Summary of updates – April 2015

Here’s a summary of the updates that we’ve made recently to our Information Hub.

There are links within each update to where you can find more information about the update on our Hub. There are also links next to many of the updates, which link to threads on our online forum where you can discuss these with other members of the forum.

Work and Volunteering

• ‘Relevant orders’ and when they become spent – We get quite a lot of enquiries from people looking to find out how ‘relevant orders’ (i.e. referral orders, restraining orders, SOPO’s) affect the time it takes for their conviction to become spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. So we’ve added a section on the Hub page ‘Long list of sentences/disposals and how long it takes for them to become spent under the ROA’ which explains this in more detail.  If you’ve been affected by a ‘relevant order’ post a comment on the Forum.
• Detailed guide to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act – We’ve made some minor changes to the detailed guide to make it easier to navigate your way around – it was quite a long guide, so we’ve created an index with some quick links.
• Volunteering – We’ve developed some new information on volunteering which covers where to find volunteering opportunities, how the Rehabilitation of Offenders act applies to voluntary roles and some links to useful websites and resources.

About Criminal Record Checks

• Out of court disposals – We’ve put together some new information setting out details of disposals available to the police as alternatives to the formal justice system. This information sets out how and when out of court disposals are disclosed on criminal record checks and is a useful tool for anybody supporting individuals in police stations who want to know the impact of accepting an out of court disposal.  What experience have you had of out of court disposals, let us know on the Forum.

Travel

• Travel to Australia – 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.  If you’ve travelled to Australia, share your experiences on the Forum.