Private Investigators
Private Investigators
A private investigator is a private detective who can be hired to make investigations into breaches of the law. WorkCover is actually one of the main employers of private investigators in Australia.
Insurance Agents will sometimes employ private investigators to assess whether injured workers are being genuine about their claims. These investigators are often used unfairly and without any proof that injured workers are exploiting the WorkCover process. This page is made to inform you about what the law says about when and how WorkSafe and its insurance agents can use private investigators and where you can go when you believe they are acting unfairly.
According to the WorkSafe website, they are used to assist in:
- assessing liability
- determining common law entitlement
- determining entitlement in other litigated matters
- establishing whether there has been scheme abuse.
They are used to determine whether or not workers are lying about their claims, or whether an employer is at fault in a common law claim. This interpretation is used very loosely and it is not uncommon for private investigators to choose to investigate a claimant on a 'hunch' with no evidence of wrongdoing.
This is some of the ‘evidence’ for fraud insurance agents gave to justify surveillance:
"Her tone of voice last time we spoke was really suss”
"I just get the sense there's something dodgy about him”
Private investigation firms are chosen by insurance agents from a list of WorkSafe’s registered firms. It is the insurance agent that is responsible for making sure the private investigators hired are acting lawfully. This can be a conflict of interest as insurance agents often have incentives to find reason to kick workers off WorkCover claims.
The information on this website produced and distributed by the IWSN is of a general nature. We do our best to ensure the information is accurate and up to date, but cannot take any responsibility for any loss arising out of its use. You should not rely on it applying in your own circumstances and should always take further advice from those with appropriate qualifications.
Last updated August 2024.