This is a good question because Queensland’s current legislation is surprisingly limited in this area. There have been concerns for many years about private security uniforms being mistaken for police uniforms. Queensland Parliamentary material records concerns about members of the public confusing security providers with police officers because of similarities in uniforms. The issue extends beyond uniforms to security patrol vehicles. Some security vehicles use colours, markings, chequered designs and other presentation that can potentially create confusion about whether the vehicle belongs to police or another emergency service. SPAAL’s Queensland Security Firm Code of Conduct already states that marked security vehicles must not display markings or identification that could be confused with police or other emergency service vehicles.

As National Director of the Security Providers Association of Australia Limited (SPAAL), BARS Managing Director Garry Oliver has made submissions seeking stronger regulation in this area, particularly concerning the presentation and markings of security patrol vehicles. The timing is particularly relevant because the Security Providers Regulation 2008 and associated security industry regulations are currently operating under an exemption while undergoing review, with the present Security Providers Regulation scheduled to expire on 31 August 2026 unless replaced, extended or otherwise dealt with by government.

What the Queensland Government ultimately decides to include in replacement regulations remains unknown. From BARS’ perspective, the principle is straightforward: professional security providers should be clearly identifiable as security, and members of the public should never reasonably mistake a private security officer or patrol vehicle for the Queensland Police Service or another emergency service.