Concierge vs security guard for apartment buildings

A concierge runs the front of house: greeting residents, receiving parcels, booking the lift for movers, signing contractors in and keeping a record of who came through the door. A licensed security guard is there to protect the property: patrolling the basement and common areas, watching for people who should not be in the building, and responding when something goes wrong. In Queensland it is the function performed that decides which is which. Anyone who guards, patrols or watches the building's property needs a security licence, whatever the position is called on the roster.

The two roles solve different problems

What a concierge does

A concierge is a service role with a security dimension: visitor management, parcel handling, contractor sign-in, lift bookings, and being the person residents talk to when a light is out. The security value is presence and record keeping: strangers get spoken to, and the building has a dated log of who entered and why.

What the role is not built for is confrontation. It works because residents like dealing with the person at the desk, and that stops the moment the same person is asked to remove someone.

What a licensed security guard does

A guard is engaged to protect property and people: walking every basement level and common area, checking fire stairs and plant rooms, directing people who do not belong to leave, holding a scene until police arrive, and writing an incident report that will still make sense in a tribunal six months later. It is different training, and it carries a licence anyone can check.

In Queensland, the licence follows the function

The Security Providers Act 1993 decides this, and it is worth a committee understanding it before signing anything. The Queensland Government describes an unarmed security officer as a person who guards, patrols or watches another person's property, without a guard dog or weapon. That category expressly covers in-house security officers, loss prevention officers and gate officers.

Two things follow. Employing someone directly rather than through a firm does not remove the requirement, so an in-house guard on the body corporate's payroll needs the same individual licence as a contracted one. And a business supplying officers to a building needs a security firm licence of its own, on top of the licences its officers hold.

The practical test is to read the position description you are approving. If it includes patrolling the carpark, monitoring cameras for intruders, or asking non-residents to leave, that is licensed work, and a quote priced as unlicensed labour deserves a hard look.

Neither role enforces the by-laws

This misunderstanding causes more friction in residential towers than anything else. Committees hire a presence at the door expecting the parking, noise, pet and short-stay by-laws to start being enforced, then find nothing changes.

Under the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997, only the body corporate can act on a by-law breach, through the committee or a general meeting. The formal steps are the contravention notices: BCCM Form 10 for a continuing contravention, BCCM Form 11 where a breach is likely to be repeated. Ignore a notice and the body corporate can go to conciliation or the Magistrates Court. An owner or occupier who wants action uses BCCM Form 1.

None of those steps can be taken by a person at a desk. What desk staff and patrol officers contribute is the evidence that makes a notice stick: dated notes, times, photographs and lot numbers, in a format the committee can attach to a form. A building that has logged incidents properly for three months has a case. One relying on emails from annoyed neighbours does not. It cuts the other way too. A guard who polices the by-laws by arguing with residents creates exposure for the committee that hired them, so the standing instruction should be to observe, record and report.

The hybrid model most schemes end up running

Very few buildings choose one. The common shapes in Brisbane CBD and Fortitude Valley towers:

Concierge by day, patrols overnight. A staffed desk covers deliveries, trades and residents. Randomised overnight passes cover the hours where the risk sits.
A licensed concierge in one role. For a continuously staffed desk, licensing the position removes the grey area entirely.
Weekend cover only. Heavy short-stay letting usually creates a Friday and Saturday night problem rather than a seven night one.
Patrols and alarm response, no desk. The right answer for most schemes under about 80 lots, and far cheaper than a permanent post.

Our body corporate security guide for Brisbane committees covers patrol cadence and reporting standards, and static guards and concierge covers how we staff the desk.

What should decide it for your building

Traffic at the door. A 60 lot building next to a train station can be busier than a 150 lot building with basement entry only, so lot count on its own tells you very little.
Short-stay letting. A constant flow of people who do not know the rules is a concierge problem by day, a guard problem at night.
Basement layout. Multiple entries, a shared boundary with a neighbouring scheme, or a slow ramp that lets cars tailgate all push you towards patrol frequency over a desk.
Incident history. Pull twelve months of minutes and count what happened, and when. Most buildings are surprised how narrow the risk window is.
Access control maturity. Staffing often papers over a credential system that stopped working years ago, and fixing the fobs can cost less. See access control and our explainer on access control systems.

Getting it through the committee

Security is usually one of the larger line items a committee approves, so it meets the spending rules. Under the Standard, Accommodation and Small Schemes modules, the major spending limit sets how many quotes you need. Where it has not been set by ordinary resolution, it defaults to the lesser of $1,100 multiplied by the number of lots and $10,000. Above it, at least two quotes must be obtained and must accompany the general meeting notice.

Beyond the quotes, insist on:

Scope as a schedule: hours, areas covered, patrol count, and what is excluded.
The firm's licence number, and every officer licensed for the functions in that scope.
Current certificates of currency for public liability and workers compensation, and a stated position on subcontracting.
A 12 month term, a monthly reporting summary, and a termination clause the committee can use if service quality drops.

Before comparing quotes, run the checks in how to vet a security company in Queensland.

Frequently asked

Can a concierge also act as security?

Yes, provided they hold the right licence. In Queensland the licence follows the function rather than the job title. Under the Security Providers Act 1993, an unarmed security officer is a person who guards, patrols or watches another person's property without a guard dog or weapon, and that licence applies whether the person works through a firm or is employed directly by the building. A concierge who greets residents, takes parcels and books the lift is doing hospitality work. The moment they patrol the basement, monitor cameras for intruders or ask a non-resident to leave, that is licensed security work.

Does an apartment building need a licensed security guard?

There is no Queensland law requiring a residential building to have one. The law says that if anyone is guarding, patrolling or watching the building's property, that person must be licensed. Most schemes do not need a guard in the lobby all night. They need the licensed capability available: overnight patrols of the basement and common areas, and an officer who can attend when an alarm activates. A permanent post earns its cost in large towers, buildings with heavy short-stay traffic, or schemes with repeat incidents that patrols alone have not stopped.

Get a written scope for your scheme

Tell us the lot count, the basement layout, and what has happened in the last twelve months. We will walk the building with your committee or building manager and come back with a written scope priced against the real risk, with the patrol count, target attendance time and reporting format in writing. If a desk is not worth the money, we will say so. More on body corporate schemes. Request a site visit → or call 0414 829 850.

Published 6 August 2026 · Anthony Tupper, Founder · Tupper Security Services holds Queensland Security Firm Licence (Class 1) #4572076.