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 Perth and throughout Western Australia, for private clients, law firms, insurers and employers.
How we run workplace investigations in Perth
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 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.
Western Australia has no dedicated workplace surveillance statute. Workplace matters run on the Surveillance Devices Act 1998 plus employment law, so the private activity test in section 6 and the consent requirement in section 7 do the heavy lifting.
Optical surveillance is governed by section 6 of the Surveillance Devices Act 1998, and it bites on recording or observing a private activity you are not a party to. Section 3 defines a private activity as one carried on in circumstances reasonably indicating a party wants it observed only by themselves. Activity in a public place that is not a private activity falls outside the prohibition, which is the practical foundation for surveillance work here.
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 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 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
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 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 Workplace Investigations in Melbourne, our Western Australia coverage and our Perth page.