29 articles
Tasmania calls it annulment, not spending. See the automatic 10 or 5-year period, what can never be annulled, and the court's power to revive an annulled conviction.
Australia runs eight separate working with children schemes plus two kinds of national police check. See what each jurisdiction calls its check, what it costs, and how spent convictions differ by state.
Queensland's working with children check is the Blue Card, not the legacy "Yellow Card". Current fee, validity, penalties for working without one, and how it interacts with spent convictions.
There is no general Commonwealth law banning criminal-record discrimination in hiring. See what the AHRC pathway actually offers, why the Fair Work Act does not cover it, and what employers must do under the Privacy Act.
Australia has two routes to a national police check: the AFP National Police Certificate for Commonwealth and ACT purposes, and the NCCHC for general employment. Fees, consent rules and when to use each.
The Northern Territory's Ochre Card costs $89 for paid work and $8 for volunteers, not free, and lasts just 2 years. See the penalty for working without one and how NT's anti-discrimination law treats criminal record.
How a police check works in the ACT: it is the AFP National Police Certificate at $56/$113, plus the ACT Policing fingerprint fork and its unresolved $26 fee.
How a NSW National Police Check works: NSW Police Force's own online process, the $58.60 standard fee, fingerprint and volunteer rates, turnaround, and what appears on the result.
How a National Police Check works in the NT: SAFE NT's single portal, the $92 fee schedule effective 1 July 2026, and why turnaround time is not published.
How to get a National Police Certificate in Queensland: application channels, the current $78.15 fee, turnaround times, and Queensland's anti-discrimination gap.
How to get a National Police Certificate in South Australia: SAPOL's application process, the $82 fee and volunteer rates, processing times, and the state's anti-discrimination law.
How to get a National Police Record Check in Tasmania: Tasmania Police and Service Tasmania's process, the $70 fee and volunteer rate, turnaround, and the state's discrimination law.
How a Victoria National Police Check works: Victoria Police's fees, the $91.50 standard rate, turnaround, and the state's own spent conviction protection under the Equal Opportunity Act.
How to get a National Police Certificate in WA: the online-only application process, the current $66.00 fee, processing times, and WA's anti-discrimination gap.
Tasmania's RWVP costs $137.20, but is free for volunteer registrations from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027 under a temporary fee-relief measure. See what happens when that measure ends.
Australia has no single spent-convictions rule. The Commonwealth 30-month threshold applies only to Commonwealth offences; South Australia uses a lower 12/24-month test. See how each state differs.
New South Wales spends most convictions automatically after 10 years (adults) or 3 years (children). See the exclusions, the disclosure offence, and where it still counts.
Queensland's Criminal Law (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act 1986 sets a 10 year adult and 5 year rehabilitation period, capped by a 30 month sentence ceiling.
South Australia spends most convictions automatically after 10 or 5 years. See how sex offences, disclosure penalties, and exclusions actually work under the 2009 Act.
ACT convictions become spent automatically after 5 or 10 years, but a sentence over 6 months can never be spent, stricter than the Commonwealth's 30-month rule.
NT convictions become spent automatically after 5 or 10 years, but a sentence over 6 months, or a sexual offence, can never be spent. How the NT's rules work.
Victoria spends most convictions automatically after 10 years (adults) or 5 years (young offenders). See the serious-conviction court pathway, the offence, and the exclusions.
Western Australia has no automatic spent-conviction path. See how the District Court and Police Commissioner tiers work, waiting periods, and the juvenile exception.
Every Australian state and territory runs its own working with children scheme under a different name and a different Act. See how they compare, and why none is portable.
The NSW Working with Children Check costs $112 for paid roles, is free for volunteers, and lasts 5 years. See the Act behind it and how it fits into Australia's wider background-check landscape.
South Australia's Working with Children Check costs $145, or $73.50 for tertiary students, is free for volunteers, and lasts 5 years. See the penalty for working without one and SA's own spent-convictions thresholds.
The Victorian Working with Children Check costs $139.20 for employees from 1 July 2026, is free for volunteers, and lasts 5 years. The Worker Screening Act 2020 governs it, but does not rename it.
The WA Working with Children Check costs $87 for employees and $11 for volunteers, and lasts 3 years. See the penalty for working without one and how WA's spent-convictions rules differ from every other state.
The ACT's Working with Vulnerable People registration costs $163 for paid work, is free for volunteer-only registration, and lasts 5 years. See the penalties for working without one.