Centrelink and CSA beefing up surveillance

[Agent Shadow]

..Just saw on the news the above agencies will be beefing up surveillance this year..Im actually wondering whether this is talk or would actually mean more files arriving on desks...

[SUPERSLEUTH]

Not to sure. But i would think you need the Cert 4 in Government investigations to be able to do it for them. Not so sure though as we dont get any work through them at all.

[Agent Shadow]

....Hi SS.. yer.. its slowly trickling in...

[SUPERSLEUTH]

Wish we got that kind of work up here. God knows we need it as there is some massive scammers up here. But nothing just infidelity and W/comp stuff.

[Agent Shadow]

The NT does have iit.. its a national contract... the company you sub for does not have the contract...

[SUPERSLEUTH]

As far as i know there is no sub contractors up here. I dont know of any at least. We are all employed full time through different companies. Mine does mainly workers comp but as far as i have heard in relation to centerlink stuff its all done in house up here with people employed through centerlink with cert 4 gov investigations.


Same as licensing up here for your service of alcohol etc. All done in house with the government.


Though i could be wrong. It has happened before hahaha

[Agent Shadow]

Sorry to say mate your incorrect.

 I am employed by the national company that has the contract here and other states.....surveillance is out-sourced to us...

cheers

[SUPERSLEUTH]

Like i said mate i could be wrong. But i would like to meet some off the other guys up here subbing out. I know Westerns have just been brought out by G4S and all of their operators are now leaving Darwin and they have no one on the ground up here now. I know that for a fact as they have contacted the company i work for asking if we will do their work up here for them.

 I am not saying they don't do it but i have not heard of it and definitely not seen it.

If they do source it out to others up here then they really don't do a good job. I knows of literally hundreds of people ripping Centerlink and taking them for a ride. You report it and it never gets looked at.

[SUPERSLEUTH]

Oh and i am not subbed i am employed on a full time basis within the company as a senior surveillance operator. The company you work for might not send work to Darwin or get much in for Darwin. I would be keen as to do that kind of stuff i reckon it would be a good change from the normal W/Compensation we do.

[Homer]

I don't know about the surveillance side of things in Darwin but in the past couple of years on a few occasions I have needed some factual work done in darwin. I made so many inquiries and spoke to a few of the big national firms, who basically fobbed me off. I was tring to find a subbie agent, and incredibly the big firms insisted that if they got the job for me they would do things their way. I said that was not on. I ended up going with the company SS works for, and the female factual agent did an excellent job. Obviously I had to pay a premium rate for it but my client was happy that I was able to provide the service and I made a profit. in speaking to several others in the industry, including a fellow who runs a large investigator recruitment company, I wonder what is going on with investigations in Darwin and who does what. I gained the impression the larger firms I spoke with had hardly any work on in the place but big boted themseleves as having a presence there just to try and impress clients. I know the same firms use a similar tactic for NSW regional work. i have strayed off topic but it all seemed strange to me.

[SUPERSLEUTH]

Yeah i know what you mean Homer. To my knowledge we are the main firm up here now. As i stated Western Investigations have now been brought out by G4S and they have no workers up here. We have been looking for another Surveillance operator to join our team for almost a year. We have still not got anyone else. I am the only Operator for our firm and we have two other full time Factual guys one being the female you spoke about.

I know our Factual operators are flat out 6 days a week and still turning work away. Our Surveillance was extremely quiet for some time but now is bloody crazy busy. I did 19 hours yesterday and backed it up with another 12 today. I have been doing 80 hour weeks for the past 7 weeks now. Good money but only so long you can put in those kind of hours before getting burnt out. There is just no interest up here to do the training etc.

The funniest thing is down where you guys live you need the Cert III in investigative Services to get your license. up here you dont need it and can just get your license and do on the job training and your good. Its easy as that though i have my Cert III you dont need it.


Any way back on topic i hope they really beef it up and start catching these people out.
I would love to do some Centerlink work as that kind of Scamming really gets on my nerves.

[Agent Shadow]

Hi Homer n SS...
I work for one of the larger companies as an employee investigator, that is I am salaried and based in Darwin.

I was able to negotiate to be salaried when I commenced with this company over two (2) years ago as I didnt believe at the time that you can have a stable income as a sub-contractor. As an employee I cant sub-contract my services to other contractors/companies as per my contract. So I am wondering how much work you get up here Homer?

Saying this I can ensure you that we are extremly busy.. infact I am typing this whilst in Alice Springs.. fly back Sunday and then my work colleague flies here Monday whilst I take care of things in Darwin. This is for both Factual and Surveillance work....

Cheers...

[Homer]

AS - that explains things a lot more, so I am happy to retract some of the comments I made at the end of my last post (including a couple of typos such as big boted instead of big noted !). I sensed the companies I spoke to were being over protective, in not allowing me to contact their investigators, but now I realise that as an employee, and under your contract you would not have been able to help anyway. Unfortunately, my experience was soured when the State Manager of the big companies I approached (he was based in Sth Aust) treated me like a nobody and said I couldn't afford to pay their rates. When I asked the rates, it turned out I was charging $30 an hour more. He got peeved off at that and hung up on me, thinking I was joking and wasting his time as his company was supposedly the best and most reputable and could therefore charge a high rate - so he told me. All I wanted was a name of someone who could squeeze in a on off job at about $40 an hour. It wasn't as if I was going to poach them forever. I have only had a job a year up in Darwin for two clients  - both workers comp stress cases. Good to hear you are doing well. Bye.

[SUPERSLEUTH]

Hey AS do you mind saying who you work for or even in a PM. Curious as to other companies up here. Would love to get into the Centerlink side of things. It would be a good change. You said you do both factual and surveillance up here. Is most of the Centerlink work Factual type work or more so 50/50

Most of our work is Work cover surveillance and the other operators in the office do Factual's.  I have only dabbled in the factual side a few times and mainly concentrate on Surveillance. Though in saying that were that busy on that front at the moment we have been turning work away. We have had to fly another guy up from Brizzy to help cover so its a good time at the moment.

I love Alice Springs and cant wait to go back in a few weeks. Its good to get away for a while and do work in another place.


Cheers
SS

[Catzeyes]

Like Homer I am going to stray off topic here a bit, but I see it as a golden window of opportunity for me to have a gripe and it may be my only chance.  Please administrators, do not take my post off because firstly it is the truth and secondly, it needs to be said and who better to say it, than Cranky Catzeyes.

What a crazy situation we have; in Darwin they cannot get enough operatives and in Brisbane and outer suburbs, there is a flooding of the market.  Newly licensed P.I.s everywhere, e.g. the receptionist at the local wellness beauty shop is a P.I., the guy who sells camping equipment downt he corner is a P.I. and I can walk only 100 metres from my office door and knock on the door of two companies.  Then, within a radius of just two kilometres, I am able to count two companies and at least ten Sole Operator P.I.s. who I know of.  Goodness knows how many others "Have their P.I. License".  Someone who has been in the business for a long, long time and I (who have not), have  chatted about this problem and believe me, it is a problem.  I have watched people advertise with great grandeur and still fail.  Why?  Because they haven't a clue what they are doing.  Also at present there are many cowboys (yes and cowgirls) out there who are stirring up the Office of Fair Trading with their antics.  It is beyond a joke and I am really cross about the situation (can you tell?).

If anyone is now thinking to themselves, "Gee Catzeyes is really cranky this time, so obviously she has no work".  Well yes, I ado occasionally become cranky, however I do have work.  Enough work to keep me busy 3 -5 days a week; due partly because I took the little jobs (first one from this forum) before tacking the larger jobs that came in.  te though, as it would be pages and pages of what may seem to be raving, but the bottom line is this; I feel passionately that this needs to be said and that is why I am sticking my neck out here.

I think if I receive another email saying, "Do you have work for me.  I need some money quickly" and/or "I will work for nothing, you don't need to pay me because I just want the experience" I will scream so loud, that SuperSlueth will hear me in Darwin.  

I do not employ.
I do not train.
I do not take 'ridealongs' - don't do surveillance anymore.
I do not know any short cuts to making 'quick' money.

What I do suggest however (at last - returning to the subject at hand), is that young ambitious newly licensed PIs, bite the bullet and check out Darwin.

Finally, it has taken me nearly 18 months to establish myself.  It is only during the last six months that I can honestly say I have reaped the rewards.  Make no mistake; it has been long and hard and more importanly, there were no short cuts.  

ANYTHING GOOD IS WORTH WAITING FOR.

All the best,
Lesley