Security guards have no more power than a regular citizen when it comes to a threat of danger.

They're expected to be more visible in malls around Australia and New Zealand following the stabbing at Bondi Junction in Sydney on Saturday afternoon.

Forty-year-old Queensland man Joel Cauchi stabbed six people to death, including a security guard.

Security Association CEO Gary Morrison says they don't carry weapons of any sort.

He says they're there to assist members of the public around how to escape when something like that happens and to make it as simple as possible.

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