How to Choose a Security Company in Victoria: 7 Compliance Checks Every Buyer Should Make

Hiring security used to come down to a quote and a handshake. After Victoria's 2025 licensing reforms, it's more involved — and some of the responsibility to check now sits with you, the buyer. The good news is that the things separating a compliant, reliable provider from a risky one are easy to verify, if you know what to ask.

Here are seven checks, in order, plus the red flags that should end the conversation. (For the full picture of what changed in 2025, see our guide to Victoria's 2025 licensing reforms.)

Check 1 — Verify the business licence

Since 19 June 2025, every security business operating in Victoria must hold a licence. Ask for the business licence number and check it on the Victoria Police public register. It's free and takes a minute. A provider who hesitates to give you the number has already answered the question.

Check 2 — Check every operative's individual licence

A business licence isn't enough on its own — each officer who attends your job must hold a current individual licence. Ask whether the provider can supply licence numbers for the operatives who'll actually be on site, and check them. Be wary of guards supplied at the last minute whose details you never see; that's exactly where unlicensed work hides.

Check 3 — Confirm Labour Hire licensing

Most providers supplying security staff to your business also need a Victorian Labour Hire Licence, which you can verify on the Labour Hire Authority's register. This is separate from the security licence and routinely overlooked. A provider operating without one where they need one is non-compliant, full stop.

Check 4 — Validate insurance cover

Ask for evidence of public liability insurance and WorkCover (workers' compensation), with current dates. "Fully insured" should mean something you can see on a certificate, not a line on a website. If something goes wrong on your site, this is what stands between you and a liability you didn't sign up for.

Check 5 — Understand pricing (and what's too cheap)

The Victorian Labour Hire Authority publishes what it actually costs a compliant provider to meet its obligations. Under its current security-industry cost guidance, a Level 1 casual officer costs roughly $40–$88 per hour (GST-exclusive) depending on the day.

That figure is the floor, not the price. It's the minimum to pay lawful wages, entitlements and insurance, before any overhead or margin — so legitimate market rates sit above it. A quote that comes in materially below the floor isn't a saving; it usually means someone is being underpaid, under-insured, or quietly subcontracted. Cheap security is cheap for a reason.

Check 6 — Ask about subcontracting disclosure

Under the 2025 rules, a provider that subcontracts your work must disclose the subcontractor's name and licence number and get your written consent. So ask directly: will any of this work be subcontracted? You have a legal right to know exactly who is on your site — and a provider that wins on price then quietly hands the job to someone cheaper is now breaking the law if they don't tell you.

Check 7 — Request training and briefing documentation

Ask how officers are trained, and how they're briefed for your site specifically. A provider that briefs every shift — and can describe how it does it — is a different proposition from one that sends whoever's available. And ask the simple question that reveals a lot: who do I actually speak to if something happens at 2am?

5 red flags that should make you walk away

• A quote well below the Labour Hire Authority floor with no explanation.
• Reluctance or refusal to provide licence numbers.
• No Victorian Labour Hire Licence where one is required.
• Vague, expired, or missing insurance documentation.
• "Don't worry about who turns up" — no clarity on the actual operatives or possible subcontracting.

Any one of these is a reason to slow down. Two or more, and you have your answer.

How Seccy approaches transparency

We're a new company, so we can't show you 25 years of history — and we won't pretend to. What we can show you is every licence, every certificate, and a director who answers the phone. When you ask us for our compliance and credentials, you get the documentation upfront, before you decide — because after the 2025 reforms, that's simply what hiring security in Victoria should look like.

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Hiring security soon? Request a quote and receive full licence and insurance documentation upfront — before you decide.

— Abraam B., Director, Seccy