There is no national security licence in Australia. Each state and territory licenses security work under its own law, through its own regulator, with its own classes and conditions. For a security company working in more than one state, or a business hiring guards directly, that means knowing who issues what, and checking every licence against the work the guard will actually do.
Who issues security licences
These are the regulators at the time of writing. Agencies are renamed and reorganised from time to time, so confirm on the regulator’s own website before relying on this list.
| State or territory | Regulator |
|---|---|
| New South Wales | Security Licensing and Enforcement Directorate (SLED), NSW Police Force |
| Victoria | Licensing and Regulation Division, Victoria Police |
| Queensland | Office of Fair Trading |
| Western Australia | Licensing Services, WA Police Force |
| South Australia | Consumer and Business Services |
| Tasmania | Consumer, Building and Occupational Services |
| Australian Capital Territory | Access Canberra |
| Northern Territory | Licensing NT |
Most regulators offer a public register or licence check online. In New South Wales, for example, licences can be checked through Service NSW. Use the register every time you verify a licence, not only when someone is hired.
Classes matter as much as the licence
Each state divides security work into classes or activities: unarmed guarding, crowd control, armed guarding, guard dog handling, monitoring, and installing or advising on security equipment, among others. A guard can hold some and not others. Before rostering, check that the class covers the post: a guard licensed only for unarmed guarding shouldn’t be working the door of a licensed venue as a crowd controller.
Working across borders
A licence issued in one state doesn’t automatically cover work in another. Mutual recognition arrangements let some licensed workers work interstate, but the rules vary by occupation and by state, and security has its own conditions. If you roster guards over a border, for example on the Gold Coast and in northern New South Wales, check what each guard holds and where it’s valid before the shift, not after.
What to check before rostering a guard
- The licence number, class and expiry date, checked against the regulator’s register.
- That the name and photo match the person turning up.
- Any conditions on the licence.
- A firearms licence for armed work, issued separately from the security licence.
- RSA where the post is in a licensed venue and the state requires it.
- First aid, if the site or contract requires it.
- A working with children check for schools and other child-related sites.
- Right to work, for example through VEVO for visa holders.
Keeping licences current
Checking a licence once isn’t enough. Licences expire, are suspended, and change class. A workable routine has four parts:
- Record everything. Number, class, issuing state, expiry date and a scan of the card, on the guard’s record.
- Verify, then mark it verified. A licence someone has typed in isn’t one anyone has checked.
- Warn early. Remind the guard a month before expiry, and again closer to the date, and tell their manager.
- Enforce it at the roster. A site that requires a licence shouldn’t accept a guard without a current, verified one.
That is how licences and compliance work in TDS Workforce Management. The security licence, firearms, RSA, first aid, working with children check, national police check and VEVO are built in for Australian organisations. Expiry warnings go out 30, 14 and 7 days ahead, and a site that requires a licence refuses anyone without it at the roster, at publish and at clock-in.
This guide is general information about how licensing is organised, not legal advice. Licensing law changes, so check with the regulator in each state you work in.