Fisheries Management Act 1994

A fisheries officer may search for or examine a thing if the fisheries officer—

has reason to believe the thing is connected with a fisheries offence, or

considers it necessary for the purpose of investigating, monitoring or enforcing compliance with the Act.

A fisheries officer may require a person to give a thing in the possession of or under the control of the person to the fisheries officer for examination, if the fisheries officer has reason to believe a thing in the person’s possession or under the person’s control is connected with a fisheries offence.

The person must give the thing to the fisheries officer immediately or within a period the fisheries officer allows.

To avoid doubt—

the functions referred to in subsections (1) and (2) may be exercised anywhere, including on premises or elsewhere, and

if the thing given to a fisheries officer under subsection (2) is a bag or container, the fisheries officer may break open and search and examine the bag or container.

A person who fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a requirement of a fisheries officer made under subsection (2) is guilty of an offence.

In this section—

A fisheries officer must not exercise a function under this section in relation to a suspected fisheries offence committed by an Aboriginal person unless the fisheries officer has taken reasonable steps to determine—

whether the fishing concerned was the carrying out of Aboriginal cultural fishing, and

whether the fishing concerned was the exercise of native title rights and interests within the meaning of the Native Title Act 1993 of the Commonwealth.