ANSIC Security | Industry Insight
Queensland’s private security industry has a significant workforce challenge ahead.
Queensland recorded individual security licence growth of just 0.32% in 2025 - the weakest growth of any mainland state. At the same time, Brisbane 2032 is currently estimated to require an additional 10,000-15,000 security personnel across venues, transport, accommodation and public realm settings.
Those figures come from Security 2030: A Five-Year Future Report on the Australian Private Security Industry, commissioned by the Australian Security Industry Association Limited (ASIAL) and produced by Edith Cowan University’s Security & Intelligence Research Group.
For businesses buying security services, the findings matter well before 2032. They point to a market where workforce availability, compliance, supervision, technology and auditable service delivery will become increasingly important when selecting a security provider.
A growing industry does not automatically mean an available workforce
Australia had 170,698 individually licensed security personnel in 2026, up from 147,729 in 2020 - an increase of 15.5%. ASIAL projects individual licence numbers will surpass 200,000 within five years.
However, the report is careful to distinguish licence numbers from actual workforce capacity. Casualisation, dormant licences, people holding licences across multiple jurisdictions or categories, and workforce churn mean the headline licence count overstates the number of people available for active deployment. The report contrasts the 170,698 individual licence holders with a Jobs and Skills Australia occupational profile of approximately 66,800 people employed as security officers and guards.
That distinction matters to clients. A provider’s ability to reliably supply, supervise and retain suitable personnel is more important than the size of the national licence pool.
Brisbane 2032 will put workforce capability under pressure
Security 2030 describes the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games as the most significant bounded demand event on the Australian security horizon. Current estimates cited in the report indicate an additional 10,000-15,000 security personnel may be required across venues, transport, accommodation and public spaces.
The report also identifies another effect: experienced security personnel may be drawn from existing market roles into Games-related programs during the lead-in period, creating workforce availability pressures across other sectors at the same time.
For venues, construction projects, corporate sites and event operators, workforce planning therefore cannot be treated as a problem that starts in 2031. The capability that Queensland will rely on in 2032 is being recruited, trained, supervised and retained now.
Security is more than filling a roster
Being able to supply a number of officers is only one part of security delivery. Clients also need confidence that personnel are appropriately licensed, inducted, supervised and supported by systems that create accountability.
At ANSIC, our South East Queensland operations are built around ANSIC-employed security personnel who are inducted into our operating requirements before deployment. Personnel are assigned according to the requirements of the role, including the appropriate security licence functions and additional qualifications where required.
That distinction matters because crowd control at a licensed venue, event security, construction site security and corporate security are different operating environments. The security plan should be built around the site, its risks and the required outcomes - not simply the number of guards requested.
Compliance should be visible and auditable
One of the strongest themes in Security 2030 is the shift toward evidence-based, audit-ready security services. The report identifies screening records, training documentation, incident registers, escalation records and other auditable governance evidence as increasingly important requirements, particularly in regulated and high-scrutiny environments.
It predicts that a provider’s ability to produce time-stamped, traceable and defensible records will become as important as the delivery of the service itself.
This direction aligns with how ANSIC has invested in its operating systems. For licensed venue work, Security Registers supports mobile sign-on and licence verification. ANSIC also uses Guardhouse for workforce management, including rostering, GPS/geofenced attendance and occurrence reporting. These systems support a clear operational objective: the right person, with the right licence and qualifications, deployed to the right site with an auditable record of service delivery.
Technology should support officers, not replace them
Security 2030 is particularly clear on the role of technology. Its practitioner research found a consistent view that AI, automation and other security technologies augment protective security rather than remove the need for human presence and judgement in security-critical situations. No participant in the practitioner sample expressed the view that AI or robotic systems would displace security officers.
Electronic sign-on, licence verification, GPS attendance, digital occurrence reporting, CCTV, analytics, access control and incident management platforms can all improve visibility and accountability. But technology does not replace competent people making decisions in dynamic environments.
A camera can identify activity. Analytics can help direct attention. A digital system can provide evidence that an officer attended a site. But managing an aggressive patron, responding to a developing crowd issue or making a judgement during an incident still requires capable people.
The strongest operating model combines appropriately trained personnel with technology that improves their effectiveness, supervision and accountability. That is the model ANSIC continues to invest in.
Know who is actually providing your security
Security 2030 also identifies workforce practices, subcontractor oversight and supply-chain transparency as increasingly important parts of security procurement and governance.
Subcontracting is not inherently inappropriate. There are circumstances where it is operationally necessary and legitimate. The risk arises when a client believes it is purchasing one provider’s workforce, systems and standards but the work is passed through multiple layers without adequate visibility or control.
Businesses should know who is actually delivering their security services, who supervises those personnel, what standards apply to them and who is accountable when something goes wrong. ANSIC’s preference is to deliver services using our own workforce. Where subcontracting is required, it should be deliberate, transparent and appropriately controlled.
The cheapest hourly rate can carry a much larger cost
The report is unusually direct about the economics of protective security. It identifies profit margins of approximately 3-5% in protective services and argues that procurement models which reward the lowest-cost bid regardless of compliance are contributing to a structural sustainability problem.
For clients, the practical issue is not whether a security provider should make a particular margin. It is whether the contracted price can realistically support compliant wages, recruitment, training, supervision, technology, administration and reliable service delivery.
A low hourly rate can look attractive at procurement stage. The relevant question is what has been removed, reduced or transferred elsewhere in order to achieve it.
What should you ask your security provider?
Before appointing or renewing a security provider, ask some straightforward questions:
- Who actually employs the personnel who will be deployed to our site?
- How do you verify security licences and required licence functions?
- How do you prevent an officer with an expired or unsuitable licence from being deployed?
- How are personnel inducted before commencing at our site?
- How do you verify attendance and maintain an auditable record?
- What operational supervision is provided?
- How are incidents, occurrences and escalations recorded?
- What happens when an officer calls in sick or additional personnel are required at short notice?
- When do you use subcontractors, and how are they controlled?
- Can you demonstrate experience delivering security in an environment similar to ours?
A capable provider should be comfortable answering them.
Where the industry is heading
Security 2030 argues that the definition of “good” security is moving beyond hours worked or equipment installed. Increasingly, providers will be assessed on outcomes: reducing harm, supporting continuity of operations, maintaining community confidence and providing regulatory assurance.
That is an important shift. Security is not simply the purchase of labour by the hour. It is an operational risk service that depends on people, systems, governance and accountability working together.
For ANSIC, that direction is consistent with the capability we continue to build: directly managed personnel, compliance controls, technology-enabled operations, auditable records, structured management systems and security planning matched to the client’s actual environment.
About ANSIC
ANSIC has provided services since 2010 and delivers security operations throughout South East Queensland across licensed venues, crowd control, events, corporate environments, construction sites and other protective security requirements.
ANSIC is an ASIAL member, Australian Veteran Owned business and certified to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001.
If you are reviewing your current security arrangements or planning security requirements for a new venue, event or site, speak with our team.
Or call 1300 240 829.
