Victoria's Security Licensing Reforms: What Every Business Hiring Security Needs to Know in 2026

Current as of June 2026.

On 19 June 2025, the way private security is licensed in Victoria changed more than it had in two decades. If you hire security — for a building site, a retail store, an event, or a commercial building — those reforms quietly changed two things: what you should expect from a provider, and what you're now responsible for checking yourself.

A year on, buyer awareness is still low. And there's a complication worth understanding before you read anyone else's summary: some of the changes are fully in force, while several of the headline ones are written into law but not yet operational. Getting that distinction right is the difference between hiring on facts and hiring on a sales pitch.

What changed on 19 June 2025

The Private Security and County Court Amendment Act 2024, together with the Private Security Regulations 2025, replaced Victoria's old split arrangement with a single licensing system. The previous distinction between "licences" and "registrations" was abolished, and every private security activity now sits under one licence.

Alongside that, the application process was simplified — referee letters and newspaper advertising are no longer required — fingerprinting now applies to all applicants as part of the national police check, and the complaints process was widened so that any person can lodge a complaint within three months, not only someone directly affected.

For a buyer, the headline is simple: the bar to operate legally is now clearer, and it's easier to check whether a provider clears it.

Single licensing: what "fully licensed" actually means now

Under the old system it was possible to be confused about who held what. Under single licensing, that ambiguity is gone — a security business needs a licence, and so does every operative working under it.

So when a provider tells you they're "fully licensed," the phrase should mean something specific: the business holds a current licence, and every officer on your job holds a current individual licence. You don't have to take that on trust. Both can be verified on the Victoria Police public register.

The subcontracting rules: knowing who's really on your site

This is one of the most useful changes for buyers, and one of the least understood.

A security business that subcontracts any of your work must now obtain your written consent and disclose the subcontractor's name and licence number. Breaches carry penalties of up to 240 penalty units (more than $48,000 at current rates) for a company.

The practical effect is that you have a legal right to know exactly who is standing on your site. The old pattern — where a provider wins a contract on price, then quietly subcontracts to someone cheaper you never vetted — is now unlawful unless they disclose it and you agree to it. If a provider can't or won't tell you whether the work is subcontracted, that tells you something.

What's still coming: RMPs, refresher training, first aid, and the Code of Conduct

Here is where most online summaries are now wrong, because they were written in 2025 and treat every reform as already live. As of the most recent Victoria Police guidance, several headline elements are in the Act but not yet operational:

• Risk Management Plans. The requirement exists in law, but the approved template has not been published. Victoria Police says it will be "available soon." Until it's released, there is no approved form to complete.
• Refresher training. Flagged as coming — Victoria Police says further information will be "announced soon" — but not yet introduced.
• First aid certification (HLTAID011) for renewals. Same status: announced, not yet in effect.
• The Code of Conduct. Not yet approved by the Chief Commissioner. Industry bodies confirmed in October 2025 that it had "not been approved at this stage."

None of this means the reforms are toothless — they're coming, and good operators are already preparing. But it does mean you should be sceptical of anyone selling on the back of requirements that aren't live yet. If a provider claims to "fully meet the new Risk Management Plan requirement," a fair question is: how, when the template doesn't exist? The honest answer in 2026 is that the framework is on its way, and a serious operator is building toward it rather than pretending it's already here.

The independent-contractor rule (and why it matters to buyers)

Since 19 December 2025, an independent contractor operating solo must hold both an individual operator licence and a business licence. This closed the old loophole where a single licence covered a sole operator.

If you're engaging an individual contractor rather than a company, this matters: they should now hold both licences. One on its own is no longer enough.

How to verify a licence: the Victoria Police public register

You don't need to be an expert to check a provider. Two free registers do the work:

• The Victoria Police public register for individual and business security licences.
• The Victorian Labour Hire Authority register for the Labour Hire Licence (most providers supplying security staff to your business need one).

Ask for the numbers, and check them. A provider with nothing to hide will hand them over without hesitation.

Pricing red flags: what the LHA cost guidance tells you

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

Read that the right way: it is not the price you pay — it's the floor. It's the minimum it costs a provider just to pay lawful wages, entitlements and insurance, before any overhead or margin. Legitimate market rates sit above it.

So the figure is most useful as a red-flag detector. A quote that comes in materially below that range isn't a bargain — it's a signal that someone is likely underpaying staff, trimming insurance, or relying on the kind of undisclosed subcontracting the new rules prohibit. Cheap security is usually cheap for a reason, and after the 2025 reforms, the reason is often non-compliance.

7 questions to ask before you hire a security company

A short checklist you can use on any provider (and download as a PDF):

1. What is your business licence number? (Verify it on the Victoria Police register.)
2. Will every operative on my job hold a current individual licence — can you give me the numbers?
3. Do you hold a Victorian Labour Hire Licence? (Verify it on the LHA register.)
4. What insurance do you carry? Public liability and WorkCover, at minimum.
5. Do you subcontract any of this work? If so, you'll disclose names and licence numbers and get my written consent.
6. How are your officers trained and briefed for my site?
7. How does your quote sit against the LHA cost guidance? If it's well below the floor, why?

How Seccy built compliance into every layer

We started Seccy on the standards the 2025 reforms are now writing into law. Every operative is LRD-licensed. We hold a Victorian Labour Hire Licence, we're WorkCover compliant and fully insured. Every assignment is documented.

When you ask us for our licensing and insurance documentation, you get it upfront — before you decide, not after something goes wrong. That's not a marketing position; after the 2025 reforms, it's simply what hiring security in Victoria should look like.

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Ready to hire on facts, not a pitch? Request a quote and receive full licence and insurance documentation upfront. Speak directly with our director.

— Abraam B., Director, Seccy