Extreme security risk

CHARLES MIRANDA AND NATALIE O’BRIEN

TERRORISTS, neo-Nazis and organised crime groups could end up “protecting” our critical infrastructure thanks to legal loopholes allowing firms to import potential extremists or criminals to work as security guards.

The warning from the NSW Police Security Licensing & Enforcement Directorate (SLED) comes as the nation’s security industry comes under investigation in Victoria for lax vetting and training as exposed during its COVID-19 hotel traveller quarantine program.

It also comes as News Corp can reveal the NSW Government has been forced to dump two of its eight security provider contracts on its quarantine program after finding similar subcontracting issues that furthered the coronavirus crisis in Victoria. An as yet to be released security industry review has found nationally a “culture of noncompliance and endemic failure to apply workplace laws” to create a public health risk including exploitation and “modern slavery” and profit-based “pacts of dishonesty” between employers and exploited employees.

The security industry is regulated on a state and territory basis with little to no national consistency. SLED has repeatedly warned federal and state authorities of the risks posed by the potential importing of foreign labour and potential recruiting of extremists.

It cites Hamdi Alqudsi, a security instructor who would later be jailed in 2016 for helping recruit and export Australians to join ISIS.

SLED director Cameron Smith confirmed there were some serious concerns around subcontracting, dodgy training colleges but also movement of a workforce between states.

He said student and holiday visa workers would not meet eligibility requirements to operate as security in NSW but were eligible in other states and under mutual recognition laws were automatically getting a licence in NSW too. He said importing a workforce with extremist views or criminal connections were a concern.