Private Investigator
What the work is
Conducts investigations for clients regarding legal, financial and personal matters, and prepares evidence for court proceedings.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Conducts interviews and gathers information from various sources, including public records and databases, to investigate cases regarding legal, financial and personal matters
- Conducts surveillance and observes individuals to gather evidence
- Makes enquiries concerning property and investigates insurance claims
- Seeks, obtains and supplies information pertaining to the personal character, financial position, occupation or whereabouts of any person
- Collects and analyses data and evidence, and prepares detailed reports and documentation of findings
- Collaborates with law enforcement agencies and Legal Professionals
- Testifies in court and presents evidence during legal proceedings
- Maintains client confidentiality and ensures the security of sensitive information
- Uses specialised equipment and technology, such as binoculars, microphones and video or audio recording devices to obtain evidence for investigations
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a fictional football stadium on match day, and the shopping centre next door. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A crowd of thousands files out calmly and every gate runs the way it should
- You spot a problem on the cameras before anyone else even knows it is there
- A lost child is back with their family within minutes of you finding them
Hard days
- Standing at a gate in the rain for hours while people are rude to you
- Telling someone they cannot come in, and having them take it out on you
- A night shift alone in a quiet building where every noise makes you look up
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 452234, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.