Locate a Person in Victoria

People disappear from your life for all sorts of reasons. Some do not want to be found, some simply moved on and lost touch, and some are avoiding a debt or a court process. Whatever the reason, we trace people across Victoria using the public record, the paper trail and old fashioned enquiry work. The first conversation is free and nothing is committed in it.

Victoria is a state of close to seven million people built on manufacturing, agriculture, education, healthcare and financial services. Call 1300 773 293 at any hour, or read on for how we handle locating people here.

Common situations we see in Victoria

A debtor has gone quiet and left no forwarding address
An old friend or relative has lost contact with the family
A witness is needed for a matter that is already before a court
A former tenant left owing money and damage
A parent has moved without providing a new address
A guarantor on a loan has disappeared

Local conditions in Victoria

Covering Victoria means working from the Melbourne metropolitan area across the Bellarine, the Goldfields, Gippsland and the Murray. Distance is the main constraint, so we plan around it: we confirm the ground before an operative is committed, and we tell you when travel time is going to make a job uneconomic rather than billing you for a day in a car.

We work regularly across Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo, and we travel further into Victoria where a matter calls for it.

How the work is actually done in Victoria

We take every detail you have, however small, including old addresses, dates of birth and known associates
We confirm the identity properly, because tracing the wrong person wastes everybody’s time
We rule out same name matches before reporting anything
We follow the paper trail through connected people and previous addresses
Where necessary we verify the address physically before reporting it
We tell you how current each source is, so you know how fresh the address really is

Locate a Person and the law in Victoria

People ask about the law here more than anything else, so here it is plainly. Tracing is lawful research, but what you may do with the result is not unlimited. We will not provide an address where we have reason to believe it will be used to harass, intimidate or harm somebody, and we ask about the purpose at the outset. Where a person is subject to a protection order or has taken deliberate steps to remain hidden for safety reasons, we decline the work. The Surveillance Devices Act 1999 (Vic) also limits how any monitoring may be conducted in Victoria. Doing it properly is slower on some jobs. It is also the only version that survives contact with a courtroom.

This is general information rather than legal advice. If your matter is already before a court, speak to your solicitor about what evidence will assist and we will work to that brief.

Fees and how we charge

Cost is usually the second question after whether it is legal, so here is a straight answer. Most traces are quoted as a fixed fee with a no locate discount, so you are not paying full price for an unsuccessful search. A person with a stable history in Victoria is usually found quickly. Somebody actively avoiding contact across Victoria takes longer and we will tell you that before you commit. We have turned work away when the likely cost outweighed the likely benefit, and we will do it again.

About our agency

Before you hand over anything sensitive, here is who we are. Sydney Private Investigations has been operating since 2002 and trades as GORA Investigations Pty Ltd, ABN 34 600 932 438. We are a licensed agency. We hold VIC Master Licence Z6583160S. Every operative who works on your matter holds a current individual licence.

You will deal with the same people from the first call to the final report. Nothing gets handed to a stranger halfway through.

Frequently asked questions

Will you tell the person who is looking for them?

No. Our enquiries are discreet and we do not disclose our client to the subject.

Can you find somebody who has moved interstate?

Yes. We trace throughout Victoria and nationally. Movement between states is a common part of these matters.

Do you serve documents as well?

We can locate and then arrange service, or provide the confirmed address to your solicitor or a process server.

What if the person does not want to be found?

We will not hand over an address where the purpose looks like harassment or where somebody appears to have relocated for their own safety. We ask about the reason at the start.

How long does a trace take?

Straightforward matters in Victoria often resolve within a few business days. Complex traces can take two to three weeks.

Related services in Victoria

Talk to an investigator about Victoria

Call 1300 773 293. The line is answered twenty four hours a day. You will speak to somebody who does this work, not to a receptionist reading from a script.

If you would rather write to us, use the contact form and we will come back to you the same day.