The private security guarding sector is a vital piece of the national security puzzle that has not been drawn into Australia’s counterterrorism planning.

There are more than 120,000 licenced security guards in Australia.  The security industry has more than double the personnel of Australia’s combined police agencies and permanent Australian Defence Force. Private security staff provide the ‘eyes, ears and hands’ before any terrorist attack and an ability to be first responders after any security-related incident.

This report outlines the problems that are holding the guarding sector back from being an active participant in national counterterrorist plans and presents recommendations to enable the private security industry to become an effective part of our counterterrorist capability.