Private Investigator ACT

Magnum Investigations works throughout the Australian Capital Territory and the surrounding region. Our work covers surveillance, factual investigation and evidence gathering for private clients, law firms, insurers and employers across Canberra and the border communities.

Licensing and the ACT border problem

The ACT’s security licensing statute is the Security Industry Act 2003, administered by Access Canberra. The activities it licenses are set out in section 7 and cover guarding and patrolling property, monitoring centres, bodyguard work, crowd control, security consulting, the sale and installation of security equipment, and security training. Investigation and inquiry agent work does not appear among them.

That makes the ACT unusual, and it makes one question much more important than usual: what does the operator you are engaging actually hold, and where does it apply?

The reason is geography. The ACT is entirely surrounded by New South Wales, and Canberra’s working population, housing market and daily movement do not respect the border. Queanbeyan is about fifteen minutes from Canberra’s CBD and it is New South Wales. So are Jerrabomberra, Googong, Bungendore and Murrumbateman. The moment a subject crosses that line, the work falls under the Security Industry Act 1997 and its Class 2E private investigator licence, administered by NSW Police through the Security Licensing and Enforcement Directorate, and under the New South Wales Surveillance Devices Act 2007.

This is the single largest practical trap in Canberra investigation work. A surveillance job that begins in Belconnen and follows a subject to Queanbeyan has changed legal regimes mid task, and the New South Wales regime is considerably stricter than the ACT one. Any operator working in this region needs to know exactly where they stand on both sides of the line before the job starts, not afterwards.

What surveillance is lawful in the ACT

Like Tasmania, the ACT regulates listening devices only outside the workplace context. There is no general ACT statute prohibiting private optical surveillance, tracking devices or data surveillance.

  • Listening Devices Act 1992, section 4. Using a listening device to listen to or record a private conversation you are not a party to is an offence, as is a party recording their own conversation, subject to exceptions for consent of all principal parties and for one party consent where the recording is reasonably necessary to protect that party’s lawful interests and is not made for publication beyond the parties. Maximum 50 penalty units.
  • Sections 5 and 6. Communicating or publishing records or private conversations without the consent of all principal parties is separately prohibited, with exceptions for legal proceedings and protection of lawful interests.

Workplace matters are different, and this is where the ACT is actually stricter than most states. The Workplace Privacy Act 2011 covers optical surveillance devices, data surveillance devices and tracking devices where an employer surveils workers. Section 13 requires written notice at least fourteen days before surveillance begins. Section 17 requires visible notice on tracked vehicles and objects. Section 41 prohibits surveillance in toilets, change rooms, showers, nursing rooms, prayer rooms, sick bays and first aid rooms. Section 42 restricts surveillance of workers outside the workplace. Most importantly, sections 26 to 28 require a covert surveillance authority issued by the ACT Magistrates Court before any covert workplace surveillance, and section 35 makes covert surveillance without that authority an offence.

An ACT employer who commissions covert monitoring of staff without a court authority has a serious problem, regardless of what the surveillance turns up. Outside the workplace, the constraints come from general criminal law, in particular the stalking offence in section 35 of the Crimes Act 1900, which expressly covers surveillance and watching a place where a person lives, works or visits, on two or more occasions. Prosecutors do not need to prove actual fear, only the relevant intent.

The new federal privacy tort applies everywhere

On 10 June 2025 a statutory tort of serious invasion of privacy commenced under Schedule 2 of the Privacy Act 1988. It has two limbs, intrusion upon seclusion and misuse of information, and it operates nationally regardless of which state the conduct occurred in. A claimant must show a reasonable expectation of privacy, that the invasion was serious, and that the privacy interest outweighs any countervailing public interest.

There is no carve out for private investigators. Journalists, law enforcement and intelligence agencies are exempted. We are not. That is a good reason to work with an operator who takes the boundaries seriously rather than one who treats them as an obstacle.

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 the ACT

Every service we run is available throughout the Territory:

Where we work in the ACT

Canberra has no local government and is organised instead into districts built around town centres, which is a genuinely useful way to plan work here because each district has its own centre, its own road pattern and its own rhythm.

Inner North covers Civic, Braddon, Turner, Acton, O’Connor, Lyneham, Dickson, Downer, Watson, Hackett, Ainslie, Campbell and Reid. Inner South covers Kingston, Barton, Forrest, Griffith, Manuka, Narrabundah, Red Hill, Deakin, Yarralumla and the Fyshwick light industrial area.

Belconnen runs through Bruce, Aranda, Cook, Macquarie, Page, Hawker, Holt, Latham, Florey, Evatt, Melba, Spence, Kaleen, Giralang, Charnwood, Fraser, Dunlop and Macgregor. Gungahlin, the fastest growing district, covers Harrison, Franklin, Palmerston, Nicholls, Ngunnawal, Amaroo, Casey, Moncrieff, Bonner, Forde, Crace, Throsby and Taylor, with the Mitchell industrial area alongside.

Woden Valley covers Phillip, Curtin, Garran, Hughes, Mawson, Pearce, Torrens, Chifley, Lyons, Farrer, O’Malley and Isaacs. Weston Creek covers Weston, Holder, Duffy, Rivett, Stirling, Waramanga, Fisher and Chapman. Molonglo Valley, the newest district, covers Coombs, Wright, Denman Prospect and Whitlam. Tuggeranong covers Greenway, Kambah, Wanniassa, Monash, Gowrie, Fadden, Gilmore, Chisholm, Richardson, Calwell, Theodore, Isabella Plains, Bonython, Banks, Conder, Gordon and Macarthur.

We also work the surrounding New South Wales communities that function as part of the Canberra region, including Queanbeyan, Jerrabomberra, Googong, Bungendore, Murrumbateman and Yass, with the legal regime change described above factored in from the outset.

Where the evidence ends up

The ACT has an unusual court structure worth knowing about: there is no intermediate court. Where other states have a District or County Court, the ACT has only two tiers.

  • ACT Magistrates Court. Civil claims from $25,000 to $250,000, summary criminal matters and committals, plus specialist jurisdictions including the Coroners Court, the Childrens Court, the Industrial Court, the Family Violence Court and the Galambany Court. This is also the court that issues covert workplace surveillance authorities.
  • ACT Supreme Court. Serious indictable crime and jury trials, civil work generally above $250,000, and the ACT Court of Appeal.
  • ACAT. The ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal handles civil disputes under $25,000, administrative review, tenancy, guardianship, discrimination and occupational discipline.
  • Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. Family law is federal, heard through the Canberra registry.

Frequently asked questions

Do private investigators need a licence in the ACT?

Investigation work is not listed among the security activities licensed under section 7 of the Security Industry Act 2003. The more useful question is what licence your investigator holds for work that crosses into New South Wales, which a great deal of Canberra work does.

Why does the New South Wales border matter so much here?

Because the ACT is surrounded by it and Queanbeyan is fifteen minutes from the CBD. New South Wales licenses private investigators under a Class 2E licence and regulates optical, tracking and data surveillance under its Surveillance Devices Act 2007. The ACT regulates listening devices only. Crossing the border changes the rules mid job.

Can an ACT employer run covert surveillance on staff?

Not without a covert surveillance authority from the ACT Magistrates Court. The Workplace Privacy Act 2011 makes covert workplace surveillance without that authority an offence.

Is optical surveillance regulated in the ACT?

Not by a general statute outside the workplace. It is constrained instead by the stalking offence in section 35 of the Crimes Act 1900, the intimate observation provisions, and the federal privacy tort.

Do you cover Queanbeyan and the surrounding region?

Yes, and we treat the border as a live legal issue rather than a line on a map.

Speak to an investigator about an ACT matter

Every enquiry starts with a confidential conversation about what you actually need. Call 1300 792 283 or get in touch for a free consultation and a written quote before any work begins.

See also our Canberra page, our New South Wales page, and our national coverage.

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