Workplace investigations get organisations into trouble more often through process than through findings. An employer who reaches the right conclusion by the wrong route can still lose an unfair dismissal claim, and an employer who runs covert monitoring without the authority to do so has created a second problem while investigating the first.
We provide workplace investigations in Brisbane and throughout Queensland, for private clients, law firms, insurers and employers.
How we run workplace investigations in Brisbane
We run workplace matters as a defined process with the allegations put clearly, the respondent given a genuine opportunity to answer, and every step documented as it happens rather than reconstructed afterwards. Scope is agreed in writing at the start. Where surveillance of workers is contemplated, the legal position in the relevant jurisdiction is settled before anything begins, because that is where employers most often come unstuck.
What Queensland law means for this work
Queensland licenses investigators under the Security Providers Act 1993, administered by the Office of Fair Trading. Private investigator is one of the security provider classes in section 4, and section 9 makes it an offence to act as or even advertise as a security provider without a licence. A separate security firm licence is required to run an investigation business.
Queensland has no workplace surveillance statute, unlike New South Wales and the ACT. Workplace matters fall back on the Invasion of Privacy Act, employment law and the general law, which puts more weight on how an investigation is scoped and documented from the outset.
Queensland is the only Australian jurisdiction with no surveillance devices act. Optical and video surveillance is not covered by any dedicated statute here. The limits come instead from the Criminal Code, in particular section 227A on observations and recordings in breach of privacy and section 227B on distribution, along with trespass and stalking offences. That absence is not permission, and any operator who treats it that way will hand you evidence a court can still refuse.
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 QLD 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 QLD 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 report setting out the allegations, the evidence gathered against each, the respondent’s answer, and findings expressed to the civil standard with reasons. It is written so that it can be handed to a lawyer, a tribunal or a board without further work.
Where we work in Queensland
Brisbane divides into the inner city around Fortitude Valley, New Farm, South Brisbane and West End, the north through Chermside and Aspley, the south through Mount Gravatt and Sunnybank, the east through Bulimba, Morningside and Wynnum, and the west through Toowong, Indooroopilly and St Lucia, with Ipswich, Logan, Moreton Bay and Redlands around it. Beyond the South East we cover the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba and the Darling Downs, Wide Bay, Central Queensland, Mackay and the Whitsundays, Townsville, and Cairns and the far north.
Where the evidence ends up
- Magistrates Courts of Queensland. Summary crime, committals, domestic violence protection orders and smaller civil claims.
- District Court of Queensland. Mid tier indictable crime and civil claims, with the civil limit currently $750,000.
- Supreme Court of Queensland. Unlimited civil jurisdiction and the most serious crime, with the Court of Appeal above it.
- QCAT. Minor civil and debt disputes to $25,000, tenancy, building disputes, guardianship and review of Office of Fair Trading decisions.
- 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 QLD rules.
Frequently asked questions
Can we investigate an employee without telling them?
Preliminary enquiries are one thing. Covert surveillance of workers is quite another, and in some jurisdictions it requires a court authority before it starts. Getting this wrong can convert a straightforward misconduct matter into a much more expensive problem.
What standard of proof applies?
The balance of probabilities, not the criminal standard. What matters just as much is that the process was fair and documented, because that is what gets tested if the outcome is challenged.
Do you cover regional Queensland as well as Brisbane?
Yes. Brisbane 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 QLD 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 Workplace Investigations in Melbourne, our Queensland coverage and our Brisbane page.