VIC National Police Check - Will Past Arrest Affect My Job Application?

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6 April 2016
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Hello,

I am currently applying for a federal job such as army/customs/police, etc. something along those lines.

When I was 14, I was arrested for trespassing on a construction site and charged with burglary. I had no malicious intent, though, not that it is important now I suppose.

Anyway, I am wondering, can this come up in any sort of work disclosure, vetting, etc?

It doesn't seem to come up in the standard national police check but I'm aware these sort of organisations can take things a step further. My caution is spent as its been 5+ years since the arrest (almost a decade actually) and I have not committed any crimes since, so it wasn't converted into a charge.

Anyway can this come up in any checks? Can it affect my prospects, if they ask me if I have ever been arrested? Do I have to state the situation even if it is a spent charge?

Thanks for any help.
 

Piers Blomfield

Well-Known Member
3 April 2016
20
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Griffith
www.blomfieldlegal.com.au
This information will be recorded on the VIC police data base, however, it may not transfer to a Federal Police Check as it occurred when you were a juvenile. The best policy is always honesty. The police value that more than anything else as you ultimately become an officer of the court and a professional witness.

Given your age at the time of offending, providing you can show you are a person of good character now, I would suggest they would put little weight on such a conviction. A friend of mine was charged with a similar offence when he was 15 and joined the VIC Police at the age of 21 and he is now a lawyer. He has always been honest about what he did as a 15-year-old.
 

Hope this helps

Well-Known Member
26 March 2016
116
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Hello,

I am currently applying for a federal job such as army/customs/police, etc. something along those lines.

When I was 14, I was arrested for trespassing on a construction site and charged with burglary. I had no malicious intent, though, not that it is important now I suppose.

Anyway, I am wondering, can this come up in any sort of work disclosure, vetting, etc?

It doesn't seem to come up in the standard national police check but I'm aware these sort of organisations can take things a step further. My caution is spent as its been 5+ years since the arrest (almost a decade actually) and I have not committed any crimes since, so it wasn't converted into a charge.

Anyway can this come up in any checks? Can it affect my prospects, if they ask me if I have ever been arrested? Do I have to state the situation even if it is a spent charge?

Thanks for any help.

If you are applying for any of the mentioned forces, yes I strongly recommend you to state verbally or on paper when asked if you have broken any laws, charged with or have been arrested, etc., in any form that you state and explain what occurred.

All information is accessible by gov. bodies, whether you were found lost at age 7, abused as a child and placed in a foster home; whether you were fined for a parking ticket or speeding, everything will be found out.

However, being 14, depending what actually occurred, what you stole and whether you did it for a criminal person, associated with a criminal person/ gang or sold it and made a profit, also charged with possession of stolen goods, was an accessory, etc., to a crime - all will be recorded whether charged or not.

It used to be if you were a minor at the time, anything you did was not allowed to affect you once you were 18, but laws have changed.

So yes as Peirs stated - Honesty is the best Policy. Tell them everything and they will decide, because you can't lie, deny nor hide when it comes to Gov. Data.

They have access to everything regarding yourself. And I do mean everything relating to offences, schools, grades, what associations you belong to, each address you have moved to, bank accounts, jobs, tax file numbers, Centrelink, all over Australia and including international checks.

So man up! Be honest. Everyone makes mistakes - as I always say: We are all apprentices of Life! That's because we can never know everything and never will, so always learn, nor are we perfect. But we are perfect at being ourselves and can change if we want to.

I wouldn't worry too much. A lot of males and females have been in trouble and done more than yourself, including at the age of 21 and 23 years of age and gotten into army, navy, police, airforce.

Just make sure you are very honest regarding your background and explain everything. So tell them.

So do you see any point in not disclosing yourself?

It would be highly thought of if you were to disclose when asked on a form in person. I wouldn't worry if I were you. You're not the first nor last to enter any Gov. Forces and done something silly or had a police record as long as your arm and still got in.