Latest AFR Article, page-46

I think many are missing the point here. The only way to find a person's criminal history is to ask a Commonwealth agency. That agency is not permitted BY LAW to divulge spent convictions. No company can take the time to dig into Court records in every jurisdication in Australia and overseas over several decades on the off-chance of finding a "spent" conviction.

In the case of RE, he served one month IIRC, with a few months extra suspended. On a scale of seriousness of crime we can deduce that the Court did not consider it serious enough to warrant a lengthy conviction.

Whether or not you consider him suitable for his current role is up to you. But it has been established that BIG, ASX and ASIC are all correct when they say that their investigations have revealed no recorded convictions. That is the law. Disagree with the law if you like, but BIG have completed all that is required of them by ASX rules.

If you take a harder view, consider this: plenty of people have convictions concealed under this legislation and may well be serving as company directors. Convictions such as drink driving, speeding and so on can all attract custodial sentences for more serious cases. If it occurred twenty years ago, does that make that person unsuitable today to be a director? Under the law today the answer would be they can be a company director.

The law can only be changed by Parliament. Get in touch with your local MP if you feel aggrieved. BIG has no say in it.