South Australian Consolidated Acts South Australian Consolidated Acts38—Powers of entry and inspection
(1) For the purposes
of this Act, an inspector or a person authorised by the Director to exercise
the powers conferred by this section may—
(a)
enter at any time any workplace, or any other place where any plant to which
this Act extends by virtue of Schedule 2 is situated;
(b)
inspect the place, anything at the place and work in progress at the place;
(c)
require a person who has custody or control of books, documents or records to
produce such books, documents or records;
(d)
examine, copy and take extracts from any books, documents or records, or
require an employer to provide a copy of any books, documents or records;
(e) take
photographs, films or video or audio recordings;
(f) take
measurements, make notes and records and carry out tests;
(g)
require any person to answer, to the best of that person's knowledge,
information and belief, any question relating to the health, safety or welfare
of persons at any workplace or to any other matter to which this Act applies
(whether the question is put directly or through an interpreter);
(h)
require an employer to produce a copy of any statement or record that is
required to be prepared or kept under this Act.
(1a)
Subsection (1)(a) is subject to the following qualifications:
(a) a
person cannot enter a workplace where a self-employed person works alone
except where he or she has a reasonable belief that there is a risk to the
health or safety of a person other than the self-employed person; and
(b) a
person cannot enter a place which is not a workplace (being a place where any
plant to which this Act extends by virtue of Schedule 2 is situated) except
where he or she is doing so at a reasonable time.
(2) Where—
(a) a
person whose native language is not English is suspected of having breached
this Act; and
(b) the
person is being interviewed by an inspector in relation to that suspected
breach; and
(c) the
person is not reasonably fluent in English,
the person is entitled to be assisted by an interpreter during the interview.
(3) A person is not
required to provide under subsection (1)—
(a)
information that is privileged on the ground of legal professional privilege;
or
(b)
information that is relevant to proceedings that have been commenced under
this Act.
(4) In addition to the
powers contained in subsection (1), an inspector may, if the inspector
suspects on reasonable grounds that an offence against this Act has been
committed, seize and retain anything that affords evidence of that offence, or
in relation to which the offence is suspected of having been committed.
(5) An inspector who
has seized anything under subsection (4) must, on request, provide a
receipt for the thing seized.
(6) In the exercise of
powers under this section, a person may be accompanied or assisted by such
persons, authorised by the Director, as may be necessary or desirable in the
circumstances.
(7) The occupier of a
place that is the subject of an inspection under this section and any employer
at that place must provide such assistance as may be necessary to facilitate
the exercise of the powers conferred by this section.
(8) A person must
not—
(a)
hinder or obstruct an inspector or other authorised person in the exercise of
a power conferred by this section; or
(b)
refuse or fail, without lawful excuse, to comply with a requirement under this
section.
Maximum penalty: Division 5 fine.
(9) Where the occupier
of a workplace becomes aware of the attendance of an inspector at the
workplace, the occupier must notify the health and safety representatives who
are present at the workplace.
(10) Where an
inspector carries out an inspection of a workplace under this section, the
inspector—
(a) must
take reasonable steps to consult with the occupier of the workplace (or, if
the occupier is not present, the person who at that time is apparently in
control of the workplace), any employer of employees at the workplace and any
health and safety representative who represents those employees on—
(i)
any occupational health, safety or welfare issue that
arises from the inspection; and
(ii)
the action (if any) that the inspector considers should
be taken as a result of the inspection; and
(b) must
make available to the occupier, any employer and any health and
safety representative copies of any written report (or any part of a written
report) made by the inspector in relation to the inspection, insofar as that
report relates to—
(i)
factual information obtained during the inspection; or
(ii)
the action (if any) that the inspector has taken or
proposes to take as a result of the inspection,
(and, when requested to do so, must supply a copy of that report or that part
of the report to the occupier, employer and health and safety
representatives); and
(c) must
take reasonable steps—
(i)
to relate to a health and safety representative the
contents of any oral report made by the inspector to the occupier or an
employer at the workplace and the details of any consultation that has
occurred in the absence of the health and safety representative (insofar as
that report or consultation relates to the health, safety or welfare of
employees in the work group that the health and safety representative
represents); and
(ii)
to relate to an employer the contents of any oral report
made by the inspector to a health and safety representative at the workplace
and the details of any consultation that has occurred in the absence of the
employer.
(11) An inspector who
has a pecuniary or other personal interest in any business carried on at a
workplace must not inspect that workplace unless and until the inspector has
disclosed that interest to the Director and has obtained the Director's
permission to carry out the inspection.
Maximum penalty: Division 6 fine.