Charges were dismissed but still a police record?

[Region N]

The following occurred in NSW and I would appreciate any feedback.

In 2010 I was accused of assault, and despite there being evidence that contradicted the allegations, the police arrested me anyway. They processed me (fingerprints, photo etc), charged me and took out a temporary AVO preventing me contacting the person until the matter was heard.

The charge to was dismissed or dropped at the very first hearing. I cannot remember if the Police immediately withdrew, or whether the Magistrate directed that the charges be dismissed. All I recall is that the hearing was over in about a minute and the whole thing cost me about $7k in legal representation.

Now I find myself in a farming occupation and require a firearms licence. Reading up on the requirements, I am unsure whether that temporary AVO will mean that I am unable to obtain a licence, even though they dropped the charges. So my questions are

1. Do Police purge their system (scrub records) in cases where charges were dropped?
2. If no, is there any way to get the police record expunged?
3. Will a temporary AVO brought by police for a matter that was dismissed affect my application for a firearms licence?

I have never been charged with anything before or after, and it does not sit well with me that Police have my photo, fingerprints, and an AVO on file when they dropped the charges.

 

[Scruff]

You mention that the court matter occurred in NSW, so I am assuming here that you are applying for the firearms licence in NSW as well. If not, different requirements will likely apply in different states.

Since you were not convicted by the court, there is no conviction that affects your eligibility to obtain a firearms licence in NSW.

The AVO may be a different matter though, depending on the type of order. "Apprehended Violence Orders" and "Interim Apprehended Violence Orders" are treated differently for the purpose of eligibility for a firearms licence.

Apprehended Violence Order ("AVO"):
You can not be issued a firearms licence while subject to an AVO, or for 10 years after the expiry date of an AVO. If an AVO is revoked prior to it's expiry date, the revocation has the same effect as the expiry or revocation of an Interim AVO as described below.

Interim Apprehended Violence Order ("Interim AVO"):
You can not be issued a firearms licence while subject to an Interim AVO. Once the Interim AVO expires or is revoked, it has no further bearing on eligibility to obtain a firearms licence.

The "temporary" AVO you speak of is likely to be an Interim AVO (you need to check your paperwork). If that's the case, then since there was no conviction, you should be eligible to obtain a firearms licence.

If it was an AVO (NOT an Interim AVO), then:
1. If the court ordered that the AVO be cancelled/revoked at your hearing, then you should be eligible for a firearms licence.
2. If the court didn't make any such order and the AVO simply expired, then you won't be eligible for a firearms licence until 10 years from the date the AVO expired.

Basically, it comes down to what type of order it appears as in "the system" and, if it was registered as an AVO, then whether or not it expired or was revoked by the court. If it's in the system as an Interim AVO, then you should be fine.

Photos and fingerprints:
Whenever a person is charged, these stay in the Police database permanantly and there is no way to remove them that I know of. You shouldn't be concerned about this, as it will be mandatory for you to provide them again during the application process for the firearms licence anyway (to confirm your identity and also, I think all Australian firearms licences are photo licences now).

 

[Region N]

You mention that the court matter occurred in NSW, so I am assuming here that you are applying for the firearms licence in NSW as well. If not, different requirements will likely apply in different states.

Since you were not convicted by the court, there is no conviction that affects your eligibility to obtain a firearms licence in NSW.

The AVO may be a different matter though, depending on the type of order. "Apprehended Violence Orders" and "Interim Apprehended Violence Orders" are treated differently for the purpose of eligibility for a firearms licence.

Apprehended Violence Order ("AVO"):
You can not be issued a firearms licence while subject to an AVO, or for 10 years after the expiry date of an AVO. If an AVO is revoked prior to it's expiry date, the revocation has the same effect as the expiry or revocation of an Interim AVO as described below.

Interim Apprehended Violence Order ("Interim AVO"):
You can not be issued a firearms licence while subject to an Interim AVO. Once the Interim AVO expires or is revoked, it has no further bearing on eligibility to obtain a firearms licence.

The "temporary" AVO you speak of is likely to be an Interim AVO (you need to check your paperwork). If that's the case, then since there was no conviction, you should be eligible to obtain a firearms licence.

If it was an AVO (NOT an Interim AVO), then:
1. If the court ordered that the AVO be cancelled/revoked at your hearing, then you should be eligible for a firearms licence.
2. If the court didn't make any such order and the AVO simply expired, then you won't be eligible for a firearms licence until 10 years from the date the AVO expired.

Basically, it comes down to what type of order it appears as in "the system" and, if it was registered as an AVO, then whether or not it expired or was revoked by the court. If it's in the system as an Interim AVO, then you should be fine.

Photos and fingerprints:
Whenever a person is charged, these stay in the Police database permanantly and there is no way to remove them that I know of. You shouldn't be concerned about this, as it will be mandatory for you to provide them again during the application process for the firearms licence anyway (to confirm your identity and also, I think all Australian firearms licences are photo licences now).

Thanks for your input much appreciated, it was in 2010 so worst case scenario I wait until 2020, however I also believe it was an interim AVO.