It is funny... i have never had any inclination to visit Australia - but when you find you 'can't' go it makes you want to!

Hi Mintaka,

Thanks for pointing that out. It still all seems very confusing though. When applying for an electronic visa, it only mentions convictions that resulted in a sentence of more than 12 months (which mine didn't). It doesn't mention anything about having to pass the "character test". Perhaps this only applies to certain visas? Either way, I realise it might be still possible to enter despite my conviction being listed as one that means I wouldn't pass the character test. It's just even more bureaucracy that I'll have to deal with. Also, a bit frustrating that my conviction, which didn't receive a custodial sentence, makes me ineligible for a visa while a conviction that resulted in imprisonment of up to 12 months (but no more) would be fine! Seems a rather odd system. Ho hum....

Well, this is rather soul destroying. Until I was made aware of this, it seemed as if I was eligible to travel to Australia. However, my offence is specifically listed under the "You Will Not Pass the Character Test if:" section. I thought that you were eligible to travel to Oz if you didn't have a prison sentence of over 12 months, but this seems to have changed. I don't have any immediate plans to travel but it's always nice to have the option. The worst part about finding out these kinds of things is what it does to your self-esteem....

Thanks for the info though Deb.

Just saw this section on their website. What does it actually mean? That you have to declare all spent convictions? Or you only have to declare spent ones if they happened within 10 years?

"You must declare all spent convictions when you complete your application form.

The spent convictions law allows people with minor convictions to disregard those convictions after a certain period of time. A conviction may be considered spent if:

it is 10 years since the date of the conviction (or five years for juvenile offenders)
the person was not sentenced to imprisonment or was not sentenced to imprisonment for more than 30 months
the person has not re-offended during the 10 years (or five years for juveniles) period
a statutory or prescribed exclusion does not apply.
The department is allowed to ask you for this information for the purpose of assessing your application."

Sorry to flood this thread! But I just found the following type of visa which doesn't seem to be as detailed or draconian as the one you originally provided a link for:

https://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/651.aspx?tab=1&heading=who-could-get-this-visa

The only thing it says about criminal convictions is the following:

"Criminal convictions

If you have had one or more criminal convictions (in any country) for which the sentence or sentences (whether served or not) total 12 months or more you will not be permitted entry to Australia whilst holding an eVisitor. If you have had any criminal conviction in any country, a more appropriate visa for you to apply for may be a Visitor visa (subclass 600), rather than an eVisitor."

Going by these details, I would be eligible to travel! They don't half make it complicated...

Thanks much appreciated

Is this for holidays to Australia as well ?

Anybody travelling to Australia must pass the Australian government’s ‘character requirement’, which includes criminal records. We’ve added a link to our travel to Australia page which provides additional information about the Character and Police Certificate Requirements for entry into Australia. See www.immi.gov.au/Help/Pages/character-police/requirements.aspx

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Hi.
I managed to get into Oz with a record (24 month sentence) even though my offence made it impossible to enter the country. My long standing partner is Aussie so this helped my visa eventually being approved. Had to bend over backwards to get all necessary paperwork together. The point is that if you have a record there is chances of getting in. Get yourself a good Australian Immigration lawyer to assess your case and take it from there. This way can be costly but it is worth being able to lead a normal life without continual harassment for your record. I'm actually working for a Blasting company now, working with explosives. This would be unheard of in UK.