It depends on the offence. If you have a recorded conviction for a disqualifying offence, the Security Providers Act 1993 prevents you from being considered an appropriate person to hold a Queensland security provider licence for 10 years from the date of conviction. During that 10-year period, a new licence application will be refused and an existing security licence can be cancelled.

After 10 years, however, the conviction does not simply disappear from consideration. The Queensland Office of Fair Trading (OFT) can still consider disqualifying offences older than 10 years, other recorded convictions and relevant conduct when deciding whether you are an appropriate person to hold a security licence. There is also an important difference between a recorded conviction and an unrecorded finding of guilt. OFT currently requires applicants to disclose an unrecorded finding of guilt for a disqualifying offence within the previous five years and may request further information before determining suitability.

So the simple answer is: a recorded disqualifying conviction creates an automatic 10-year barrier, but criminal history can remain relevant to OFT's suitability assessment beyond that period. If you completed your CPP20218 Certificate II in Security Operations with BARS Training Australia and subsequently experience difficulties with your initial licence application, BARS provides pro bono advocacy assistance to our students to help them understand and respond to OFT correspondence.