• The Operating Environment

Functioning capability is the backbone of any successful organisation, and three essential elements underpin it: skilled people, good instructions, and appropriate tools. Each of these components must work harmoniously to ensure operational excellence.

• Functioning Capability

We know investigations capability.

• Investigations & Intelligence

People

Create a culture that values difference & diversity.
Learn in line with the 70/20/10 learning model.
Match skills to tasks.
Build competence and expertise.

PTI can support this aspect of your capability with:• Skills assessment and registers.
• Practitioner training.
• Ongoing professional development.
• Embedded advisors.
• Coaching and mentoring.
• Communities of Practice.
• Tactical and reflective reviews.

• Investigative Mindset

Tools

Align to contemporary best practice.
Have an embedded ethical foundation.
Protect privacy and instil trust in technology.

PTI can support this aspect of your capability with:• Current state to future state transformation.
• Business and workflow analysis.
• Requirements gathering.
• Modernisation of procedural documents and templates.
• Implementation and maintenance of toolkits.
• Application of analytics and AI to operations.
• Program and project management.
• Change management.

• Investigations Systems

Instructions

Develop collaboratively with practitioners.
Maintain through continuous improvement.
Make knowledge available and easily accessible.

PTI can support this aspect of your capability with:• Best practice frameworks.
• Development of doctrine, standards and operating procedures.
• Facilitated workshops to illicit subject matter expertise.
• Implementation and maintenance of a knowledge management resource centre.

• AGIS 2022

Brett Katz
Managing Director
Former Detective
Capability Builder
Technology Executive[email protected]

• Biography

Mark Elvin APM
Senior Consultant
Investigations Expert
Former Detective
Best Practice Facilitator
Capability Builder[email protected]

• Biography

Paul Reid
Senior Consultant
Intelligence Expert
Former Police Officer
Change Facilitator
Technology & Innovation[email protected]

• Biography

Dean Katz
General Counsel & Company Secretary
Commercial Contracts
Strategic Legal Specialist[email protected]
^{PTI is a partner with Katz Legal.}

• Biography

Dean Katz
General Counsel & Company Secretary
Commercial Contracts
Strategic Legal Specialist[email protected]
^{PTI is a partner with Katz Legal.}

• Back to Team

I am a specialist Corporate & Commercial, Contracts and Mergers & Acquisitions lawyer with over 15 years’ strategic legal experience. I hold extensive expertise as an in-house Corporate / General Counsel playing a valuable role on the management team, assisting the business with all legal matters and skilled at performing Company Secretary role to support the Board of Directors with governance and compliance.My strength lies in building strong relationships with key stakeholders, navigating complex issues and working cross-functionally to achieve a desired outcome, while fundamentally protecting legal interests, mitigating risk and creating value. My experience cuts across a number of sectors, including government, cybersecurity, information technology, health, biotechnology, agriculture, entertainment, e-commerce, intellectual property, manufacturing, distribution, earth resources and transport & logistics.I have specialist skills in drafting and reviewing all types of commercial contracts, negotiation tactics, acquisitions, investor / sale readiness, intellectual property and brand protection, data and privacy law, cyber security, risk mitigation, consumer law, corporate governance, company secretarial, support on employment and industrial relations, identifying and resolving tax issues, banking & finance and highly capable of leading M&A transactions, litigation and dispute resolution.I am a natural leader and a valuable team member, skilled at managing and working collaboratively, engaging with key stakeholders, planning and executing budgets and business plans, and providing valuable strategic support to management teams and Boards.

Paul Reid
Senior Consultant
Intelligence Expert
Former Police Officer
Change Facilitator
Technology & Innovation[email protected]

• Back to Team

I have 30 years of service as a police officer with Victoria Police, with 20 of those years as a supervising intelligence analyst, leading various sized teams and work units. My areas of specialist intelligence expertise include counter terrorism, organised crime groups, corruption as well as volume crime types such as property theft and drug offences.Further, I hold extensive experience in the following capabilities:• Uniform policing.
• Criminal investigations and prosecutions.
• Data analysis.
• Intelligence assessment production.
• Tasking and coordination of operational resources.
• Training and workforce development.
• Conflict resolution.
• Security auditing of information management and handling.
• High risk and sensitive investigations.
• Counter terrorism intelligence and response.
• Information technology (IT) project management and delivery.My interest in the application of technology to advance modern law enforcement techniques drew me to information management and capability development roles in the later part of my career. My teams have delivered world leading IT projects around facial recognition and intelligence management systems. The strengths of my technology expertise is in aligning solution design with the practical application of the law enforcement environment, as well as driving the organisational change management required to ensure successful adoption and operational effect. Such activity has included formulating relevant information management and disclosure policies, modernising operating procedures, managing stakeholders in completing privacy impact assessments, conducting training needs analysis, communicating and executing on enterprise change strategies. In terms of skills development and people uplift, I have designed learning materials and delivering face to face training for an organisation of over 15 thousand employees.Later as a Government Customer Success Manager at the SAS Institute, a global analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) software company, I supported Australian Commonwealth and State government agencies with the adoption and continuous improvement of their information and intelligence management systems. This included defining business requirements for new functionality, identifying, evaluating and recommending additional data sources to maximising value and successfully integrating best practice intelligence workflows into solutions.I leverage my decades of law enforcement to effectively deal with all forms of interpersonal communications from conflict resolution to facilitating effective networks and partnerships. I pride myself on building strong relationships, establishing trust and rapport at all levels, from the front line to Senior Executives. It is the confidence I create with clients and stakeholders that provides the greatest opportunity for success.

Mark Elvin APM
Senior Consultant
Investigations Expert
Former Detective
Best Practice Facilitator
Capability Builder[email protected]

• Back to Team

I have over 30 years law enforcement experience with the Australian Federal Police (AFP). This includes both ACT Policing and National Investigations, as well as many years in capability development improving the processes, practices, and standards of investigations. In 2017, I was awarded the prestigious Australian Police Medal (APM) for services to Investigations.Highlights of my career as an investigator include working across complex matters such as:• Assisting the Federal Bureau of Investigations in a major drug trafficking investigation.
• Homicide investigations including the murder of a Saudi Arabian diplomat in Canberra and the murder of a young person on Norfolk Island.
• Assisting the Western Australia Coroner in the investigation of the deaths at sea of two female asylum seekers in the vicinity of Ashmore Reef.
• Leading the investigation into a fatal air crash near Canberra Airport.
• Counter Terrorism and National Security investigations.I held several learning and development roles, including the Investigations Training Team. I developed and delivered programs against the priorities set by the AFP Board of Studies, including the Criminal Investigation Workshop and the three stage Detective Training Program. In recognition of this work, I was awarded an Australia Day Achievement Medallion. I was Program Facilitator and Program Manager on the AFP’s premier Management of Serious Crime (MOSC) Program in Australia and Indonesia.I was a founding member of the Investigation Standards and Practices (ISP) Group, responsible for modernising and maintaining the AFP’s Investigation capability. My work was integral to the development of the AFP Investigations Doctrine, Investigation Standards, the Investigators’ Manual and contemporary best practice guides. In developing these governance documents, I facilitated several Kaizen events, establishing the evidence base for operational best practice. This body of work later led to the design of functional requirements for a significant technology program, the Investigation Management Solution (IMS), for which I later assumed the leadership role of Senior User.I was a Lead Facilitator in the review of the Australian Government Investigation Standard (AGIS). The AGIS review involved a collaborative process with a business reference group from 18 Australian Government agencies representing a cross section of law enforcement, regulatory and policy remits. The now published update, AGIS 2022, exists to ensure quality investigative practices and outcomes across these entities.Qualifications• Bachelor of Arts and Social Science.
• Certificate IV in Workplace Training and Assessment.
• Post Graduate Diploma in Transnational Crime.
• Graduate of Management of Serious Crime (MOSC) Program 32.
• Certified Kaizen (Continuous Improvement) Practitioner.
• Designated Detective.

Brett Katz
Managing Director
Former Detective
Capability Builder
Technology Executive[email protected]

• Back to Team

I have 15 years of service as a police officer and Detective with the Australian Federal Police (AFP), investigating and leading teams in crime types such as organised crime, volume property offending, drug trafficking and illegal firearms.In the later years of my policing career, I leveraged my experience in learning & development to become a capability builder ensuring the right skilled people were working to good operational instructions and doctrine, supported by appropriate tools and technology.I led a team in the development of the AFP’s Investigations Capability Plan, as part of its Futures Program. The plan addressed the vision, drivers, maturity, commitments, dependencies, and linkages within the capability and at the enterprise level. As the Executive Chair of the Disclosure Working Group, I drove several initiatives focused on improving this fundamental information management practice. The foundation of this capability uplift being the realisation of a Duty of Disclosure Standard.Further, I led a significant and successful government technology program. The realisation of a world class Investigations Management Solution configured on an advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics platform, aligned to the best practice requirements of the Australia Government Investigations Standard (AGIS 2022).In 2023, I assumed the role of ANZ Senior Solutions Executive Law Enforcement and National Security at the SAS Institute, a global AI and analytics software company. I developed strategies in response to emerging crime trends such as payment integrity to combat fraud in social benefits programs, best practice investigations management to ensure quality prosecutorial and disruption outcomes as well as advanced AI and analytics in support of search, discovery and entity resolution within government data systems. I worked across a global network of law enforcement and national security customers. From New Zealand to Singapore, United Kingdom, Canada, United Arab Emirates, Finland and Germany.With tertiary qualifications in law and criminal justice, I innovate, build dynamic capabilities for the future as well as inspire a positive culture that reflects the standards and values of the Australian community. I represent the Australian Institute of Professional Investigators (AIPI) as part of the National Executive and am a member of the Australian Institute of Professional Intelligence Officers (AIPIO), the ANZ Society of Evidence Based Policing (SEBP) and the Australasian Council of Women and Policing (ACWAP).Qualifications
• Bachelor of Laws and Arts (Criminal Justice & Criminology).
• Advanced Diploma of Public Safety (Police Investigations).
• Diploma of Public Safety (Policing).
• Certified Kaizen (Continuous Improvement) Practitioner.
• Designated Detective.

We specialise in investigations and intelligence capability. Our approach focuses on three core pillars: People, Tools, and Instructions. Capability is formed with skilled people working to good instructions supported by appropriate tools.People: Our services include skills assessments, practitioner training, professional development, embedded advisors, coaching, mentoring, and establishing Communities of Practice.Tools: Our offerings encompass business and workflow analysis, requirements gathering, modernisation of procedural documents, toolkit implementation, program and project management, and change management.Instructions: Our services include creating best practice frameworks, developing doctrine and operating procedures, facilitating workshops to gather subject matter expertise, and maintaining a knowledge management resource centre.We align our practices with the Australian Government Investigations Standard (AGIS 2022) to ensure excellence in all our endeavours.

Functioning capability is the backbone of any successful organisation, and three essential elements underpin it: skilled people, good instructions, and appropriate tools. Each of these components must work harmoniously to ensure operational excellence.Skilled people are at the heart of any capability. Employees bring expertise, creativity, and adaptability to their roles, driving innovation and problem-solving. Investing in their learning and development is non-negotiable. Training programs, mentorship opportunities, and exposure to new challenges empower employees to grow and align their skills with organisational goals.Equally important is the presence of good and effective instructions. Even the most skilled workforce can falter without contemporary and useable governance. Clear instructions provide structure and clarity, enabling teams to execute tasks with precision and confidence. Standard operating procedures, detailed guidelines, and effective communication channels ensure that everyone understands their roles and responsibilities.The third pillar, appropriate tools, enables employees to perform their tasks efficiently. Modern tools and technologies streamline processes, reduce errors, and enhance productivity. Whether it’s software solutions, digital forms, machinery, equipment, or even hard copy systems. Equipping teams with the right tools is vital for unlocking their full potential.For a capability to function seamlessly, these three elements must be integrated into the organisation’s framework. Skilled people need good instructions to channel their abilities effectively, and tools act as enablers to support and amplify their efforts. Together, they create a robust ecosystem that drives performance and innovation.Developing capability to this framework is a strategic investment. By modernising governance with organisational goals, fostering a culture of continuous learning, and integrating appropriate technology, organisations can build resilient and adaptable teams equipped to manage the complexity of an ever-changing operating environment. Start today by assessing your organisation’s capabilities and taking deliberate steps to unlock its full potential.

The relationship between investigations and intelligence is inherently interconnected, with each complementing and enhancing the other. Intelligence serves as a foundation for initiating investigations, often providing critical insights that guide the focus on individuals, groups, networks, or specific criminal activities. Throughout an investigation, intelligence professionals collaborate closely with investigators, adding value to tactical information and supporting strategic decision-making.Investigations, in turn, contribute significantly to the intelligence process by uncovering new information about criminal activities, which can be used to enrich existing intelligence databases and inform future operations. This cyclical relationship ensures that the outcomes of investigations are fed back into the broader intelligence framework, creating a dynamic exchange of information. Effective collaboration and information-sharing between these disciplines are essential, as they enhance the overall ability to prevent, detect, and address criminal threats while supporting prosecutorial success.PTI is committed to fostering seamless collaboration between investigators and intelligence proffessionals by providing the tools, frameworks, and culture necessary for effective partnership.Through targeted training programs, we equip staff with the skills to understand and leverage each other’s methodologies, enhancing mutual understanding and cooperation. Our approach encourages joint planning and regular communication, enabling intelligence practitioners to provide actionable insights while investigators supply critical data that enriches the intelligence cycle. By prioritising collaboration, we bridge the gap between these disciplines, empowering them to work cohesively toward common goals and delivering more impactful outcomes.

The dimensions of scale and complexity pose tremendous challenges for Government and private entities conducting investigations. Complexity derives from the type and seriousness of the activity under investigation, relevant legislation and the nature of the individuals, groups, or networks. The number of investigating agencies and jurisdictions involved also add to the complexity. Increasingly, investigations have a broad geographic scope, covering multiple locations or even crossing state and international borders.Modern legal frameworks can be complex. Ethical dilemmas also can arise in investigations in relation to investigative powers, privacy, and community expectations. Investigators must operate within the bounds of the law and ethical standards to maintain public trust. Further, high-profile cases often face intense public and media scrutiny, which adds an additional layer of complexity to investigations, requiring a high level of transparency and accountability.The scale of an investigation is determined by the risks involved. Where there is complex subject matter, substantial consequences and voluminous material, an investigation may require more resources and a broader range of capabilities. In the modern context, investigations often involve a massive amount of data. This can include digital evidence, financial records, and online communications. Managing and analysing this volume of data efficiently is a significant aspect of scale.The length of an investigation can vary widely. Some investigations are short-term, while others may extend over months or even years. Managing the scale of these long-term investigations requires careful planning and resource allocation. With expectations of being able to “do more with less”, ensuring that the necessary resources, whether financial, personnel, or technological, are allocated appropriately to match the scale of the investigation is crucial for success.The goal of an investigation is to uncover the truth, with the results of the investigation used to make decisions, take action, or bring about changes in policies or procedures. This is reflected in the 2022 Australian Government Investigations Standards (AGIS) which defines an investigation as:“...an activity to collect information or evidence to a particular standard of proof related to an alleged, apparent or suspected breach. An investigation gathers information across a broad spectrum to assist entities to determine a course of action, which may also be preventative and/or disruptive action instead of prosecutorial.”It involves a systematic and thorough examination of an issue, or allegation, and may include gathering information from various sources, conducting interviews, analysing data, and reviewing documents and other material. In criminal investigations the purpose is to establish if an offence has been committed, prevent or disrupt an offence from being committed, and prepare the material required in the prosecution of an accused.An investigation is not conducted through a linear process. Although investigations conform to a general approach, they may follow different paths. In some cases, an investigation may be finalised before an outcome is achieved. There is also the constant need to review the investigation at various milestones.

An investigative mindset is a way of thinking that emphasises curiosity, critical thinking, objectivity, and a desire to uncover the truth. Having an investigative mindset can help investigators to identify and solve problems, deal with ambiguity, and make well-informed decisions based on evidence and data. In conjunction with AGIS, it can help investigators manage the complexity and scale. Combined, they support the application of an investigative mindset to both simple and complex investigations whether they be administrative, civil, or criminal investigations.The investigative mindset is a set of attributes applied to the stages of evaluating information and material, planning for investigative activity, and conducting investigative activity. A good investigator:• is committed and naturally inquisitive
• applies critical thinking
• is unrelenting in the search for the truth
• is an excellent communicator
• is responsible in the utilisation of resources
• is current with laws, governance, and investigative techniques
• is a calculated risk-taker who is accountable for their actions
• makes decisions which are reasonable, proportionate, and necessaryPTI can support your people in developing an investigative mindset by providing the following services:• Skills assessment and registers.
• Practitioner training.
• Ongoing professional development.
• Embedded advisors.
• Coaching and mentoring.
• Communities of Practice.
• Tactical and reflective reviews.

The Australian Government Investigations Standards (AGIS) states that an Electronic Investigation Management System (EIMS) should have the following high level functional requirements as standard:• Allegation or Intelligence Receipt – the capture and evaluation of information to determine whether an investigation or other activity should take place in accordance with priorities and legislative requirements.
• Evaluation – activity that collates, structures, links, and facilitates the assessment of information to determine further investigative activities to take place.
• Planning – a guide to how an investigation should be conducted (approach) that is reviewable and able to be updated.
• Investigative activities – planned tasks that allow the collecting and collating of information to form evidence, and production of procedural products, documents, and legal instruments.PTI can support the modernisation of your investigations management systems by providing the following services:• Business and workflow analysis.
• Requirements gathering.
• Modernisation of procedural documents and templates.
• Implementation and maintenance of toolkits.
• Program and project management.
• Change management.

The new Australian Government Investigations Standards (AGIS) came into effect on 31 October 2022. It was developed for Australian Government entities conducting administrative, civil, or criminal investigations to ensure quality investigative practices and outcomes. The AGIS additionally applies to private entities providing investigations related products and services to the Australian Government. It was developed through a collaborative process with a business reference group from 18 Australian Government (Commonwealth) agencies representing a cross section of law enforcement, regulatory and policy remits. AGIS 2022 supersedes AGIS 2011 as a result of the significant changes to the operating environment since the earlier publication.PTI can support your alignment with AGIS by providing the following services:• Best practice frameworks.
• Development of doctrine, standards and operating procedures.
• Facilitated workshops to illicit subject matter expertise.
• Implementation and maintenance of a knowledge management resource centre.AGIS 2022 is available for download from the Australian Government Attorney-General's Department