Criminal Records, Spent Convictions and Privacy : A Trans-Tasman Comparison

The increasingly popular practice of pre-employment checking for criminal convictions is an issue of concern given the large number of individuals who have some form of criminal record. This article provides an overview and comparison of Australian and New Zealand anti-discrimination, privacy and spent convictions laws as they apply to criminal records and of relevant law reform initiatives. It points out that neither country provides sufficient protection and suggests a possible way forward