Spent Convictions in South Australia: Automatic Spending and the Sex-Offence Exception

In South Australia, most convictions spend themselves automatically once the qualification period runs, no application needed; but a sex offence follows a separate, three-track system under the Spent Convictions Act 2009 that is not the blanket "never spent" rule it is often described as.

This article addresses how a conviction becomes spent under South Australian law, meaning it no longer needs to be disclosed once the qualification period has run or, for the narrower sex-offence tracks, once an application has been granted. It does not tell a reader whether their own specific conviction is, or will become, spent. For the Commonwealth scheme and how SA compares to the other states and territories, see spent convictions in Australia.

The Act, and why spending here is mostly automatic

South Australia's scheme runs on the Spent Convictions Act 2009 (SA). Section 8(1) states plainly: "A conviction for an offence, other than a sex offence, is spent on completion of the qualification period for the conviction." For the ordinary run of convictions, there is no application, no order and no magistrate involved; spending happens by the calendar.

Three narrow categories go through a qualified magistrate (an approved Magistrates Court magistrate) instead:

• An eligible sex offence (section 8A): a sex offence with no prison time imposed. The person must apply after the qualification period runs, and the magistrate has discretion whether to grant it, weighing offence seriousness, any victim impact statement, time elapsed and rehabilitation.
• A designated sex-related offence (section 8B): a historical conviction for conduct that is no longer criminal, principally consensual same-sex activity that was only an offence because both parties were male. The magistrate must grant the order once satisfied the conduct is no longer an offence; this is not discretionary.
• A prescribed public decency offence (section 8C): historical public-decency or morality offences used to prosecute suspected homosexual activity, on the same mandatory, no-longer-a-crime test.

A person with an already-spent conviction can also apply, separately, under section 13A to have specific Schedule 1 exclusions switched off for them personally.

Waiting periods, and what resets or extends them

Section 3(1) defines an eligible adult offence as one with no prison sentence, or a sentence of 12 months or less, and an eligible juvenile offence as one with no prison sentence, or a sentence of 24 months or less.

Section 7 sets the qualification period:

• 10 consecutive years for an adult offence (section 7(1)(b)).
• 5 consecutive years for a juvenile offence, where the person was not dealt with as an adult (section 7(1)(a)).

The clock runs from the conviction date (section 7(6)(a)). A further conviction incurred during the qualification period resets it entirely, running the longer period afresh from the latest conviction (section 7(2)); minor offences, meaning a discharge without penalty or a fine of $500 or less, are disregarded for this reset (section 7(4)(a)). If the person remains a registrable offender under the Child Sex Offenders Registration Act 2006 when the period would otherwise end, the qualification period extends until their reporting obligations cease (section 7(3)(a)).

Sex offences: a three-track system, not a blanket bar

Section 5(2)(b) is the operative rule, and it is narrower than it is often described: "a conviction for a sex offence [cannot become spent] unless the offence is an eligible sex offence or a designated sex-related offence." "Sex offence" itself is defined by regulation (Spent Convictions Regulations, reg 5) to cover offences under the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 Divisions 11, 11A, 12 and 13 (rape, sexual and commercial sexual offences, and child exploitation material), plus gross indecency under the Summary Offences Act 1953 section 23(2).

The practical outcome: a sex offence that carried imprisonment and does not fall into the historical-decriminalisation categories genuinely cannot be spent. A sex offence with no imprisonment can be spent, but only through the discretionary section 8A application. And a historical conviction for conduct that is no longer criminal, most notably pre-decriminalisation consensual same-sex activity, must be spent once applied for, under sections 8B or 8C.

Other convictions that can never be spent

Two further categories sit outside the spending scheme entirely, beyond sex offences: a body corporate conviction can never be spent, because the Act only applies to natural persons (section 5(2)(a)); and any class of conviction prescribed by regulation could theoretically be excluded (section 5(2)(c)), though no such prescription currently exists.

What a spent conviction gives you, and the disclosure offences

Once spent, section 10 removes the conviction from the person's criminal-history record for essentially every purpose: no disclosure obligation, no use in assessing character or fitness, and it cannot be grounds to refuse or revoke an appointment, post, status or privilege.

Three offences protect that status, all flat dollar maxima rather than penalty units:

• Section 11, unlawfully disclosing a spent conviction from public records: maximum $10,000.
• Section 12, unlawfully disclosing a spent conviction in the course of a business that supplies conviction information, such as a commercial background-check provider: maximum $10,000.
• Section 14, improperly (fraudulently or dishonestly) obtaining spent-conviction information from public-authority records: maximum $10,000.

Where a spent conviction still counts

Schedule 1 to the Act lists 14 categories of exclusion, considerably broader than "children, disability, vulnerable people and aged care":

• Justice agencies (courts, police, prosecutors, corrections) acting in their own functions, and Commonwealth intelligence and immigration bodies.
• Court and tribunal proceedings, jury service, sentencing and bail decisions, and the Parole Board.
• Judicial appointments (judge, magistrate, JP).
• The generic "character test" exclusion (clause 8): any statutory fit-and-proper-person assessment for a licence, registration, accreditation or authorisation, in any occupation. This is how most occupational licensing is reached in South Australia, rather than through a bespoke provision in each licensing Act; firearms licensing is reached separately, through the justice-agency exclusion described below, not through this clause.
• Employment as firefighting-authority staff (for fire-cause convictions), police officers, or corrections and parole staff.
• Screening units, South Australia's Working with Children Check equivalent bodies.

The state's Working with Children Check equivalent has its own express override: the Child Safety (Prohibited Persons) Act 2016 (SA), section 12(2), states that despite the Spent Convictions Act, a spent offence's status as a prescribed or presumptive disqualification offence, and its use in a working with children check, is unaffected.

Firearms licensing in South Australia works differently again. The Firearms Act 2015 (SA) does not mention "spent conviction" anywhere in its text; instead, Spent Convictions Regulations reg 4A declares the Registrar of Firearms a "justice agency," which pulls firearms licensing into Schedule 1's general justice-agency exclusion rather than a bespoke firearms provision.

For the mechanics of the checks themselves, see the state's Working with Children Check page and the national police check page.

On a National Police Certificate

SAPOL is bound by the Spent Convictions Act when deciding what appears on a National Police Certificate, and withholds a spent conviction unless a Schedule 1 exclusion applies to the stated reason for the check. An outcome of "no conviction recorded" is treated as immediately spent and withheld from an ordinary certificate; the amendment that introduced this is commonly dated to May 2013, a date this page has not independently confirmed against the amending instrument. Certain bodies, including Working with Children Check-equivalent screening units, AHPRA and the SA Teachers Registration Board, receive expanded disclosure that includes non-conviction matters. To have an eligible sex offence spent, or to challenge what is released on a certificate, SAPOL directs applicants to the Adelaide Magistrates Court, the section 8A/13A application route described above.

Discrimination protection: a genuine gap

South Australia has no dedicated state-level protection against discrimination for a spent or irrelevant criminal record. Section 10(d) of the Spent Convictions Act says a spent conviction "is not a proper ground" for refusing or revoking an appointment, but this is a rule about the effect of specific decisions, not a standalone discrimination offence with its own complaints process. The Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (SA) contains no criminal-record ground anywhere in its text, including in Part 5B, the Act's catch-all part for other protected grounds. The only protection available is the federal, conciliation-only mechanism under the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986, which cannot make binding orders.

Recent reforms

The current sections 8B and 8C were inserted in April 2021, folding South Australia's approach to historical decriminalised-conduct convictions directly into the general spent-convictions statute, rather than a standalone Act, unlike Queensland, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Tasmania. A 2024 amendment made a narrower technical fix so mental-impairment findings treated as convictions are correctly captured as immediately spent. The Spent Convictions Regulations were remade in August 2026 under a standard 10-year sunset renewal; the current regulation text was not independently confirmed at the time of this article's research, though a sunset renewal ordinarily carries prior settings forward unchanged.

For how spent-conviction status interacts with hiring more broadly, see criminal record and employment rights in Australia.

This article provides general legal information about spent convictions in South Australia, verified against the Spent Convictions Act 2009 (SA) as accessed 18 August 2026. It does not assess whether any individual reader's own conviction is, or will become, spent. For advice on your situation, consult a legal practitioner admitted in South Australia.

Related reading: spent convictions in Australia, the background checks hub, national police checks in Australia, the Working with Children Check in SA, and criminal record and employment rights in Australia.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do convictions in South Australia become spent automatically?

Yes, for most convictions. Section 8(1) of the Spent Convictions Act 2009 spends a conviction other than a sex offence automatically once the qualification period runs: 10 years for an adult offence, 5 years for a juvenile offence. No application is required.

Can a sex offence ever be spent in South Australia?

It depends on the offence. A sex offence that carried imprisonment and is not a historical decriminalised-conduct offence can never be spent. A sex offence with no imprisonment can be spent through a discretionary application to a qualified magistrate. A historical conviction for conduct that is no longer criminal, mainly pre-decriminalisation consensual same-sex activity, must be spent once applied for.

What is the penalty for unlawfully disclosing a spent conviction in South Australia?

Up to $10,000 under section 11 (disclosure from public records), section 12 (disclosure in the course of a business supplying conviction information) or section 14 (improperly obtaining the information). These are flat dollar maximums, not penalty units.

Does South Australia protect people with a spent conviction from discrimination?

Not at the state level. Neither the Spent Convictions Act 2009 nor the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 contains a criminal-record discrimination ground. The only available protection is a weaker, conciliation-only federal mechanism under the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986.

Will a spent conviction show up on a South Australian firearms licence check?

It can. The Firearms Act 2015 does not mention spent convictions directly, but a regulation declares the Registrar of Firearms a justice agency, which brings firearms licensing decisions within Schedule 1's justice-agency exclusion to the Spent Convictions Act's non-disclosure protection.