New South Wales Consolidated Acts

RURAL FIRES ACT 1997 - SECT 132

132 Powers of police officers

(1) A police officer who has reasonable grounds to suspect that a person is committing an offence against this Act or the regulations may direct the person:

(a) to state the person’s full name and residential address to the police officer, or

(b) to produce any permit, notice or other document by or under the authority of which the person claims that a fire has been lit.

(2) A police officer may direct any person who has lit a fire in contravention of a provision of this Act or the regulations:

(a) to extinguish the fire, or

(b) if the fire is in the open air, to extinguish the fire before leaving the fire.

(3) A person to whom a direction is given under this section must not fail to comply with the direction.

Maximum penalty: 5 penalty units.

(4) A person is not guilty of an offence under this section unless the police officer explained to the person, when giving the direction, that failure to comply with the direction is an offence.

(5) In this section:
"light" a fire includes:

(a) maintain or use a fire, and

(b) cause a fire to be lit, maintained or used.