Skip Tracing Services Australia
Licensed investigators locating people, debtors and businesses across Australia — with every result verified before it reaches you.
- Licensed investigators — Australia-wide
- 20+ years locating people, debtors and businesses
- Verified results, not unconfirmed database matches
- Confidential handling on every matter
No obligation. We'll tell you honestly whether we can help before you commit.
Start a confidential enquiry
Most enquiries answered the same business day.
Licensed inquiry agent
Registered with the Private Agents Registry, Victoria Police
Ask any firm you are considering for their registration. An unlicensed trace is a risk you inherit.
- years
- 25+ Locating people, debtors and businesses
- law firms
- 500+ Trust us with their matters
- followers
- 1K On LinkedIn
- states & territories
- 8 Metro and regional, Australia-wide
What is skip tracing?
Skip tracing is the process of locating a person whose current address or contact details are unknown. Licensed investigators gather information from lawful sources — public records, registries, credit-header data and open-source intelligence — then verify each lead before reporting a confirmed result.
The term comes from the debt-recovery industry — a "skip" is someone who has moved on without leaving a forwarding address. In practice the work is far broader: locating beneficiaries of an estate, finding a witness before a hearing, confirming an address for service of legal documents, reconnecting separated family members, or establishing where a company director can actually be reached.
Skip tracing is not a single database query. It is an investigative process — collecting every available data point about a subject, analysing and reducing it, then verifying what remains against independent sources until a current location can be confirmed or the leads are genuinely exhausted.
Who we do this for
Law firms and solicitors
Locating defendants, witnesses, beneficiaries and parties for service of process or litigation.
Debt collection agencies
Confirming current addresses for debtors who have moved without notice, individually or in bulk.
Insurers and loss adjusters
Locating claimants, third parties and witnesses during claims investigation.
Finance and lenders
Re-establishing contact with borrowers and guarantors on defaulted facilities.
Businesses
Finding customers, former employees, contractors or company officers where contact has been lost.
Private clients
Reconnecting with family members, locating a beneficiary, or confirming who you are dealing with.
How it works
- 1
Assessment
We review what you already know and confirm there is a lawful basis for the trace. If the information is too thin to work with, we say so before you spend anything.
- 2
Data collection
We search internal and external databases, public records, registries and open sources — including subscription databases updated daily.
- 3
Analysis and reduction
Raw matches are filtered against what we know about the subject. Common names, outdated records and false positives are eliminated at this stage.
- 4
Verification
Remaining candidates are cross-checked against independent sources. Where a matter warrants it, a field call confirms occupancy in person.
- 5
Reporting
You receive a written report with the confirmed result and a full record of the searches performed to reach it.
Why it matters
A database match is not a verified skip trace
A database will return the last address recorded against a name. That record may be years old, may belong to a different person with the same name, or may be the address the subject left precisely because they did not want to be found there.
We treat every match as a lead, not an answer. It gets tested against independent sources and confirmed before it goes into a report — because an unverified address that fails at service, or sends a recovery action to the wrong door, costs far more than the trace did.
What you receive
- Confirmed current residential or business address where located
- Verified contact details where lawfully obtainable
- A full record of every search performed
- The information obtained at each stage
- A clear statement of what could not be confirmed
- A report format suitable for legal and commercial use
Cost and turnaround
- Skip Tracing from
- $100
- Standard turnaround
- 7–10 business days
- Quoting
- Fixed fee, confirmed upfront
See full pricing
When we cannot confirm a location
Not every trace succeeds. A subject may have left Australia, may be deceased without a recorded notification, or may have no recent footprint in any accessible source. Occasionally the starting information is simply too limited to distinguish one person from many.
Where that happens we tell you directly, provide the full record of what was searched, and advise whether any further avenue is realistically worth pursuing. We would rather close a file honestly than keep billing one that has run out of leads.
Lawful and compliant
All work is conducted in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles, and under the regulations applying to licensed inquiry agents in each state. We collect only information necessary for the engagement, use it only for that purpose, and hold all documentation securely.
For professional clients this matters commercially as well as ethically — engaging an unlicensed or non-compliant provider transfers risk onto your firm. Read how we operate lawfully →
Australia-wide coverage
We work in every state and territory, across metropolitan and regional areas — including Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart and Darwin.
Investigator licensing in Australia is administered state by state, and our work is carried out in accordance with the requirements applying in the relevant jurisdiction.
Skip Tracing — frequently asked questions
Is skip tracing legal in Australia?
Yes. Skip tracing is lawful in Australia when carried out by licensed investigators in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles. Licensing is regulated state by state — in Victoria by Victoria Police under the Private Security Act 2004, in New South Wales by the Security Licensing & Enforcement Directorate, and in Queensland by the Office of Fair Trading under the Security Providers Act 1993.
How much does skip tracing cost in Australia?
Across the Australian market a comprehensive skip trace commonly falls between $350 and $500, with complex matters running higher. Our skip tracing starts from $100, quoted as a fixed fee once we understand the matter — so you know the cost before any work begins.
How long does a skip trace take?
Most standard traces are completed within 7–10 business days. Where a subject has actively concealed their whereabouts, or where the starting information is limited, it can take longer — we will tell you at the quoting stage.
What information do you need to begin?
A full name and date of birth is the strongest starting point. Last known address, phone numbers, email addresses, employer, vehicle details, or the names of associates and family members all improve the result. We can often work with less.
Can you locate someone who does not want to be found?
Often, yes. People who deliberately avoid contact still generate records — through employment, registrations, utilities, property and associates. This is precisely where an investigative trace separates from a database lookup.
What do I receive at the end?
A written report containing the confirmed result and a record of every search performed and the information obtained, so the work can be relied on and, if necessary, explained to a court or a client.
What if you cannot confirm a location?
We tell you plainly, and you still receive the full record of searches performed. We will advise whether any further avenues are worth pursuing rather than continuing to bill on a matter that has run out of leads.
Do you work outside Victoria?
Yes. We operate Australia-wide, across every state and territory, in both metropolitan and regional areas.
Related services
Debtor Tracing
Debtor tracing locates a debtor who has moved without providing a forwarding address, so recovery or legal action can proceed. We confirm a current residential or business address and verify it before it is reported.
Learn more →Locate a Person
Locating a person means confirming where someone currently lives or can be contacted, using lawful information sources. Common reasons include reconnecting with family, serving legal documents, administering an estate, or resolving a financial matter.
Learn more →Process Serving
Process serving is the formal delivery of legal documents to a named party, carried out so that service can be proven to a court. We serve documents Australia-wide and provide an affidavit of service on completion.
Learn more →Need to locate someone?
Tell us what you know and we'll tell you honestly whether we can help — before you commit to anything.
Licensed by Victoria Police · 20+ years' experience · Australia-wide