How much does a private investigator cost?
Well, that is an excellent question. Private investigation in Australia is a fairly
small industry sector, although it is still a competitive one. There are a
number of small operators giving the impression that they are larger than they
actually are, and a few unscrupulous operators as well. All private detectives are
required to be licensed in their states of operation and this can confirmed
with a simple check of the licensing authority in the state of operation.
So what is the cost ??…….. There are a variety
of diverse services we offer and each product can vary in cost depending on the
amount of hours, and expertise required. And to make things more unknown, most
investigations don’t come with a fixed charge because we don’t know how long it
will take to get the answers required……. think about it logically – it makes
total sense. This is especially true for relationship investigations.
For example, nearly all spousal and
relationship investigations today are solved by carrying out visual
surveillance (following the subject) because this is one of the few legal directions
we now have. Surveillance is charged at an hourly rate – not ‘per
investigation’. It is a time based exercise until the results come your way,
although some customers do have a precise timeframe that they need a private
detective so they can work out what it will cost. For example at this time of
year we are often called to investigate work Christmas parties because the
client was not invited. So the client will often know the exact venue and times
they want the partner watched – they can pretty much lock in the cost because
it is a one-off event and they will know the hours required.
Surveillance is charged at an hourly rate
of $95 per operative used on the job. Some investigations need two and even
more operatives and the costs rise consequently. It can be difficult to calculate
the typical outlay for a surveillance assignment but we would advise that somewhere
in the vicinity of $1500 and $3000 would be quite standard. Many assignments
come in at a lesser charge, and some can go way over this average as well. We
have solved problems for as little as $380, and some customers have spent well into
the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Occasionally there may be another way to
solve a relationship problem including background checks, general database
inquiries, computer and mobile phone forensics. In these situations we really
have to discuss circumstances of the issue and then we can work out how much it
may cost to investigate these alternate directions. You may be pleasantly
surprised that many matters may be cheaper than you would have imagined. Call
us at any time and we are only too happy to advise further. That’s what we are
here for.
Should you wish to contact us here at LipstickInvestigations in Sydney or Brisbane, Gold Coast or Tweed, please feel free to
call us on 1300LIPSTICK, mobile on 0411 853 111 or email us directly at
enquiries@lipstickinvestigations.com.au
