Customs Act 1901

An officer may, in writing, approve a place on board a ship or an aircraft to which this Part applies as a place in which a prohibited item on board that ship or aircraft must be stored while this Part applies to the ship or aircraft.

An officer must not give the approval unless the officer is satisfied that:

only the operator concerned may access the place; and

the place is otherwise sufficiently secure for the purposes of preventing persons from removing the item from the place.

If a safe on board a ship is sought to be approved under subsection (1), the approval may not be given if a person other than the operator of the ship holds a key to the safe.

An officer may place a fastening, or a lock, mark or seal on an approved place for the purposes of preventing persons from accessing that place.

If an approval under subsection (1) is not revoked at an earlier time, it continues to be in force until this Part ceases to apply to the ship or aircraft concerned.

While an approval under subsection (1) is in force in relation to a prohibited item, a person must not:

interfere in any way with any fastening, lock, mark or seal placed on the approved place by an officer; or

remove the item from the approved place.

An offence against subsection (5) is an offence of strict liability.

Subsection (5) does not apply if the person has the written permission of an officer for the interference or removal.