Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

IMPORTED FOOD CONTROL ACT 1992 - SECT 21

             (1)  In this Part, unless the contrary intention appears:

"monitoring powers" means:

                     (a)  in relation to premises, the following powers:

                              (i)  to search the premises;

                             (ii)  to take photographs (including a video recording), or make sketches, of the premises or any substance or thing at the premises;

                            (iii)  to inspect, examine and take samples of, any substance or thing on or in the premises;

                            (iv)  to take extracts from, or make copies of, any document, book or record on the premises;

                             (v)  to take onto the premises any equipment or material reasonably necessary for the purpose of exercising a power under paragraph (i), (ii), (iii) or (iv); and

                     (b)  in relation to certain documents or records on premises, the powers in subsections (2) and (3).

"occupier" , in relation to premises comprising a vessel, vehicle or aircraft, means the person apparently in charge of the vessel, vehicle or aircraft.

"premises" means:

                     (a)  an area of land or any other place, whether or not it is enclosed or built on; or

                     (b)  a building, wharf or other structure; or

                     (c)  a vessel, vehicle or aircraft;

and includes a part of any such premises.

"seize" includes secure against interference.

"vehicle" includes a hovercraft.

"vessel" means a ship, boat, raft or pontoon or any other thing capable of carrying persons or goods through water, but does not include a hovercraft.

             (2)  An authorised officer has power to operate equipment at the premises to see whether:

                     (a)  the equipment; or

                     (b)  a disk, tape or other storage device that:

                              (i)  is at the premises; and

                             (ii)  can be used with or is associated with the equipment;

contains information that is relevant to determining whether there has been compliance with the Act.

             (3)  If the authorised officer, after operating equipment at the premises, finds that the equipment, or that a disk, tape or other storage device at the premises, contains information of that kind, he or she has power:

                     (a)  to operate the facilities to put the information in documentary form and copy the documents so produced; or

                     (b)  if the information can be transferred to a disk, tape or other storage device that:

                              (i)  is brought to the premises; or

                             (ii)  is at the premises and the use of which for the purpose has been agreed to in writing by the occupier of the premises;

                            to operate the equipment or other facilities to copy the information to the storage device and remove the storage device from the premises.