As per the legislation, guards who are appointed for building security purposes or lending protection to cash in transit services can carry firearms as per the law, and even use them for self-defence if needed. But it is quite hard to comprehend why bodyguards who are entrusted with a very important job of protecting someone’s life cannot be equipped with guns.
Every year, hundreds of dignitaries travel to Australia who necessitate armed protection once they are within the boundaries of the country. But not all of them are able to meet the requisites for obtaining armed protection from the Australian Police Service. As a result, they are left with no other choice but to hire private bodyguards for security. Now if those bodyguards are denied by the legislation to carry guns, they would be never be able to ensure 100 percent security.
According to many professional security officers in Australia, not all security organisations provide adequate training to aspiring bodyguards except a few good ones like Baird Brothers Protective Services. Some of them are of the opinion that it is important to have an advanced and effective training program in Close Protection & Firearms that must be substantially higher than the existing security standards.
There is actually a Certificate IV in Close Protection, which features a 10-day program that would necessitate a candidate to live in and take part in 15 to 16 hours of lifelike scenarios and instruction sessions altogether everyday. However, some RTOs (regional training organisations) try to finish off this program in a few days by keeping the approach of training mostly theoretical. It is high time to make suitable amendments for upping the standards of bodyguard training programs and reviewing the legislative regulations that govern the right of bodyguards to carry firearms.