PSP40416 Certificate IV in Government Investigations

Who Can Enrol

This course is designed for individuals who are currently working in or with the public sector. You’re eligible to enrol if you are:

• Employed by a local, state, or federal government department or agency

• A contractor or consultant actively engaged in work for a public sector organisation

Examples of eligible roles include:

• Government officers or investigators

• Consultants providing services to a government agency

• Contractors supporting public sector projects or compliance activities

• Staff seconded to a public agency from a private organisation

• To enrol, you’ll simply need to provide evidence of your current role or engagement with a public sector body.

• Must be 18 years or over.

All our courses require an LLND assessment, and ACFEC will contact you via email with details about this process.

For more information or to access an LLND skill level test before starting your studies, please contact ACFEC at admin@acfec.edu.au.

You will need a USI number to enrol. If you aren’t sure if you have one, please have a look here: www.usi.gov.au

ACFEC provides learners with three different options for completing the Certificate IV in Government Investigations:

Contextualised Training 

We recommend this training for organisations looking for government investigations training that is specific to their internal policies, procedures, and processes. This ensures a learning pedagogy is used to meet the learners’ needs, and the training material delivered is relevant to the learners. Clients select the units of competency that are most relevant to their current needs. In the Certificate IV in Government Investigations courses ACFEC contextualises the following:

• PowerPoint presentations;

• Materials;

• Extracts and articles;

• Simulated workplace environment scenario; and

• Assessment tasks including the underpinning questions.

For example, scenarios are developed in consultation with the client. The client's precedent forms, guidelines, policies, and procedures are used where possible. These items are contextualised to give effect to the organisations operating environment. Contextualised courses can be delivered at the client's venue or at the University of Canberra.

Open Course

We recommend this training for learners who are interested in beginning or developing a career in government investigations, gaining a stronger understanding of their current role or seeking a promotion. The course covers broad concepts and policies that underpin the process of government investigations. Our open courses typically consist of individuals from various departments. 

Recognition of Prior Learning

We recommend Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) for learners with previous experience in government investigations.  

RPL acknowledges that prior learning or workplace experience will mean that some learners can demonstrate competencies through evidence-based assessment, without having to undertake all units in a course. ACFEC works with the individual learners and their training managers to ensure the learner meets the required competencies in the most efficient manner.

This process is often more cost-effective for learners and organisations and can occur in a shorter time frame. It can also better accommodate the individual needs of learners and organisations and enable the use of workplace documents to satisfy the assessment requirements.

Partial RPL can be done in conjunction with open courses or the contextualised training for the areas where an individual has relevant experience. 

The Certificate IV in Government Investigations (PSP40416) requires the completion of 15 units of competency. Of these 6 units must be completed from the core units, 1 unit from the Group A electives, and a minimum of 5 units from the Group B and Group C electives. The remaining electives can be selected from the list below, from elsewhere within the Public Service Training Package, from another endorsed training package, or from an accredited course. The units below are typically selected by clients, but the unit selection can be amended in consultation with the client.

Core units:

PSPETH002 Uphold and support the values and principles of public service

PSPINV001 Plan and initiate an investigation

PSPINV002 Conduct an investigation

PSPINV003 Finalise an investigation

PSPREG003 Apply regulatory powers

PSPREG012 Gather information through interviews

Elective units :

Group A Work Health Safety

BSBWHS201 Contribute to the health and safety of self and others

Group B Regulatory Compliance Specialisation

PSPREG006 Produce formal record of interview

PSPREG008 Act on non-compliance

PSPREG013 Undertake inspections and monitoring

Group C General Elective units

PSPCRT007 Compile and use official notes

PSPGEN033 Use advanced workplace communication strategies

PSPLEG002 Encourage compliance with legislation in the public sector

PSPREG010 Prepare a brief of evidence

PSPREG011 Give evidence

Assessment will be conducted in accordance with the assessment guidelines outlined in the Public Sector Training Package. 

Assessment tools include:

• practical exercises;

• contextualised workplace simulation that is embedded into the sessions;

• a mock court (using Ciscos WEBEX); and

• short-answer questions to test underpinning knowledge.

Face-to-Face -Melbourne – Sept 2026

• Workshop 1: 8 - 11 Sept 2026

• Workshop 2: 14 - 17 Sept 2026

• Venue: Mantra on Russell

• Time: 9 am - 4 pm

• Registrations close: 1 Sept 2026

• Apply Now

Virtual Classroom – Oct 2026

• Workshop 1: 20 - 23 Oct 2026

• Workshop 2: 27 - 30 Oct 2026

• Time: 9 am - 4 pm

• Registrations close: 6 Oct 2026

• Apply Now