OzDandy, thank you for replying. I'm so ashamed of my caution, and would a) hate it to scupper my chances of a visa & b) hate for my prospective employers to find out about it and scupper my chances of employment.
May as well be upfront I guess as it'll no doubt come out should I ever apply for PR down the line?
Looks like the old adage, 'if you cant do the time, dont do the crime' comes into effect here, so-to-speak!