---
title: "Commonwealth spent conviction screen before a client is asked to disclose"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/precedents/criminal-law/cth-spent-conviction-screen"
type: "precedent"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "a20-cth-spent-conviction-screen"
area_id: "A20"
kind: "checklist"
ai_level: "yellow"
version: 1
task_ids: ["A20-W20261018-4"]
law_stated_as_at: "2026-10-22"
---

# Commonwealth spent conviction screen before a client is asked to disclose

> Screen for the Commonwealth Spent Convictions Scheme as the OAIC describes it. It records the waiting period, the 30-month imprisonment limit and the exclusions named on that page.…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/precedents/criminal-law/cth-spent-conviction-screen  
Law stated as at: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

Screen for the Commonwealth Spent Convictions Scheme as the OAIC describes it. It records the waiting period, the 30-month imprisonment limit and the exclusions named on that page. It does not decide that a conviction is spent.

## Key facts

- Kind: Checklist. Steps or checks to work through and tick off.
- Practice area: [Criminal Law](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/criminal-law.md)
- Jurisdictions: Australia, Commonwealth
- AI level: Yellow. You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on.
- Law stated as at: 2026-10-22
- Status: Maintained. Checked on 2026-10-22 against the authority it cites, for Australia and Commonwealth.

## When to use it

Use before a client is asked to disclose a conviction, or before an agency or employer is told about one, where the Commonwealth scheme may apply. A state or territory scheme may also apply. No state Act was opened for this checklist.

## Used for these tasks

- [Check whether a conviction is spent before the client discloses it](https://ailawframework.com/practice/criminal-law/check-whether-a-conviction-is-spent-before-the-client-discloses-it.md)

## How AI may be used

AI may enter dates and sentence details the lawyer supplies against the OAIC tests. The lawyer decides whether the conviction is spent and whether an exclusion applies.

**AI may:**

- Record the date of conviction, the sentence, and whether the person was a juvenile offender, from documents the lawyer supplies
- Calculate the calendar end of a 10-year or 5-year period only after the lawyer has chosen which period applies
- List any later offence the lawyer has already identified as occurring during that period

**AI must not:**

- Must not say that a conviction is spent, or that the client may withhold it
- Must not apply a state or territory waiting period
- Must not quote a Crimes Act section number. The OAIC page does not give one, and the Act was not opened

**The lawyer checks:**

- The conviction is a less serious federal, state, territory or foreign offence of the kind the page covers, or it is not
- Imprisonment was none, or not more than 30 months, or the pardon or quashed-conviction path applies
- No exclusion on the page applies, including working with children, a law-enforcement use, or a decision under the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 or the Migration Act 1958

## Authorities

- [Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, Criminal records (Commonwealth Spent Convictions Scheme under the Crimes Act 1914, including the waiting period and named exclusions)](https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/your-privacy-rights/more-privacy-rights/criminal-records)

## Full text and drafting notes

The full text and the drafting notes are not part of this public page. Signed-in firm accounts can read them at https://ailawframework.com/precedents/criminal-law/cth-spent-conviction-screen and through the signed-in MCP connector https://ailawframework.com/mcp/firm.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*