ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION ACT 2019 - SECT 163 General powers of environmental officers

ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION ACT 2019 - SECT 163

    (1)     Subject to section 164, an environmental officer may do any of the following:

        (a)     enter any land or premises;

        (b)     move any vehicle;

        (c)     inspect any land or premises and anything on the land or premises;

        (d)     search any land or premises entered and anything found there;

        (e)     take photographs and make sketches or other records of land or premises or things found on land or premises;

        (f)     take photographs of any person on or in land or premises;

        (g)     make recordings in any medium, including audio, visual and audio-visual recordings, of land or premises or things found on land or premises;

        (h)     inspect and take copies of documents and records;

            (i)     seize any documents and any equipment required to access any documents;

        (j)     dig up any land;

        (k)     operate any equipment;

        (l)     bring equipment or materials on to the land or premises and install and maintain equipment or materials;

        (m)     measure anything, or take samples of anything on land or premises;

        (n)     examine or test any equipment or machinery or other thing;

        (o)     require a person to produce an environmental approval, environmental audit report or a class of document prescribed by regulation or a copy of that document for inspection;

        (p)     require a relevant person to:

            (i)     provide the person's name, address and date of birth and evidence of these; and

            (ii)     if the relevant person is acting as a member of a partnership – provide the name and address and telephone number of any other partner in the partnership; and

            (iii)     if the relevant person is acting as a member of the committee of management of an unincorporated body – provide the name and address and telephone number of any other member of the committee of management;

        (q)     require a person on the land or premises to give the environmental officer reasonable assistance to exercise or perform the environmental officer's powers or functions including:

            (i)     operate any computer or other equipment; and

            (ii)     provide any access or assistance to access any computer or other equipment or any service;

        (r)     authorise a person to provide assistance to an environmental officer in the exercise or performance of the environmental officer's powers or functions;

        (s)     do any other act or thing necessary for, or incidental to, the exercise of a power mentioned in this Division.

    (2)     In this section:

associated person , of a person, means:

        (a)     if the person is a member of a partnership – a partner of the person; or

        (b)     if the person is a member of and acting on behalf of an unincorporated body – a member of the committee of management of the body; or

        (c)     an employee, agent, licensee, contractor or subcontractor of the person or of a partnership or body mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b).

"relevant person" means:

        (a)     a person who is on, or in the vicinity of, the land or premises; or

        (b)     a person who the environmental officer reasonably suspects is travelling to or from the land or premises; or

        (c)     a person who the environmental officer reasonably suspects is the owner or occupier of the land or premises; or

        (d)     a person who the environmental officer reasonably suspects is a person who is under investigation for a suspected contravention of this Act; or

        (e)     a person who the environmental officer reasonably suspects is a person who is an associated person of a person mentioned in paragraph (c) or (d).