1. “SKIP TRACING” So Where Do I Begin? Copyright – 2010 IDS Group Pty Ltd

2. Did you Know?. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) established that in any five-year period, 43.7% of the Australian population will change address

3. INFORMATION SOURCES

4.  Electoral Rolls  White Pages Online  FCS Online  Mirus Online  Citec  ABN Check  Civil Court Records  Credit Check (VEDA Advantage)  TICA (Rental Enquiries)

5.  Occupational Licensing Checks (Builders, Health Professionals, OFT Licences, Vets, Electricians, Engineers, Solicitors). If unsure whether a licence is required for a particular occupation then check the OFT’s Smart Licence website  Facebook  Google & Google Alert  Correctional Services Check (07 3227 6055)  National Obituaries/Death Notices Check (The Ryerson Index)

6. INFORMATION THAT CANNOT BE OBTAINED

7.  Police records (criminal history, criminal intelligence). Can be obtained with consent of the individual though.  Tax records and government benefits (Centrelink details)  Banking details or private investments  Health Records (Medicare details, health histories)

8. WHAT PROBLEMS CAN BE ENCOUNTERED?

9.  Lack of information provided by the Debtor/Ratepayer initially (no date of birth, no contact phone numbers)  Some searches unable to be conducted without certain information  Debtors suppressing their address on open source databases (silent phone numbers, silent voters)  Address previously supplied by the debtor is a post office box

10.  Records exist but are not updated (ie subject always uses a post office box or does not update addresses)  Time & Budgetary constraints

11. DO’S AND DON’TS

12.  Never just do a white pages online search alone. This can lead to the wrong person being found.  Be careful of setting up fake facebook profiles in order to obtain information about a debtor.  Always analyse the data found on searches and confirm that the individual found is in fact the debtor (do this prior to contacting the person about the debt!)

13.  If in doubt or the file becomes too complicated seek assistance from professional skip tracing agencies.

14. QUESTIONS?