Customs Act 1901

Subject to any law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory permitting the retention, destruction or disposal of a thing seized as evidential material by an officer of Customs under a search warrant or by an authorised person under subsection 203B(3), 203C(3), 203CA(4) or 203CB(3), the officer or authorised person must return it if:

the reason for its seizure no longer exists or it is decided that it is not to be used in evidence; or

120 days after its seizure:

proceedings in respect of which the thing may afford evidence have not been started; and

an order permitting the thing to be retained has not been made under section 203S; and

an order of a court of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory permitting the retention, destruction or disposal of the thing has not been made;

For the purposes of this section, the return of a thing requires its return to the person reasonably believed to be the owner of the thing in a condition as near as practicable to the condition in which it was seized.