The Hidden Risk: When Your Security Provider Steps Into Investigation Without a Licence

Many corporate clients engage static or mobile security teams to manage access, deter crime, and respond to incidents. This is standard practice. When managed properly, security guards play a valuable frontline role in protecting business operations and assets.

But some companies make a critical misstep.

They ask their existing security provider to conduct investigations, especially surveillance, instead of engaging a licensed professional investigator.

This is more than a grey area. It is a breach of legislation, a serious operational risk, and a liability exposure for both the client and the security provider.

What’s Actually Happening

In these scenarios, we often see:

• A security company agreeing to provide surveillance on an employee, contractor, or third party
• Unlicensed guards, with no formal investigative training, deployed to follow, monitor, or photograph individuals
• The client assuming this is a legitimate extension of their existing contract, unaware that investigations are a regulated activity

In effect, the security provider is using untrained, unlicensed personnel to carry out surveillance. This is a Category 2 security activity under the Private Security Act (Victoria), which requires a separate investigator’s licence.

Risks to the Corporate Client

Engaging a security company to conduct unlicensed investigations exposes your business to:

• Legal liability: You may be held responsible for commissioning unlicensed activity, particularly if evidence is used in employment, legal, or contractual decisions
• Breach of the Private Security Act: Surveillance is not covered under a security guard licence. Using someone unlicensed is a breach, even if unintentional
• Privacy and HR violations: Covertly observing staff without due process or legal grounds may violate privacy law and workplace surveillance legislation
• Inadmissible evidence: Anything gathered unlawfully may be rejected in court, tribunals, or insurance proceedings, undermining your objectives
• Reputational damage: If discovered, the use of unlicensed surveillance reflects poorly on your governance, risk management, and compliance standards

Risks to the Security Provider

Security companies that accept these requests are often placing themselves in legal jeopardy by:

• Providing a service, they are not licensed to offer
• Deploying staff who have no investigative training
• Operating without appropriate insurance coverage for investigative liability
• Exposing their clients to significant risk, often unknowingly

In short, they are breaching the Private Security Act. This places both their clients and their own licence at risk.

Understanding the Difference: Security vs Surveillance

It is important to understand the clear distinction between the role of a security guard and that of a licensed private investigator conducting surveillance. A security guard, whether in uniform or plain clothes, operates in a fixed location such as a shopping centre, construction site, event, or corporate building. Their role is to deter, detect, and respond to threats in real time, protecting people, property, and assets. They are trained in conflict management and emergency response and operate under a Security Guard Licence. They are not authorised or trained to follow individuals, conduct investigations, or use covert surveillance techniques.

In contrast, a licensed private investigator is trained to lawfully observe individuals across multiple environments. These are often mobile, discreet, and long-term operations. Investigators use surveillance methods that comply with the Private Security Act. Their goal is not to prevent incidents but to gather legally admissible evidence or insights into a person’s behaviour, patterns, or associations. Investigators must hold a specific Private Investigator Licence. They are trained in covert methodology and produce professional reports suitable for court, HR proceedings, or insurance claims. While both roles contribute to safety and intelligence in different ways, the skill sets, legal boundaries, and operating environments are entirely distinct. One cannot replace the other without risk.

How to Protect Your Business

If you need evidence, intelligence, or surveillance for internal matters, you must:

1. Engage a licensed Private Investigator, not a security guard
2. Check the licence class of the provider. In Victoria, a separate licence for “Private Investigator” is required
3. Request a formal investigative strategy and ensure the methodology complies with workplace and privacy laws
4. Never rely on your existing guard provider to “do a bit of checking” or “follow someone around”. It is not legal, and it is not safe

A Note for Security Providers. Education Over Exposure

This issue also presents an opportunity. If you are a security provider unsure about your licensing boundaries or want to support your clients more fully, we encourage you to reach out. At RIVICA Investigations & Covert Solutions, we regularly partner with reputable security companies to deliver lawful, high-quality surveillance and investigative services without compromising your licence or your client’s trust.

We are always willing to work alongside your teams, not compete with them. This ensures clients receive a complete solution that is professional, ethical, and fully compliant.

If you are ever in doubt, contact us for a confidential conversation about how we can support you.

When You Need Intelligence, Trust the Specialists

At RIVICA Investigations & Covert Solutions, we are often called in after surveillance has been botched by unlicensed guards. This usually places the client in a worse position than when they started.

Our team:

• Holds current investigator licences
• Has decades of law enforcement and surveillance expertise
• Uses risk-assessed, legally compliant investigative practices
• Provides evidence that stands up in court or employment disputes

Do not gamble with legal exposure or your company’s reputation.

Contact us before you act. Ensure your investigations are handled the right way, from the outset.