Spent Convictions Act 2000

This Act provides a scheme to limit the effect of a person’s conviction for certain offences if the person completes a period of crime-free behaviour.

Under the scheme, after completion of a period of crime-free behaviour, a conviction to which the scheme applies is regarded as spent and, subject to certain exceptions, does not form part of the person’s criminal history and may only be used for certain purposes.

This Act also deals with—

the effect of the quashing of a conviction and the pardoning of an offence; and

the extinguishment of—

youth offence convictions, with limited exceptions; and

historical homosexual offence convictions.

Note See the Discrimination Act 1991, s 7 (1) (k) for discrimination on the ground of irrelevant criminal record. Irrelevant criminal record includes a record relating to a spent or an extinguished conviction (see that Act, dict).