Magnum Investigations is a licensed private investigation firm based in Melbourne, working across the whole of Victoria. Our investigators hold current licences issued by Victoria Police and bring decades of combined experience in surveillance, factual investigation and evidence gathering for private clients, law firms, insurers and employers.
Licensed to operate in Victoria
Private investigators in Victoria are licensed under the Private Security Act 2004, administered by the Licensing and Regulation Division of Victoria Police. The Act defines an investigator as a person employed or retained to obtain and provide information about the personal character, actions or location of a person. That covers everything from family law matters and workplace misconduct through to insurance claims and intellectual property disputes.
The framework tightened on 19 June 2025. Under the Private Security and County Court Amendment Act 2024, all private security activities, including investigator work, became licensed activities. Roles that previously operated under registration now require a full licence, and existing registration holders are being transitioned across.
You do not have to take our word for any of this. Victoria Police maintains a public Register of Licence, Registration and Permit Holders, and we would encourage you to check the credentials of anyone you are considering engaging, including us. An investigator who is reluctant to give you their licence details is telling you something.
What surveillance is actually lawful in Victoria
Victoria’s Surveillance Devices Act 1999 sets the boundaries, and they are stricter than most people expect. The Act deals separately with optical surveillance devices, listening devices, tracking devices and data surveillance devices, and the rules are not the same for each.
- Optical surveillance. Section 7 regulates installing and using devices that record activity. Observing and filming from a public place is treated very differently from installing a camera to capture what happens inside private premises.
- Tracking devices. Attaching a tracker to a vehicle without the consent of the person entitled to consent is regulated, and this is where a great many attempts by clients acting alone go wrong.
- Listening devices. Recording a private conversation you are not a party to is generally prohibited.
- Publication limits. Section 11 separately restricts communicating or publishing a private conversation or activity that has been recorded, so even lawfully obtained material cannot simply be handed around.
This matters for a practical reason. Evidence gathered outside those limits is frequently inadmissible, and it can expose the person who gathered it to liability. It is the single most common reason material collected by a client personally cannot be used when it matters most. We work inside those rules so the evidence survives scrutiny.
The above is general information about how we operate, not legal advice. For advice on your own circumstances, speak with your lawyer.
Investigation services across Victoria
Every service we run in Melbourne is available throughout Victoria:
- Surveillance. Covert observation with court ready video, photographic and written evidence.
- Background checks. Identity, history and credential verification for employers, landlords and partners.
- Factual investigations. Impartial statements and interviews for insurers, lawyers and employers.
- Workplace investigations. Misconduct, bullying, theft and false sick leave.
- Child custody investigations. Welfare and conduct evidence for family law proceedings.
- Person tracing. Locating missing family, beneficiaries, debtors and witnesses.
- Fraud and theft investigations. Identifying offenders and quantifying losses.
- Insurance investigations. Claim validation and surveillance for insurers and self insurers.
- Counter surveillance. Bug sweeps and detection of cameras, listening devices and trackers.
- Business investigations. Internal fraud, due diligence, intellectual property theft and compliance.
- Addiction investigations. Discreet confirmation of alcohol or gambling concerns.
- Phone number searches. Tracing unknown, withheld and harassing callers.
Where we work in Victoria
Our base is Melbourne, and the bulk of our fieldwork is across the metropolitan area. That includes the CBD and inner suburbs, the eastern corridor through Box Hill and Ringwood, the southeast to Dandenong and the Mornington Peninsula, the north through Preston and Epping, and the west through Footscray, Werribee and Point Cook.
Regional Victoria is serviced by investigators travelling from Melbourne. We work regularly in Geelong and the Surf Coast, Ballarat, Bendigo, Shepparton and the Goulburn Valley, the Latrobe Valley around Traralgon and Morwell, Warrnambool and the southwest, Mildura, and Wodonga on the border.
We will be straight with you about what that means in practice. Metropolitan Melbourne jobs can usually be mobilised at short notice. Regional work needs more lead time and carries travel costs, and for a surveillance job several hours from Melbourne we will tell you honestly whether the likely result justifies the expense before you commit. If it does not, we will say so.
Where the evidence ends up
Evidence is only useful if it holds up in the forum it is destined for, and our reporting is prepared with that forum in mind:
- Magistrates’ Court of Victoria. Intervention order matters, along with minor criminal and civil proceedings.
- County Court of Victoria. Serious criminal matters and larger civil claims, including personal injury.
- Supreme Court of Victoria. Major commercial disputes and the most serious criminal matters.
- VCAT. Tenancy, guardianship, planning and consumer disputes.
- Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. Family law and custody matters, which sit in federal jurisdiction rather than state, even though the conduct occurred in Victoria.
- Insurer and WorkCover processes. Claim assessment and factual investigation outside the court system entirely.
Frequently asked questions
Is it legal to hire a private investigator in Victoria?
Yes. Engaging a licensed investigator is entirely lawful. The restrictions in Victorian law apply to the methods used, not to the act of hiring someone, which is precisely why using a licensed operator matters.
How much does a private investigator cost in Victoria?
Surveillance is normally charged at an hourly rate with a minimum engagement, and regional work adds travel. We give you a written quote before any work starts, and we do not begin until you have accepted it.
Can a private investigator put a tracker on a car in Victoria?
Not freely. The Surveillance Devices Act 1999 regulates tracking devices, and consent from the person entitled to give it is central. This is one of the areas where people most often get themselves into trouble acting alone.
Will the evidence be usable in court?
That is the whole point of the way we work. Material is gathered within the limits of Victorian law, continuity is documented, and reports are written to be read by a court rather than by us.
Do you cover regional Victoria or only Melbourne?
Both. Regional work is run out of Melbourne with travel, and we are upfront about the lead time and cost that involves.
Speak to a Victorian investigator
Every enquiry starts with a confidential conversation about what you actually need. Sometimes that conversation ends with us telling you an investigation is not warranted. Call 1300 792 283 or get in touch for a free consultation and a written quote before any work begins.
Looking for a specific city? See our Melbourne page, or our national coverage.