Record Expungement and Spent Convictions — Fixed Fee
$1,800 — Fixed Fee
Spent conviction assessment and disclosure advice — $1,800 fixed Expungement application — historical same-sex offences — $1,800 fixed Covers : assessment of your criminal history and spent conviction status, written advice on your disclosure obligations in your specific context (employment, professional licensing, Blue Card, statutory declaration), expungement application under the Criminal Law (Historical Homosexual Convictions Expungement) Act 2017 (Qld) where applicable, and a written opinion on how your record will be treated in the context you are facing. No hidden fees. One invoice. All fees +10% GST.
What Is Included
Review of your full criminal history and identification of the rehabilitation period applicable to each conviction Confirmation of current spent status for each relevant conviction Written advice on your disclosure obligations in your specific context — job application, professional registration, Blue Card, licensing form, or statutory declaration Advice on the s 9A mandatory disclosure categories and whether your role or application falls within them Expungement application to the Department of Justice and Attorney-General where applicable Written opinion on how your record will be treated in the specific situation you are facing Advice where a conviction cannot become spent — practical implications and any available steps What You Are Actually Facing In Queensland, certain convictions become "spent" automatically after a rehabilitation period under the Criminal Law (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act 1986 (Qld). Once spent, you can lawfully deny the conviction in most circumstances and it will not appear on most criminal history checks. Separate from this, a statutory expungement scheme exists for people convicted of historical offences involving consensual same-sex conduct under the Criminal Law (Historical Homosexual Convictions Expungement) Act 2017 (Qld). These are two different processes with different legal consequences. Understanding which applies to your situation — and where the limits are — is where legal advice matters. Rehabilitation periods:Conviction Rehabilitation Period District Court or Supreme Court (adult) — 10 years from conviction All other cases — Magistrates Court, Children's Court, juveniles — 5 years from conviction The period runs from the date of conviction. Once it expires without further conviction, the status is automatic — no application is required. Under s 8 of the Act, you may then lawfully claim — upon oath or otherwise — that you have not suffered that conviction. That right is not absolute: s 4 preserves any law or rule of legal practice that expressly requires disclosure, and it preserves the obligation to disclose criminal history when seeking admission to a prescribed profession or occupation. Convictions that cannot become spent:Any sentence involving imprisonment of more than 30 months — including wholly suspended sentences and sentences of immediate release to parole Convictions for offences committed by corporations Sexual offences against children and certain serious violent offences where the relevant legislation requires ongoing disclosure regardless of the rehabilitation period If you were convicted of another offence during the rehabilitation period, the clock resets from the date of the later conviction. Minor or regulatory offences do not automatically reset the period unless the court orders otherwise. Interstate convictions are treated the same way. The Act applies to criminal history whether recorded in Queensland or elsewhere. The s 9A disclosure obligations apply to interstate offences in the same terms. What Spent Actually Means — and What It Doesn't Once a conviction is spent, it is removed from criminal history for most purposes. Most standard employment and licensing checks will not show it, and you are not required to disclose it on most application forms. Under s 9A of the Act, however, certain roles require full disclosure regardless of spent status:Police officers and all Queensland Police Service employees and contractors — full criminal history, all offences Corrective services officers Justices of the peace and commissioners for declarations Teachers, teachers' aides, and school administrative staff — must disclose sexual offences, offences under Criminal Code Chapters 22, 32, 33 and 34, and drug offences under the Drugs Misuse Act 1986 (Qld), and equivalent interstate offencesTAFE Queensland teaching and administrative staff — same categories as above People registered or approved under the
Exceptions, Blue Card Checks, and Expungement
The following roles require full disclosure regardless of spent status under s 9A and related provisions: Child Protection Act 1999 (Qld) — full criminal history Security providers Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions staff Applicants for admission to the legal profession and current practising certificate holders Casino licensees and adult entertainment permit applicants Blue Card / Working With Children Check: The Blue Card system assesses full national criminal history including spent convictions, pending charges, and non-conviction outcomes. A conviction being spent does not prevent it from being considered in a Working With Children Check. This is the single most important exception to understand before assuming a conviction has no ongoing impact. Expungement — Historical Same-Sex Offences Expungement under Queensland law is a more complete remedy than spent status. The Criminal Law (Historical Homosexual Convictions Expungement) Act 2017 (Qld) allows people convicted of historical offences involving consensual same-sex conduct — conduct that is no longer criminal in Queensland — to apply to have those convictions expunged from official records. An expunged conviction is treated as though it never occurred. It is not merely spent — it is removed entirely and need not be disclosed in any context. From 1 July 2025, expunged convictions became a protected attribute under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld), following amendments made by the Respect at Work and Other Matters Amendment Act 2024 (Qld). Discrimination based on an expunged conviction is now unlawful in employment, education, and other areas covered by that Act. The application is made to the Department of Justice and Attorney-General. Sacha will advise on eligibility and manage the application. What Sacha Focuses On The starting point is your criminal history and the specific context you are facing — not generic advice about what spent convictions are. Before you respond to any disclosure question — in a job application, licensing form, or statutory declaration — Sacha will advise on what you are legally required to say. Getting this wrong in either direction carries consequences. Where your role or application falls within the s 9A mandatory disclosure categories, Sacha advises on the precise scope of that obligation, not just whether it applies. Where a conviction cannot become spent — because the sentence exceeded 30 months, because it involves a disqualifying offence category, or because your role requires ongoing disclosure — Sacha will advise on what that means practically and what steps, if any, remain open to you.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Do I need to apply for my conviction to become spent? No. Spent status is automatic under the Criminal Law (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act 1986 (Qld) once the rehabilitation period runs without further conviction. There is no application. Confirming your status and understanding what it means in your specific context is where legal advice adds value. How do I know if my conviction is spent? The rehabilitation period runs from the date of conviction — 5 years for Magistrates Court matters, 10 years for District or Supreme Court matters as an adult — provided no further convictions occurred in the interim. Sacha will review your history and confirm status. Can I deny a spent conviction under oath? Under s 8 of the Act, yes — once a conviction is spent, you may lawfully claim under oath that you have not suffered it. That right does not apply where s 4 preserves a legal or professional disclosure obligation. If you are applying for or hold a position listed in the s 9A table, the denial right does not apply in that context. Will a spent conviction show up on a Blue Card check? Yes. The Blue Card system assesses full national criminal history including spent convictions, pending charges, and non-conviction outcomes. Spent status does not prevent a conviction from being considered in a Working With Children Check. Can I deny a spent conviction in a job application? Generally yes — in most employment and licensing contexts you may lawfully deny it. The exceptions are roles requiring full disclosure under s 9A. Sacha will advise on which category your situation falls into before you make any disclosure decision. What is the difference between spent and expunged? Spent means the conviction remains on file but is generally not disclosed and need not be mentioned in most contexts. Expunged means the conviction is treated as though it never occurred — removed from records entirely and not disclosable in any context. Expungement under Queensland law is currently limited to historical same-sex offences under the 2017 Act. My sentence was more than 30 months — can anything be done? A sentence of more than 30 months cannot become spent under the current Act. The conviction remains on your criminal history indefinitely. Legal advice can clarify the practical implications and any professional or licensing steps available in your specific situation.