What it does
The Security Industry Act 1997 establishes a comprehensive licensing and regulatory regime for the security industry in New South Wales. At its core, the Act prohibits unauthorised persons from carrying on "security activities" (s 7) while conferring authority on licensed individuals and businesses to perform defined functions. Section 4(1) enumerates an expansive list of security activities that trigger the licensing requirement when performed in the course of business or employment. These include acting as a bodyguard (s 4(1)(a)), crowd controller (s 4(1)(b)), patrolling or guarding property (including cash-in-transit, airports and infrastructure) by physical, canine or electronic means (s 4(1)(c)), acting as a private investigator (s 4(1)(c1)), installing, maintaining or selling security equipment (s 4(1)(d)–(e)), selling security methods or advice (s 4(1)(f), (h)–(i)), providing training or competency assessment (s 4(1)(j)–(k)), providing or brokering security personnel or services (s 4(1)(g), (m)–(o)), and any other prescribed activity (s 4(1)(p)). Regulations may also exclude activities (s 4(1A)).
The Act classifies licences into master licences (s 10) and class 1 or class 2 licences (ss 11–12). Master licences are subdivided into classes MA–ME according to the maximum number of persons the holder may provide on any one day (from self-employed sole traders under class MA to unlimited under class ME). Each master licence also authorises the holder to carry on activities permitted by a class 2B licence (s 10(2)). Class 1 licences authorise operational roles (unarmed guarding under 1A, bodyguard under 1B, cash-in-transit under 1C, dog handling under 1D, monitoring centre operations under 1E, and armed guarding under 1F, the latter requiring concurrent firearms authority under the Firearms Act 1996). Class 2 licences cover advisory, commercial and instructional roles (consulting and risk assessment under 2A, sales and brokering under 2B, installation/locksmithing under 2C, training under 2D, and private investigation under 2E).