New South Wales Consolidated Acts

CO-OPERATIVE HOUSING AND STARR-BOWKETT SOCIETIES ACT 1998 - SECT 29

29 Obtaining evidence

(1) The Registrar may, if it is reasonably necessary for the purposes of this Act, by written notice given to a person, require the person:

(a) to attend before an officer of the Department of Fair Trading authorised for the purpose, at a reasonable time and place specified in the notice, and then and there answer questions, and

(b) to produce to an officer of the Department of Fair Trading authorised for the purpose, at a reasonable time and place specified in the notice, documents in the custody or under the control of the person.

(2) An officer before whom a person attends under subsection (1) (a) may require answers to be verified or given on oath or affirmation, and either orally or in writing, and for that purpose the officer may administer an oath or affirmation.

(3) The oath to be taken, or affirmation to be made, by a person for the purposes of this section is an oath or affirmation that the answers the person will give will be true.

(4) An officer to whom documents are produced under subsection (1):

(a) may keep the documents for 60 days or, if a prosecution for an offence against this Act of which the document may afford evidence is instituted within that period, until the completion of the proceeding for the offence and of any appeal in relation to the proceeding, and

(b) while the officer has possession of the document, may take extracts from and make copies of the document, but must allow the document to be inspected at any reasonable time by a person who would be entitled to inspect it if it were not in the officer’s possession.

(5) The regulations must prescribe scales of allowances and expenses to be allowed to persons required to attend under this section.

(6) The Registrar may authorise an officer for the purpose of subsection (1) (a) only if the person has, in the Registrar’s opinion, the appropriate expertise for the purpose (whether because of training or otherwise).

(7) A person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with a requirement under subsection (1) to the extent that the person is capable of doing so commits an offence.

Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units.

(8) It is not a reasonable excuse for a person to fail to comply with a requirement under subsection (1) that complying with the requirement might tend to incriminate the person.

(9) An answer given by a person under subsection (1) is not admissible against the person in a criminal proceeding (other than a proceeding in relation to the falsity of the answer) if:

(a) the person, before giving the answer, claimed that giving the answer might tend to incriminate the person, and

(b) giving the answer might in fact tend to incriminate the person.

(10) The fact that a document was produced by a person under subsection (1) is not admissible in evidence against the person in a criminal proceeding (other than a proceeding in relation to the falsity of the document) if:

(a) the person, before producing the document, claimed that producing the document might tend to incriminate the person, and

(b) producing the document might in fact tend to incriminate the person.