A Canberra business leader has called for a law change to enshrine employers' right to ask about job applicants' convictions.
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The call came as the sex offender who employers said did not disclose his recent conviction to two Canberra Centre stores lost both jobs this week.
Canberra Business Council deputy chair Archie Tsirimokos, a commercial lawyer for nearly 30 years, said employers may have concerns about asking for criminal records as they fear a discrimination complaint if details are used to refuse an applicant.
"In my view, it would be preferable to have certainty and consistency around the issue, [and] a law allowing all employers to ask applicants for details of convictions would remove that inconsistency," Mr Tsirimokos said.
Attorney-General Simon Corbell gave no indication a change was needed, as he said an ACT employer can already consider and make employment decisions based on unspent convictions.
"Both ACT private and public sector employers may ask job applicants about their past convictions, however, any question asked about a person's criminal history is taken not to include a reference to a spent conviction," Mr Corbell said.
While Tasmania and the Northern Territory prohibit discrimination based on a criminal record, under federal law it is not discrimination for an employer to sack or not give a job to someone if their criminal record meant they were unable to perform the inherent requirements of a job. The Human Rights Commission can conciliate discrimination claims, however its recommendations are unenforceable.
Certain convictions cannot become spent, including for a sexual offence or where a jail term of more than six months has been imposed.
Royston Barker was suspended last week from his work at the G-Star Raw store in the Canberra Centre after his employer said he declared his conviction on child sex offences only after the victim's mother had approached the media.
A spokesman for G-Star Australia's retail franchise partner said on Thursday that Barker was no longer employed by the company, while on Friday a spokeswoman for a second employer, Rebel, said the company was also not aware of Barker's conviction when he was hired and he had now been terminated.
As retail stores are not defined as "child-related employment", there appears to have been no legal obligation on Barker to disclose the conviction to the employers.
Victims of Crime Commissioner John Hinchey said in general it was for employers to ask - rather than expect volunteered information - about convictions, but the vast majority of those with a record went on to be employed satisfactorily.
An ACT government spokeswoman said ACT Corrective Services would direct an offender to tell an employer of an offence, and would contact the employer, where they considered the particular place of work presented a risk of reoffending.