Person tracing covers a wide range of situations that have nothing in common except that someone cannot be found. Beneficiaries of an estate, a debtor who has moved, a witness whose evidence a case depends on, a family member who lost contact decades ago. The method is much the same. The care required differs enormously.
We provide person tracing in Perth and throughout Western Australia, for private clients, law firms, insurers and employers.
How we run person tracing in Perth
Tracing is a database and field enquiry exercise built on lawful sources, cross referenced until a location can be stated with confidence rather than guessed at. We confirm identity before reporting a location, because reporting the wrong person’s address is a serious matter and it happens more often than the industry admits when a name is common.
What Western Australia law means for this work
Western Australia requires two licences under the Security and Related Activities (Control) Act 1996, administered by WA Police Licensing Services. The business needs an inquiry agent’s licence under section 29 and the individual operative needs an investigator’s licence under section 30. Section 61 requires a licensed operator to carry an identity card and produce it on request to the person receiving the service, so you are entitled to ask on the spot.
Section 9 makes it an offence to knowingly publish or communicate a private conversation or a record of a private activity obtained through a listening or optical device, subject to exceptions including consent, legal proceedings and reasonable protection of lawful interests.
None of that is a formality. The rules differ genuinely between Australian jurisdictions, and evidence gathered outside them is frequently inadmissible and can expose the person who gathered it. Working inside the WA framework is what makes the result usable.
The federal statutory tort of serious invasion of privacy, which commenced on 10 June 2025 under Schedule 2 of the Privacy Act 1988, applies on top of WA law and contains no exemption for private investigators.
This is general information about how we operate, not legal advice. For advice on your circumstances, speak with your lawyer.
What you receive
You receive a confirmed current location where one can be established, with the basis of confirmation set out, or an honest account of why the trace has not succeeded and what would be required to take it further. We do not report a probable address as a certain one.
Where we work in Western Australia
The Perth metropolitan region covers thirty local government areas. Operationally that is the central corridor through Perth, Vincent, Subiaco and South Perth, the western suburbs through Nedlands, Claremont and Cottesloe, the coastal north through Stirling, Joondalup and Wanneroo, the eastern hills through Bayswater, Swan, Kalamunda and Mundaring, the south east through Canning, Gosnells and Armadale, and the south west through Melville, Fremantle, Cockburn, Kwinana and Rockingham, with Mandurah in the Peel region alongside. Beyond Perth we work the South West, Great Southern, Wheatbelt, Mid West, Goldfields and Esperance, Pilbara, Kimberley and Gascoyne regions.
Where the evidence ends up
- Magistrates Court of Western Australia. Summary crime and civil claims to $75,000, with minor cases to $10,000.
- District Court of Western Australia. Indictable crime, civil claims to $750,000, and unlimited jurisdiction for personal injury damages.
- Supreme Court of Western Australia. The General Division and the Court of Appeal.
- State Administrative Tribunal. Administrative review, including security and inquiry agent licensing decisions.
- WorkCover WA. Conciliation and Arbitration Services under the Workers Compensation and Injury Management Act 2023, which commenced on 1 July 2024.
- Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. Family law is federal, so a family matter runs under Commonwealth law even though the conduct investigated is governed by WA rules.
Frequently asked questions
Will you tell the person I am looking for them?
Not without instruction. In estate and debtor matters we usually report to you and you decide the approach. In reunion cases many clients ask us to make a discreet approach first so the person is not ambushed, and we think that is usually the right instinct.
What if the person does not want to be found?
That changes things and we will tell you if the indications point that way. There are situations, including family violence contexts, where we will decline to provide a location and explain why. That is not us being difficult, it is us not becoming the instrument of something harmful.
Do you cover regional Western Australia as well as Perth?
Yes. Perth work can generally be mobilised faster and at lower cost. Regional work carries travel time and expense, and we will tell you honestly whether the likely result justifies it before you commit.
Talk to us about a WA matter
Every enquiry starts with a confidential conversation about what you actually need, and sometimes that conversation ends with us saying 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.
See also Person Tracing in Melbourne, our Western Australia coverage and our Perth page.