New South Wales Consolidated Acts

TRAVEL AGENTS ACT 1986 - SECT 44

44 Powers of entry and inspection

(1) For the purpose of ascertaining whether the provisions of this Act are being, or have been, complied with by a person carrying on business as a travel agent, an investigator appointed under section 18 of the Fair Trading Act 1987 or any other person authorised in writing in that behalf by the Director-General may:

(a) enter premises where the business is being carried on or on which it is believed on reasonable grounds that records relating to the business are kept,

(b) require the production of records,

(c) inspect and require explanations of any records, and

(d) either:

(i) take notes, copies and extracts of or from any record or statement produced pursuant to this section, or

(ii) remove any such record to the custody and control of the Director-General.

(2) Where a record is removed under subsection (1) (d) (ii), the Director-General may make copies of the record and:

(a) shall at all reasonable times permit inspection of the record, or the making of additions to the record, at the place where the record is kept by the Director-General if the inspection is, or the additions are, made by or on behalf of the licensee whose record it is, and

(b) shall return the record:

(i) as soon as practicable, or

(ii) in accordance with any directions given by the Tribunal on application made in accordance with the rules of the Tribunal.

(3) Where the Director-General, or an investigator or authorised person referred to in subsection (1), requires production under that subsection of a record that is not in writing, or is not written in the English language, or is not decipherable on sight, the requirement to produce the record shall be deemed to be a requirement to produce, in addition to the record if it is in writing, or instead of the record if it is not in writing, a statement, written in the English language and decipherable on sight, containing the whole of the information in the record.

(4) A person shall not:

(a) wilfully delay or obstruct the Director-General, an investigator or any other person in the exercise of powers under this section,

(b) refuse or fail to produce, or conceal or attempt to conceal, any record or statement the person is required under subsection (1) or (2) to produce,

(c) being a person who appears to be engaged, whether as an employee or otherwise, in any activity involved in carrying on the business to which any such record or statement relates-refuse or fail to answer a question, or give an explanation, relating to any such record or statement where the question is put to the person, or the explanation is required of the person, by a person entitled to require production of the record or statement who first informs him or her that he or she is required and obliged by this section to answer the question or give the explanation, or

(d) being a person who appears to be so engaged-give to a question relating to any record or statement an answer that he or she knows is false or misleading or give an explanation of any record or statement that he or she knows is a false or misleading explanation.

Penalty-subsection (4): 50 penalty units.