Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

MIGRATION ACT 1958 - SECT 188

Officer may require evidence

             (1)  An officer may require a person whom the officer knows or reasonably suspects is a non‑citizen to:

                     (a)  present to the officer evidence (which might include a personal identifier referred to in subsection (4A)) of being a lawful non‑citizen; or

                     (b)  present to the officer evidence (which might include a personal identifier referred to in subsection (4A)) of the person's identity.

             (2)  The person must comply with the requirement within a period specified by the officer, being a prescribed period or such further period as the officer allows.

             (3)  Regulations prescribing a period for compliance may prescribe different periods and the circumstances in which a particular prescribed period is to apply which may be:

                     (a)  when the requirement is oral; or

                     (b)  when the requirement is in writing.

Certain persons to provide personal identifiers

             (4)  If prescribed circumstances exist, the officer must require the person to provide one or more personal identifiers referred to in subsection (4A) to an officer.

Complying with subsections (1) and (4)

          (4A)  Under subsections (1) and (4), a person may only be required to present or provide (including in digital form) one or more of the following personal identifiers:

                     (a)  a photograph or other image of the person's face and shoulders;

                     (b)  the person's signature;

                     (c)  any other personal identifier contained in the person's passport or other travel document;

                     (d)  any other personal identifier of a type prescribed for the purposes of this paragraph.

Note:          Division 13AB sets out further restrictions on the personal identifiers that minors and incapable persons can be required to provide.

             (5)  Subsection (4) does not limit the officer's power under subsection (1) to require the person to present to the officer evidence (which might include a personal identifier) of the person's identity or evidence of the person being a lawful non‑citizen.

             (6)  A person is taken not to have complied with a requirement referred to in subsection (4) unless the one or more personal identifiers are provided by way of one or more identification tests carried out by an authorised officer.

Note:          If the types of identification tests that the authorised officer may carry out are specified under section 5D, then each identification test must be of a type so specified.

             (7)  However, subsection (6) does not apply, in circumstances prescribed for the purposes of this subsection, if the personal identifier is of a prescribed type and the person:

                     (a)  provides a personal identifier otherwise than by way of an identification test carried out by an authorised officer; and

                     (b)  complies with any further requirements that are prescribed relating to the provision of the personal identifier.