Brisbane Private Investigator Course, Private Investigation

So you want to be a private investigator? Well, becoming a private investigator in Queensland is relatively easy. You attend a course, obtain a certificate III in investigations, submit to a criminal history check (hopefully you don't have anything recent), and pay your money to the Queensland Government, and hey presto, you are a private investigator.

You will find that you have been lumped in with the security industry, even though private investigation and security provision have nothing in common. You will be penalised as if you are suspected of being corrupt, from the get go, by the Government (and speaking of corruption, guess who most of it involves!).

Now, paying for, and finishing a Brisbane private investigator course, a Certificate III in investigations, which can be done 'on line', and then scraping the money together for your criminal history check, plus paying the Government for your licence to try and earn a living (they don't miss you), is just the first step. Oh, did I mention you must have your fingerprints taken, and your biometrics recorded for facial recognition, plus the Government keeps a file photograph of you (which they charge you extra to do, not only are you a potential criminal but you have to pay for your details to be recorded, the criminal gets it for free)?? As I said, one step from a criminal, apparently, in a totalitarian state.

You then have to earn a living, to recover those costs, plus pay for the recording equipment, the laptop, the vehicle or vehicles (you will end up borrowing from family and friends, you can never have enough vehicles), the phone, the advertising. Your private investigator licence may cost a mint, but the Government is only interesting in taxing you, not in assisting you to earn a living. Many don't make it, but the training companies make good money training people, churning them out. The Government employs public servants with the fees you pay. You will notice, over time, they come up with new courses and qualification, to keep that circus going.

Across Brisbane there is a small cadre of private investigators earning a good living, a larger group of Brisbane private investigators are surviving, and there are many more that paid for their licence once, and never renewed. Trying phoning a few, and you will find a lot of unanswered, or disconnected, phones. Some go on to work for Government organisations, or private companies, where having a Certificate III in investigations, when you apply, is an advantage. Some will earn more mowing lawns, or driving trucks (actually I can introduce you to people, good investigators, where this is true).

To be clear, a private investigator licence does not entitle you to any special privileges, rights, or protections. A course will not, generally, be able to teach you to investigate, nor to conduct effective surveillance. Investigation takes experience, and surveillance is more a knack, than something taught. If it is what you want to do, go for it, just be aware of the risks. It is tough getting your foot in the door, bigger companies with insurance contracts are more use and abuse, than good employers. It is a cut throat industry. You will be sub-contracting to many.

The industry is feast and famine. There are those that try to undercut everyone, and pull shonky stunts. There are those that really break the law, but hopefully don't survive (but surprisingly, enough QCAT appeals and some convicted crooks get their licenses back). When you get a good job, the money is good. When you haven't got anything coming in you ring round, and find everyone else is twiddling their thumbs, too. It is variable, so plan ahead, pay your bills ahead, don't blow your money when it comes in.

We don't offer courses for private investigators, a Brisbane private investigator course. Our private investigators include ex-Police, Government trained, and experienced private investigators. When you need to investigate, to prove or disprove a theory, verify facts, establish fraud, investigate a relationship suspicion, to look at a Workers Compensation claim, to Investigate WorkCover fraud, phone 1300 966 103. For a training course, try and find value for money, a course presented by a private investigator, not someone reading out of a book.