Inside shonky Melbourne security firms’ dodgy practices
Shonky security firms are using tax-dodging cash payments and ghosting scams to crush legitimate operators in what’s been labelled a “race to the bottom” in the wake of fallout from the troubled hotel quarantine system.
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Shonky security firms are using tax-dodging cash payments and ghosting scams to crush legitimate operators.
In what had been described as a “race to the bottom”, many of those being hired at cut-price rates are unprepared for important roles because of “tick and flick” training in which they learn next-to-nothing
Leading industry players say the kind of shortcomings identified in the quarantine hotels debacle have plagued the sector for years.
The Herald Sun has also found:
FIRMS closed down by regulators getting back into the Victorian industry by setting up interstate under different names.
MAJOR clients are accepting quotes based on hourly rates so low they know those providing them will need to break the law and cut corners.
INDIVIDUALS doing their own “ghosting” by working several shifts simultaneously for different firms.
SERIOUS violent offenders have worked the doors at major Melbourne venues.
GUARDS have been found working for more than six contractors at the same time.
THE ABSENCE of national regulation aids corruption and lets untrained and inept workers find jobs.
One of the industry’s chief concerns is the practice of “tiering”, under which operators subcontract work down to others.
Big firms who win work on tight margins send it down to others who, because any profit is gone, resort to telling guards to get ABN’s so they can operate as sole traders at rock-bottom rates.
The contract then does not cover tax, superannuation and other entitlements.
Ghosting – where a work is billed out but manpower not provided – also helps fill the gap.
Sources said “tiering” causes the kind of loss of line control which has had severe consequences in the quarantine hotels.
Empire Protection security director Josh Reeve said a coming review into the industry was welcome.
He said the kind of issues highlighted in the quarantine hotels were “endemic across the industry nationwide.”
Mr Reeve said it was long past time for clients to bear some responsibility for screwing down providers on price.
“Any client can dictate the terms to a company. They don’t care and the contractors don’t push back,” he said.
“The key to this is that anytime they investigate this, they ping the lowest person in the chain. It’s not enough to blame guards and small firms.”
It is impossible for the kind of $26-per-hour jobs regularly seen advertised online to be compliant, Mr Reeve said.
An issues paper for the State Government’s review of the industry stated there were problems with a lack of access to intelligence and criminal record history of applicants.
Criminals were also able to find their way around standards.
“Concerns remain about infiltration by members of organised crime groups who have found a way around probity requirements,” the paper said.
Bikies remain influential, using door jobs to control drug trade within venues.
They are also used by unscrupulous operators to ensure there is no unrest over poor wages and conditions.
The involvement for years of certain high profile bikie bosses – usually formally concealed – was indicative of the influence of organised crime, an OMCG expert said.
One top security executive, who did not want to be named, said the absence of a national framework meant each state issued security licences and regulated its own industry.
The sector is also beset with gripes between big personalities involved in running security outfits.
Roger Henning of Homeland Security Asia Pacific said the industry was rife with rorting, including ‘’ghosting’’ of shifts and untrained staff.
“The issues are that there is so much rorting and ghosting, it’s notorious. It’s more rampant in Melbourne than anywhere else in Australia.
“It’s absolutely rife. There are more rorts in the industry than common colds.”
Mr Henning said the industry was attractive to people newly arrived to Australia, but they were open to exploitation.
“Foreign people are being given uniforms, but no training …’It’s been happening for decades,” he said
Mr Henning said among the problems faced by the industry included security guards falling asleep on the job because it was commonly a second source of income.
“The other thing they do is the trainees are given an exam with answers on the pages,” he said.
“It’s absolute rife with con artists, and Melbourne takes the lead.”
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