RAIL SAFETY NATIONAL LAW (NSW) - SECT 145 General powers on entry

RAIL SAFETY NATIONAL LAW (NSW) - SECT 145

145 General powers on entry

(1) A rail safety officer who enters a place under section 143 may do any of the following--

(a) inspect, examine and make inquiries at the place;

(b) inspect and examine any thing (including a document) at the place;

(c) bring to the place and use any equipment or materials that may be required;

(d) enter or open, using reasonable force, rail infrastructure, rolling stock, a road vehicle or other thing to examine the rail infrastructure, rolling stock, road vehicle or other thing;

(e) give directions with respect to the stopping or movement of any rolling stock or road vehicle;

(f) take measurements, make surveys and take levels and, for those purposes, dig trenches, break up the soil and set up any posts, stakes or markers;

(g) conduct tests and make sketches or recordings (including photographs, films, audio, video, digital or other recordings);

(h) mark, tag or otherwise identify rolling stock, a road vehicle or other thing;

(i) seize any thing (including a document) at the place if the officer reasonably believes the thing is evidence of an offence against this Law;

(j) take and remove for analysis, testing or examination a sample of any substance or thing without paying for it;

(k) require a person at the place to give the officer reasonable help to exercise the officer's powers under paragraphs (a) to (j);

(l) exercise any power that is reasonably necessary to be exercised by the officer for the purposes of this Law.

(2) A film, photograph, video or digital recording, or other image, taken under subsection (1)(g) of rail infrastructure, or of any part of rail infrastructure, is not inadmissible as evidence by reason only of the fact that it includes the likeness of 1 or more persons if the capturing of that likeness is incidental to the taking of the film, photograph, video or digital recording, or other image.

(3) A person required to give reasonable help under subsection (1)(k) must not, without reasonable excuse, fail to comply with the requirement.

: Maximum penalty--

(a) in the case of an individual--$10 000;

(b) in the case of a body corporate--$50 000.

(4) Subsection (3) places an evidential burden on the accused to show a reasonable excuse.

(5) In this section--


"reasonable help" includes--

(a) assistance to enable the rail safety officer to find and gain access to electronically stored material and information; and

(b) unloading rolling stock; and

(c) running the engine of a locomotive; and

(d) driving a train; and

(e) giving the rail safety officer assistance to enter any rail infrastructure or any part of rail infrastructure, or open rolling stock or any part of rolling stock.