Question details
Private security
(1604) My adjournment matter this evening is for the attention of the Minister for Police and is related to regulations that are currently under consideration for the private security sector. It is not my normal practice to make submissions on consultations for regulations, but I did so recently. Last year this Parliament passed the Private Security and County Court Amendment Act 2024. There was no opposition to the bill, and it passed on the voices.
Reviewing the debate in Hansard, however, I am now left wondering whether other members realised that this bill would have a significant impact on the private investigator sector. Whilst there was a lot of discussion about private security, there was not a single mention of private investigators. My office has recently met with representatives from this industry who have seen the draft regulations under this act and are very concerned. They believe that they are not fit for purpose and the reforms passed last year create a situation where the problems it seeks to address were happening in a completely different sector. Many private investigators work part-time as subcontractors. They are registered with different companies and take jobs as they come up. The flexibility suits some people who may work around caring arrangements. It also caters to the nature of the work, where different jobs require different specialisations and experience. If the draft regulations are made as written, they will now have to get a private investigator licence and also a private security business licence simply to continue doing the work that they were already doing. This is all a needless duplication and over-regulation of a sector that has done nothing wrong and is seemingly being punished for the bad practices that occurred in a different sector.
The final report on the review of the sector focused mainly on security guards, crowd control and other aspects of private security. Private investigators barely got a mention and were not covered in the regulatory impact statement or the minister’s second-reading speech. On top of the needless licence duplication, the draft regulations also impose obligations that do not make sense for private investigators, such as the requirement to complete a comprehensive risk management plan for any security activity. This is completely unworkable for private investigators, who often work in dynamic environments where they may not even be able to predict where they will be, let alone speculate on potential risks. This sector is a very important one. They are often involved in cases that fall through the cracks, such as financial crime, stalking, fraud and theft, where the police cannot or will not investigate, often presenting evidence briefs that lead to charges and convictions. My request for the minister is to simply exempt private investigators from the regulations.
I am grateful to all individuals and groups who made submissions on the proposed Private Security Regulations 2025 (the Regulations) and the accompanying Regulatory Impact Statement, which were released for public consultation in March 2025. The Regulations have now been made and commenced on 19 June 2025 to coincide with amendments to the Private Security Act 2004 (the Act).
The new section 15A of the Act was designed to address ‘sham contracting’, an unacceptable practice across sectors of the private security industry, which result in security personnel having to hold an ABN and being denied fundamental employment entitlements such as overtime, penalty rates, and leave. Submissions on the Regulations highlighted the unique way in which the private investigator sector operates in practice compared to other sectors. As such, the Regulations have exempted private investigators from the new section 15A of the Act.
The draft Regulations were informed by advice from the Victorian Security Industry Advisory Council (VSIAC), which is made up of representatives of key organisations, including in the private investigator sector. As a result of VSIAC’s contributions, the private investigator sector was exempted from aspects of the new sub-contracting laws to ensure an investigation by a subcontracted investigator is not compromised and a subcontracted investigator’s safety is not placed at risk.
In relation to the requirement to prepare a risk management plan, it will be the role of the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police to publish template plans. Development of the plans is being informed by a VSIAC working group, with the active participation of the private investigation sector.
Private investigators have been part of the private security licensing and registration framework since the 1950s and continue to be a very important part of the industry. Exempting them from the Regulations entirely would render them unable to obtain licences or comply with their obligations under the Act.
Hon Anthony Carbines MP
Minister for Police
Minister for Community Safety
Minister for Victims
Minister for Racing