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Close Protection Officers in Sydney | Class 1B Licence

Class 1B-licensed close protection officers in Sydney. SLED-regulated CPO cover for corporate principals, HNWI clients, and visiting executives across New South Wales.

Sydney’s close protection regulatory framework is the most clearly differentiated in Australia for individual CPOs, with the Class 1B bodyguard licence creating a specific, verifiable statutory category distinct from general security guarding. This distinction matters in practice: the pool of Class 1B licence holders in New South Wales has completed training and assessment beyond the Class 1A threshold, and the licence is specific to the personal protection function. Clients who verify the Class 1B licence - rather than accepting a general assurance of security industry licensing - get a meaningful quality signal before deployment begins.

The Sydney market is shaped by the city’s dual role as Australia’s primary financial centre and a significant HNWI and property destination. CPO demand is driven less by violent crime - Sydney’s ambient threat for senior executives is moderate rather than high - and more by the profile of principals operating in sectors, wealth bands, or situations that attract individual targeting risk regardless of the general city threat level.

For secure transport alongside personal protection in Sydney, see our security drivers in Sydney page. For the full threat overview and service index, visit the Sydney city page.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Contact the Security Licensing and Enforcement Directorate (SLED), a unit of NSW Police Force, to verify an individual security officer’s licence status. SLED can confirm whether the officer holds a current Class 1B bodyguard licence and whether it is in good standing. You can also ask the operating company to provide the licence number for the specific officer assigned to your engagement - verify that the licence category is Class 1B, not Class 1A (unarmed guard) or any other category. The Class 1B designation is the specific statutory requirement for bodyguard and personal protection work in New South Wales. Do not accept a general statement that staff are licensed without confirming the specific licence class.

Class 1A is the unarmed security guard licence in New South Wales, covering crowd control, static guarding, and general security functions. Class 1B is the bodyguard licence, specific to personal protection and close protection work. The two are distinct licence categories under the Security Industry Act 1997 (NSW) and are not interchangeable. A Class 1A holder cannot legally provide close protection services as their primary contracted function. If an operating company proposes a CPO for a personal protection engagement, confirm that the individual holds a Class 1B, not just any Class 1 licence category.

Armed CPO cover is legally available in New South Wales but is uncommon in practice. It requires the officer to hold both a current Class 1B bodyguard licence and a separate NSW Firearms Act 1996 licence covering commercial security use - a more demanding regulatory pathway than the Class 1B alone. The threat environment in Sydney does not routinely support armed CPO deployment for standard corporate or HNWI engagements. Where a specific, documented threat assessment indicates that armed cover is an appropriate risk-reduction measure, the operating company must be able to demonstrate both credentials for the specific armed officers deployed.

A Class 1B-licensed close protection officer in Sydney ranges from AUD 600 to AUD 1,100 per day for a single officer, depending on the engagement profile, operational requirements, and whether the operator provides advance work, operations controller support, and vehicle coordination. Multi-city Australian programmes covering Sydney, Melbourne, and other states are typically priced on a programme basis rather than per-day per city. Rates as at June 2026 reflect the specialist licence requirement and the professional standard expected at the corporate and HNWI level of the market.
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