If you work in private security you need either a company licence, an individual licence or a certificate of approval (COA). Learn who needs what.
| If you are or will be: | You will need: |
|---|---|
|
a company |
a company licence |
|
a sole trader |
an individual licence |
|
an employee (everyone not a sole trader or company) |
a certificate of approval (COA) |
If you run a company that provides private security or private investigation services for money, you must have a company licence.
If you don’t, you could be fined up to $40,000. Your company could be fined up to $60,000.
If you have a company licence, all your staff who provide private security or private investigation services must have a current certificate of approval.
If they don’t, you could be fined up to $20,000.
You can hire staff who haven’t completed their training. They need to apply for a temporary certificate.
Temporary certificate of approval
You can employ staff without certificates in an emergency.
Emergency appointments without certificates
If you’re a sole trader who provides private security or private investigation services for money, you must have an individual licence.
If you don’t, you could be fined up to $40,000.
If you have an individual licence, and have staff who provide private security or private investigation services, they must have a current certificate of approval.
If they don’t, you could be fined up to $20,000.
You can hire staff who haven’t completed their training. They need to apply for a temporary certificate.
Temporary certificate of approval
You can employ staff without certificates in an emergency. Find out more about emergency appointments without certificates.
Emergency appointments without certificates
If you are employed or contracted by a company providing private security services, you must have a certificate of approval.
If you don’t, you could be fined up to $20,000.
You can work before you’ve done the training you need as a crowd controller, property guard or personal guard. To do this you need to apply for a temporary certificate.
Temporary certificate of approval
If you are a crowd controller, you must have a certificate of approval. This applies whether you are working as a crowd controller for a bar, club or event organiser or are engaged by a private security company or individual licence holder.
You are a crowd controller if you are engaged or employed to check who is entering premises or events, search people's bags on entry, keep order, or remove people from premises or events.
Bars and restaurants who hold a liquor licence do not need to have a PSPLA security licence to engage crowd controllers directly unless they are also carrying on business as a crowd controller.
Bar managers and staff only need a certificate of approval if, as part of their job, they act as a crowd controller by screening entry, keeping order, or removing people.
Bar staff who are engaged to make drinks or clear tables are not crowd controllers, even if they occasionally remove people from the bar.
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