A conviction is “spent” upon the expiration of a “crime free period” of ten consecutive years following a conviction for an adult offender pursuant to s8(1) Criminal Records Act 1991 (NSW).

A spent conviction stays on your record but the Police will not release the conviction to anyone.  For example, if someone does a criminal history check on you, they will not see the spent convictions.

There are however, exceptions to this for certain offences as follows:

1. A sexual offence;
2. Prison sentence of 6 months or over; and
3. Convictions imposed against a body corporate, that is, a company.

Thus though the record in fact still remains attached to your history as a person, it is not revealed to people checking your history, subject to certain exceptions above.

If you require any information in relation the above, please give Nas Hanafi of Lion Legal a call on (02) 9223 9055.