Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently asked questions

Can a private investigator track a mobile phone?

No.  It is illegal to track someone’s mobile activity or monitor the GPS location of the phone.

Can private investigators listen in on conversations?

Yes.  Private investigators are legally able to eavesdrop on and record, conversations that occur in public.

Can a Private Investigator do anything that a police officer can do?

No. A Private Investigator has no law enforcement authority even if he/she has been hired by law enforcement to perform an investigation. A Private Investigator is an ordinary citizen and can only make citizen’s arrests.

What are the limitations of a Private Investigator?

Private investigators are not allowed to access protected information such as medical records, social security numbers and personal financial information. The law restricts their ability to obtain this information to protect the public’s privacy.

Costs to the client

We at Trace and Identify (Australia) work on an hourly rate, plus database costs.  For instance a general straightforward locate of a person starts at $200 and caps at $600.  The cost of $600 would be an extreme case, for instance if the client gave a common name such as Anne SMITH and did not know their date of birth, or their last known address.

A $200 locate would be for us seeking male with an unusual name, or at the very least, a name that was not common; for example Alexander Robert MORPHETT and a last known address was submitted to us by the client.  This would usually only take not more than 24 hours to come up with the current location of the person.

Locating

A private investigator can locate a missing person by using specialised databases not generally known to the public, as well as interviewing individuals and/or conducting surveillance. They may be birth mothers, long lost family, beneficiaries, debtors, etc.

Sometimes (rarely) a private investigator cannot locate an individual and this is because the person has covered their tracks by not leaving a paper trail and even possiblly leaving the country to live internationally.  When this occurs, the private investigator may sometimes phone relatives or friends of the individual to ascertain if they are still residing in Australia.

Infidelity

A private investigator can also gather evidence of infidelity or other issues in relation to a cheating spouse.  If the client believes their spouse or partner is not where they say they are at any given time, a mobile follow and surveillance may be required.  This action is legal for a Licenced Private Investigator to do.  If however, the spouse is cheating online,  this can also be addresses by a private investigator.  

Surveillance

A private investigator may follow an individual and/or conduct surveillance on an individual or group to gather evidence of their activities using long range cameras.  A Licensed Private Investigator is allowed to follow and photograph an individual or group as long as it is carried out within the law and is required by a client.  It is not considered stalking or harassing. However, if a private individual decides to follow someone for any reason, it is considered harassment.  Many clients believe they have the right to follow and take inappropriate photos. They do not.

Background Checks

A private investigator can conduct research on an individual’s background, such as their current and/or previous marital status, property ownership, their rental status, court records, if they ever declared bankruptcy, if they are an employee or are self employed, their employment history etc. This information can assist a client to decide whether to to make a life decision based on the report, or not.

As well, a simple background check for pre-employment is necessary and very beneficial and will ascertain if the potential employee is suited for the role they applied for in the new company.  After all, anyone can write anything on a resume and ask friends and relatives to act as referees.  For instance, did they actually resign from their previous work position, or were they in fact, dismissed and if so, was that person dismissed simply because the company was downsizing and/or using international contractors (cheaper), or were they dismissed because of inappropriate behaviour or misconduct e.g. bullying, harassment, stealing from the workplace, or fraudulent activity.  Know now – not later. 

We here at Trace and Identify (Australia) have three packages available. 

There is the Basic package (Silver) that covers the person’s current work status, their date of birth, their current mobile and email address, if they rent accommodation, or own property, if they have appeared in a Magistrate’s Court in any State of Australia and finally if they have ever declared bankruptcy.  This package can be finalised within days.

The next package is the Gold package and it covers all the above and is more in depth as it may involve “discreet” phone calling to friends, ex partners, family, etc. Usually this package can be finalised within a couple of weeks.

The Platinum package covers all the above and may even necessitate phoning and contacting international countries for information.  The information could take weeks to obtain.

Process Serving

A private investigator can deliver legal documents, such as subpoenas or summons, to the person the documents are
intended for.  No-one else may accept the documents on behalf of the person they are intended for.

Usually a Process Server will have three attempts at serving the Subject, before reporting back to the client that the three attempts have been made with or without success. 

Obtaining names from car registrations

Contrary to popular belief, private investigations cannot access names from a registration plate.  If a P.I. says they can, they are doing it illegally.

Is a private investigator able to phone someone late at night