Private Investigator
Legal definition for licensing – Private Investigator
Private Investigators search for information about legal, financial and personal matters. They offer many services, such as verifying people’s backgrounds and statements, finding missing items or persons and investigating computer crimes.
Career level
Later career
Pay rate
$65k to $100k+
Duties
- Interview people to gather evidence
- Search online, public and court records for information
- Conduct surveillance
- Collect evidence
- Check for civil judgments and criminal history
- Serve documents
- Track missing items
- Investigate thefts and other crime
Role Requirements
- Must be 18+ years old
- Must hold a Certificate of Approval as a Private Investigator
- Must have a clean criminal record
- Preferable to hold a NZ Drivers Licence
- Must have good written and spoken English
- Able to work well under pressure
- Police or investigative background strongly preferred
Skill Sets & Role Fit
- Roles are non-gender and age specific
- Research skills
- Interview skills
- Critical thinking
- Good at problem solving
- Planning skills
- Patience
- Honesty and integrity
- Police or investigative background strongly preferred
Working Conditions
- Usually work regular business hours but may have to be on call or irregular hours
- Variety of working sites
Industry Training
- NZ National Diploma in Security Level 6
- Professional Certified Investigator (PCI) – ASIS
Indicative Pay Scales
- Entry level -$65,000 to $70,000
- Mid-level – $70,000 to $90,000
- High level – $100,000+
Industry Pathway Opportunities
- General Manager
- Business ownership
Other Sector Pathway Opportunities
- Insurance
- Other corporates
- Cyber Security
- Business ownership
