From December 2025, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) will commence disclosing conviction information of personnel who have been convicted of specified service offences for inclusion in civilian criminal records systems.

In response to recommendation 23 of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide (RCDVS), the Australian Government agreed to ensure that civilian criminal records include convictions of serious sexual offences and related offences made under the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 (Cth) (DFDA). This will ensure that service convictions that the community would expect to appear on a criminal history record apply to members of the ADF.

Disclosure of service convictions will be implemented in a phased approach, beginning with the convictions of sexual and sexual related offences that occurred between 2018 to the present. Affected personnel will begin receiving written notification from October 2025.

Written notification of the intended disclosure of the remaining categories of convictions, including those that occurred prior to 2018, will be progressed in early 2026.

This does not change the status of the conviction or punishment for affected personnel. This disclosure does not change an individual’s ADF service offence history or rights in relation to that conviction.

Service offences

Reportable

Defence will disclose historical convictions of certain service offences to the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) if they meet the criteria for disclosure.

The convictions made by superior service tribunals (court martial or Defence Force magistrate) that are being considered for disclosure include the following categories:

• convictions of sexual or sexual related offences
• convictions for violence offences
• convictions for 'Territory offences' (i.e. offences against s 61 of the DFDA, see note below)
• any convictions which resulted in a sentence of imprisonment.

Note: Territory offences are defined as offences under Commonwealth law and criminal offences, which if committed in the Jervis Bay Territory would constitute an offence in that Territory.

Members who have superior tribunal convictions for any offences listed above, will be contacted and advised if their conviction is being considered for disclosure or not. If their conviction is being considered for disclosure, the person will have a specified period to respond if they wish to challenge the proposal to disclose their service conviction. They will be advised of the decision-making criteria to do this, and provided support services to assist in this process.

Non-disclosure

If a conviction does not involve a sexual or sexual related offence, a violence offence, a Territory offence, or did not result in a punishment of imprisonment (whether partly or wholly suspended), then the service conviction is not being considered for disclosure.

Every Australian jurisdiction has laws that limit the release of information that relate to some older offences. These are known as spent’ convictions.

Convictions usually become spent after 10 years for offences committed by adults, and after 5 years for offences committed by children.

The spent convictions provisions of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) will apply to disclosures made by Defence and retained by the ACIC.

If a service conviction is disclosed to the ACIC and later becomes spent, the release of that record will be managed within the ACIC’s National Police Reference System (NPRS) in accordance with applicable law and protocols on spent convictions. Further information on how spent convictions are managed on the NPRS, visit the ACIC website.

Written notification

From October 2025, affected current and former serving personnel will begin to receive written notification advising whether their service conviction is proposed to be disclosed as part of this process.

Individuals are required to acknowledge receipt of the notice. Individuals will have the opportunity to respond if they wish to seek a review of the decision to disclose their service conviction. If individuals have questions about whether their service conviction will be disclosed they should contact Defence Counsel Services by calling 1800 563 563 during business hours.

Individuals who have not received a notice and believe their conviction may be subject to disclosure, should ensure their contact details held by Defence are up to date. The Defence Service Centre can provide information on how to request a Service Record to be updated.

Following receipt of written notification, personnel will have a specified period to respond if they wish to challenge the proposal to disclose their service conviction. They will be informed of the decision-making criteria and provided with access to support services to assist them throughout the process. 

The individual’s chain of command will be notified to facilitate the delivery of notices, and to ensure support services are available.

National Police Checking Service records

Individuals convicted by a Defence Force magistrate or court martial of a serious offence since 2015, that conviction may be released by the ACIC as part of a National Coordinated Criminal History Check or a National Police Certificate.

Service convictions for relevant sexual and related offences will be disclosed to the ACIC commencing in December 2025. The remaining historical offences will be disclosed starting from early 2026.

This process does not change the legal status of the conviction, but will make it more accessible to civilian police agencies and other authorities who have a legal reason to view the information.

Civilian police agencies conducting criminal history checks will be able to view conviction information for service offences in the NPRS. The NPRS is administered by the ACIC and enables Australian police agencies to share essential policing information and intelligence with other police agencies.

Criminal history checks

Conviction information will not be publicly accessible through the NPRS, but can appear when the ACIC or another authorised entity conducts a criminal history check or when an individual requests for a National Police Certificate. The disclosure record is required to show that it is a service conviction and not a civilian criminal offence. Employers will be able to request the information where it is lawful and appropriate, but can only access it when given permission.

Certain jobs may require individuals to undergo a criminal history check. This can include:

• working in aged care or with older people
• working with children
• working as a teacher or teacher's aide
• working with, or caring for, people with disability
• working in an immigration detention centre
• working in a hospital
• working in firefighting or fire prevention.

Other reasons for a criminal history check include:

• applying for a firearms licence or permit
• immigration or citizenship applications
• some government security clearances
• some overseas employment
• taxi, rideshare or bus driver accreditation.

In these instances, unless otherwise approved by law, the individual or applicant will need to grant permission to the organisation to request a criminal history check.

Once a request is processed by the ACIC, the details of an individual’s criminal history check will be made available to an authorised requesting authority.

Any disclosure of a conviction of a service offence will expressly refer to the offence as a service offence.

For example, it is expected the record will state: ‘Service Conviction – DFDA Section 34 – Assaulting a Subordinate – Detention for 40 days’.

Convictions of ADF personnel in a civilian court will occur in the usual manner. The recording of civilian criminal court records is not controlled by Defence.