't need to disclose that you have a spent conviction if you are asked to show that you are a ‘fit and proper person’ under a WA law.
Also, it is generally against the law for current or potential employers, unions, associations, licencing boards or professional regulators to discriminate against you because of spent convictions. If you are discriminated against because of your spent convictions, you can complain to the Equal Opportunity Commission.
However, despite these general rules, there are many exceptions where the law says you must disclose all your convictions, including any spent convictions.
When do I need to tell people about a spent conviction?
Common situations where you must disclose that you have a spent conviction include if you:
- are applying for certain jobs, including as a police, prison or transport officer,
- want to work in certain places, including schools, hospitals and child care centres,
- have applied for special licences, such as security agents, child care providers, casino employees, or to have firearms, or
- are applying for an Australian visa.
The full list of exceptions and activities is found at the end of the Spent Convictions Act 1998 (WA).
You should get legal advice if you are unsure whether you need to disclose a spent conviction, or think you may have been unfairly discriminated against because of a spent conviction.
How do I apply to have a conviction spent?
If you are in court for an offence, you may be able to ask the court to make a Spent Conviction Order when you are being sentenced.
You can also apply to have old convictions declared spent after enough time has passed.
More information
Reviewed: 26 August 2026