PAST indiscretions have come back to haunt a Bundaberg man who lost an appeal after he was refused a blue card, putting at risk his job as an employment agency consultant.

The 45-year-old's application for the card, which authorises a person to work with children in any environment, supervised or not, was initially refused in 2016.

Although the man does not work with children, his employer wanted him to have a blue card.

According to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, the man's criminal convictions, substance abuse and propensity to commit violent acts were the reasons his application was initially rejected.

The court heard the man had a lengthy criminal history, which began when he was 13, continued well into his adult life, with the most recent offending in April 2012.

His criminal history included multiple property and antisocial offences as well as convictions for more serious offences such as armed robbery, serious offences of violence such as maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm and offences relating to antisocial behaviour and drug and alcohol-fuelled offending.

The man told the tribunal that he found the drug lifestyle very difficult and was admitted to numerous rehabilitation facilities before joining the methadone program at the age of 23.

The program allowed him to overcome his addiction to heroin and moved away from where he was living and eventually, by the age of 26, had weaned himself off the methadone program.

However, not long after he moved away from the drug lifestyle, he relapsed after he reunited with long-term friends.

The applicant told the tribunal the friends were members of an outlaw motorcycle club and they led him towards another drug - methylamphetamine.

The tribunal found that although the applicant had now disassociated with the use of illicit drugs, and continued to engage with Narcotics Anonymous, his abuse of alcohol in 2012 and continued use of alcohol suggested a risk of using substances as a form of self-medication.

The tribunal said it was mindful of the fact that a blue card was fully transferable.

The blue card is unconditional in its effect, allowing the holder to undertake a wide range of child-related activities, including homestays involving children.

The tribunal said it therefore considered the risk factors outweighed the protective factors and it would not be in the best interests of children to grant the man a blue card.