So if you had a few assault charges and resist arrest 10 yrs ago it should be ok?
I think you will find that an assault charge is permanent and exempt from the "spent convictions" legislation.
However, in relation to a firearms licence, I think you might be able to apply for the licence after 10 years, regardless of the existing record, as you have passed the criteria of the criminal conviction being beyond the 10 year timeframe. This is of course provided that you have no other significant criminal history that is more recent than this.
Basically speaking, any serious criminal (indictable) offences must have been recorded 10 years or more ago in order for you to satisfy the criteria.
As I said though, it mean your automatically going to qualify, each case is taken and considered on an individual case by case basis.
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INFO ON COMMONWEALTH SPENT CONVICTIONS SCHEME:
Criminal records
Part VIIC of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth), the Commonwealth "Spent Convictions Scheme" provides protection for individuals with old minor convictions in certain circumstances. The Privacy Commissioner has the power to investigate breaches of the legislation and is also required to provide advice to the Attorney General in relation to exemptions under the scheme.
Spent Convictions Scheme
The Commonwealth Spent Convictions Scheme came into force on 30 June 1990 under Part VIIC of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth). The scheme allows a person to disregard some old criminal convictions after ten years (or five years in the case of juvenile offenders) and provides protection against unauthorised use and disclosure of this information. It covers convictions for minor federal, state and foreign offences, with the protections available varying according to which type of offence (federal, state or foreign) gave rise to the conviction. The scheme also covers pardons and quashed convictions.
There are some exclusions (PDF) from the scheme, but they are very limited. The Privacy Commissioner may also advise the Minister about whether requests for complete or partial exclusions from the application of the scheme should be granted.
Spent Convictions Compliance Notes
The Privacy Commissioner has issued two compliance notes concerning the scheme:
Old conviction information and Commonwealth authorities (compliance note 1/91) - Download in PDF
Old conviction information and non-Commonwealth authorities (compliance note 2/91) - Download in PDF
For exclusions to the Commonwealth Spent Convictions Scheme see: Exclusions.