Victorian men who have criminal records due to historical gay sex charges will have their convictions erased by legislation introduced to State Parliament this week.

Homosexuality was decriminalised in Victoria in 1980, though the law did not come into effect until 1981.

But some men who were convicted have still had to deal with the consequences, including restrictions on travel and applying for some jobs.

Under the new legislation, they would now be able to apply to the Department of Justice to have their convictions expunged.

Victorian Premier Denis Napthine said the legislation would right a wrong.

"It is now accepted that consensual sexual acts between two adult men should never have been a crime," Dr Napthine said.

"These historical convictions have caused ongoing harm and hurt to those who are prosecuted.

"No person should be subjected to unjust discrimination on account of their sexuality."

The Government said applications would be assessed together with "any relevant official records to determine whether the applicant was convicted of an historical homosexual offence and that the act would not constitute an offence today".

The Justice Department would also examine whether the act was consensual and once approved, the courts would be notified to expunge the conviction.

Homosexual conviction was 'humiliating'

Peter McEwan was convicted of homosexual offences in 1967 as a 17-year-old, after police found him in the bushes with a 22-year-old man at a beach known to have been frequented by gay men.

"At the most we were touching each other but there was no nudity ... let alone sex," Mr McEwan said.

"I had no idea what was happening to me, I was utterly alone, I was totally at the mercy of police processes.

"I had no recourse for legal advice, but mostly I felt utter shame and humiliation, both with the process of the two court cases and psychiatric reports and so on, but also with my family."

He pleaded guilty and was convicted of a homosexual offence and released on a two-year good behaviour bond.

"My name was printed on the front page of The Truth newspaper," he said.

"I was at a Catholic all boys school, and suddenly I was just utterly humiliated in front of absolutely everyone and I had not a person I could talk to and I had no emotional resources to be able to withstand it."

Mr McEwan said he was fortunate to become involved with the gay liberation movement at university in the 1970s.

"Up to that stage everything around me, whether it was the law, medicine the church, all institutions had said I was evil, simple, sick and through this process I was able to say, no I'm good," he said.

"That led me to question all the institutions and people who had judged me and said I wasn't good."

'Potentially hundreds of men' affected by homosexual convictions

Anna Brown from the Human Rights Law Centre said it was difficult to tell how many people had been affected by the historical convictions.

"We're talking about potentially hundreds of men who have been convicted of historical homosexual offences," Ms Brown said.

"I think there's a real reason why these people haven't come forward and that's because these people have been living with the shame and stigma of a criminal conviction for all these years for something that shouldn't have been a crime."

Men convicted of homosexual offences would no longer have to fear being turned down for working with children jobs as a result of their convictions, Ms Brown said.

"In practical ways, lifting the burden of these convictions, means that men can apply for jobs and volunteering opportunities without this shadow of a conviction hanging over their heads," she said.

"First of all, these men just didn't apply for those positions because they're so anxious about the convictions being disclosed having an impact on their application.

"But it has meant there's a real risk they could be discriminated against."

Ms Brown said Victoria was the first state to officially expunge homosexual sex convictions and the legislation would have a huge psychological impact for Victoria's gay and lesbian community.

"We're talking about a community that's been criminalised and then medicalised - when people were told that was a sickness - and now finally we're getting to a point where the discrimination has been removed," she said.

"I think this will be a hugely significant step in repairing that harm and making the gay and lesbian community feel that they're valued."

Mr McEwan said while he no longer felt shame over his sexuality, the conviction still had practical implications for him.

"I thought it was a symbolic thing, but then I thought, hold on, now that I am semi-retired and I have often thought about fostering, this made me think that I didn't have that option," he said.

For people who were still carrying shame about their convictions, Mr McEwan said the change in the law would be profound.

"It's not a hot button issue, this is just cleaning up a mess from the past ... but it's the right thing to do and it will have all sorts of profound consequences for people who maybe deep down can let go of the shame they've carried all this time," he said.