Hiring an investigator for a business or legal matter
A business or legal brief should define the factual question, the authority to request the work, the required output and the deadline. An investigator supplies scoped findings, while your legal adviser controls legal advice and procedural decisions.
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Before you proceed
- Name the authorised instructing party and report recipient.
- Set out the factual question and relevant deadline.
- Provide a dated chronology and document list through the portal when requested.
- Agree expenditure limits and change approval in writing.
When can factual enquiries help a business?
Before a commercial commitment, a business may want to check a claimed company connection, understand inconsistencies in supplied information or clarify the identity of a counterparty. For a dispute, it may need a coherent chronology or a supported location lead. Start with the decision the research will inform. Broad requests to find everything about a person or business make it harder to agree useful deliverables and a proportionate budget.
What should a solicitor or authorised client put in the brief?
Identify the instructing party, their authority, the precise factual issue and the intended recipient. Provide relevant dates, any procedural deadline and the output your solicitor requires. Distinguish an external deadline from a preferred delivery date. Raise relevant restrictions before work begins. The investigator can assess feasibility, but accepting a brief should not be assumed from submitting an enquiry.
How does tracing fit into document service?
Tracing may identify and assess possible location leads for a legitimate debt-related matter. It is separate from serving the documents. Ask the solicitor or process server what information they need and how current it must be. A historical address connection is not proof of present residence. The agreed tracing report should explain the basis of any lead and its limitations rather than imply that service or recovery is guaranteed.
How should the evidence supplied be organised?
Provide a concise chronology with dates, a list of relevant documents and a note of where each item came from. Separate direct observations from assumptions and disputed claims. Retain originals and avoid altering files to make the chronology appear more certain. Use the private briefing process for requested documents. The public enquiry form is for a short outline, not a complete case file.
Agree scope, reporting and costs
Confirm which research questions are included, the planned reporting format, approved expenditure and how further work will be authorised. Tell us if the output needs to go to your solicitor or another authorised recipient. An initial review may identify a need for different work, specialist advice or further information. Any change should be discussed before cost is incurred beyond the accepted scope.
What can PartnerCheck assess?
PartnerCheck assesses suitable business checks, background enquiries, desktop intelligence, tracing and factual or field investigation enquiries across Australia. The initial assessment establishes whether the requested work fits our services and the available information. National licensing does not turn every requested method into an appropriate one. Your written scope sets out the accepted work, practical arrangements and limitations.
General information only. Each enquiry is assessed individually. This guide is not legal advice.
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