New South Wales Consolidated Acts

ROAD TRANSPORT (VEHICLE REGISTRATION) ACT 1997 - SECT 26

26 Defective registrable vehicles

(cf Cth Act s 28)

(1) A police officer, or the Authority, may inspect a registrable vehicle (whether or not on a road or road related area) for the purpose of deciding its identity, condition or the status of any registration or permit relating to the vehicle.

(1A) A registered operator or owner of, or any person in charge of or having the custody of or selling or having in possession for sale or otherwise of the registrable vehicle must afford the police officer or the Authority all reasonable facilities for making such an inspection.

Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units.

(1B) Without limiting subsection (1), for the purposes mentioned in that subsection and in connection with any inspection, a police officer or the Authority may:

(a) enter in or on the vehicle on a road or road related area, or

(b) enter in or on any premises ordinarily used for the sale of registrable vehicles and in or on such a vehicle on those premises, or

(c) enter in or on any other premises if the officer or the Authority has reasonable cause to believe a registrable vehicle is for sale, held in possession for sale or in a damaged condition as a result of an accident, and may enter in or on any such vehicle on those premises.

(2) A police officer, or the Authority, may, in accordance with the regulations, on discovering a defective registrable vehicle:

(a) issue a warning or a defect notice, or

(b) impose conditions on the use of the vehicle, or

(c) prohibit the use of the vehicle.

(3) A defect notice may be withdrawn or cleared in accordance with the regulations.

(4) After inspecting a registrable vehicle, a police officer, or the Authority, may seize any device, plate or document in or on the vehicle if it is suspected on reasonable grounds that the device, plate or document is being used in committing an offence against this Act or the regulations.

(5) In this section, "inspect" in relation to a registrable vehicle includes observe the vehicle’s performance, with or without the use of instrumentation.