New South Wales Consolidated Acts

COMMUNITY SERVICES (COMPLAINTS, REVIEWS AND MONITORING) ACT 1993 - SECT 17

17 Powers of entry

(1) The Ombudsman may enter any part of premises at or from which the services of a service provider are provided and may there exercise the powers conferred by this section, but only if:

(a) in a case where the power is exercised under delegation by an officer of the Ombudsman, the officer is in possession of a certificate of authority issued by the Ombudsman and produces the certificate if required to do so by a person apparently in occupation of the premises, and

(b) the Ombudsman gives reasonable notice to an occupier of the premises of intention to exercise the power, unless the giving of notice would defeat the purpose for which it is intended to exercise the power, and

(c) the Ombudsman exercises the power at a reasonable hour of the day, unless it is being exercised in an emergency, and

(d) the Ombudsman uses no more force than is reasonably necessary.

(2) The Ombudsman is not entitled to enter a part of premises used for residential purposes, except:

(a) with the consent of the occupier, or

(b) under the authority of a search warrant.

(3) The Ombudsman may do any of the following:

(a) inspect the premises and make notes in relation to the inspection,

(b) examine, seize, retain or remove any equipment that the Ombudsman reasonably believes is, has been or may be used in connection with a complaint or other matter being investigated,

(c) require a person having access to records relating to the conduct of the premises or the delivery of services to produce records for inspection,

(d) make copies of, or take extracts from, those records,

(e) for the purpose of further examination, take possession of, and remove, any of those records,

(f) require the owner or occupier of those premises to provide the Ombudsman with such assistance and facilities as is or are reasonably necessary to enable the Ombudsman to exercise functions under this section.

(4) The Ombudsman may ask any person on the premises to answer questions, or to produce records, relating to the delivery of services at or from the premises.

(5) If damage is caused by the exercise of powers conferred by this section, the Minister is to pay reasonable compensation for the damage unless the exercise of the powers was obstructed by the occupier of the premises.

(6) A Magistrate may, on the application of the Ombudsman, issue a summons requiring a person:

(a) to produce to the Local Court any records that the person summoned has failed to produce in accordance with a requirement made under this section, or

(b) to appear before the Local Court and give evidence in relation to a matter in respect of which the person has failed to answer a question in accordance with such a requirement.

(7) Documents produced in response to a summons under this section:

(a) are, at the request of the Ombudsman, to be made available to enable the Ombudsman to make copies of, or take extracts from, the records, and

(b) are to be returned to the person summoned no later than 7 days after their production to the Local Court.

(8) A person who, having been served with a summons under this section, fails to comply with the summons is guilty of an offence.

Maximum penalty (subsection (8)): 20 penalty units.