Complaints and Objections
Complaints and Objections
Under the Private Security Personnel and Private Investigators Act 2010, you can complain about businesses and individuals working in the private security and private investigation industry. The complaint will be assessed by the Licensing Authority, or the chief investigator of the Complaints, Investigation, and Prosecution Unit, and a decision will be made about whether to accept or proceed with the complaint or not. Just because you complain, does not mean that it will be proceeded with.
This section covers the following:
- How to make a complaint
- Who and what can you make a complaint about?
- What will happen to your complaint against a licence or certificate holder?
- What will happen to your complaint against a person or company that does not hold a licence or certificate?
- Who can make an objection?
How to make a complaint
You must write to the Licensing Authority outlining the reasons for your complaint. You must also, within seven days of making a complaint, give a copy to the person or business you’re making a complaint about.
Download the form for making a complaint (PDF, 635 Kb).
Who and what can you make a complaint about?
You can make a complaint about the following groups:
- unlicensed individuals or companies
- uncertified individuals
- licensed individuals or companies
- certified individuals.
Complaints about unlicensed people or companies or uncertified people
You can complain about a business or individual carrying out private security or private investigation work without the necessary licence or certificate.
You can also complain about businesses such as bars that are employing uncertified crowd controllers (bouncers). These businesses don’t necessarily have to be licensed, but they must employ certified people.
Generally you can tell if an employee may not be certified because he or she isn’t wearing a current ID badge (check the expiry date), or there’s something wrong with the badge.
Complaints about licensed people or companies or certified people
You can complain about licensed people or companies or certified people when they carry out private security or private investigation work.
The specific grounds for making a complaint are that:
- one or more grounds of disqualification now apply to an individual licence holder, company licence holder, or certificate holder
- one or more grounds exist for cancelling the licence or certificate
- the licence or certificate holder has contravened any provision of the Act or regulations made under the Act
- the licence holder, or any officer of a company, has been guilty of misconduct or gross negligence
- a false statement was made in the application for the licence or certificate
- one of the responsibilities of licence or certificate holders has been contravened, for example, the requirement to wear a badge.
What happens if you don’t know if a person is licensed or not?
You can make a complaint even if you don’t know which category the person falls into. Simply make the complaint and await the decision.
What will happen to your complaint against a licence or certificate holder?
The Licensing Authority will consider the complaint and may take one of the following actions.
Do nothing
The Licensing Authority and the chief investigator may decide not to investigate your complaint if it is outside their jurisdiction , or if it’s frivolous or vexatious . They’ll let you know if they decide this.
Recommend referring the complaint elsewhere
The Licensing Authority may suggest that you refer the matter to someone more appropriate. For example, if you were assaulted by a crowd controller, it might be more appropriate for the Police to deal with the complaint as assault, which is a criminal matter. The Licensing Authority would discuss this with you. The Licensing Authority may continue to investigate your complaint even if you do refer it elsewhere.
Take interim action
Prior to the outcome of the complaint being determined the Licensing Authority may decide to suspend a licence or certificate. The Licensing Authority can place conditions on a licence or certificate.
Investigate the complaint and make a decision
The Licensing Authority might itself decide on the complaint. At the Licensing Authority’s discretion, this would involve some or all of the following actions:
- not investigate the complaint because there is enough information
- investigate the complaint
- Refer the complaint for investigation. Referrals can be to
- the Chief Investigator of the Complaints, Investigation, and Prosecution Unit
- the Police
- another party
Once the complaint is ready to be decided the Licensing Authority can decide to do one of the following:
- hold a hearing in which case they will give 10 days notice of a hearing at which any party can conduct their own case or be represented by a lawyer
- decide the matter according to written submissions.
At the end of this process the Licensing Authority will make a decision and advise both the complainant and the person being complained about of this.
What are the possible outcomes of your complaint?
For complaints against licensed companies, licensed individuals, and certificate holders, the Licensing Authority might:
- decide that the complaint was unjustified and dismiss it
- uphold the complaint but take no action
- uphold the complaint and take one or more of the following actions:
- suspend or cancel a licence or certificate
- impose fines
- reprimand a licence or certificate holder
- direct a licence or certificate holder to undergo training
- direct a licence or certificate holder to work under supervision
- impose other conditions on the licence or certificate holder.
See full details of the Licensing Authority’s disciplinary powers over certificate holders.
What will happen to your complaint against a person or company that does not hold a licence or certificate?
Once it has been determined that the company or person does not hold a licence or certificate the Licensing Authority will refer the complaint to the chief investigator of the Complaints, Investigation, and Prosecution Unit.
The chief investigator may choose to investigate the complaint and then decide whether to prosecute.
For complaints against unlicensed companies, unlicensed individuals, and uncertified individuals, the Complaints, Investigation, and Prosecution Unit can prosecute, impose fines, and take other action.
Make an objection
As a member of the public, you can object to a licence being issued, but only the Police can object to a certificate being issued.
You can only object on the grounds specified in the Act and within one month of the notice being published. The grounds of objection are:
- the applicant is disqualified on one or more grounds
- other reasons relating to the applicant’s character, circumstances, or background.
You must state the grounds of the objection.
Download an objection form (PDF, 487 Kb).
If you object to a licence application, the applicant will receive an objection notification, and a hearing may take place to assist in the decision making process.
