Powers to stop and search vehicles transporting stock
123 Powers to stop and search vehicles transporting stock
Vehicle search powers An authorised officer may exercise any one or more of the vehicle search powers in respect of a vehicle if the authorised officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the vehicle is being used to transport stock.
Power to give reasonable directions An authorised officer who exercises a vehicle search power under this section has the power to give reasonable directions (to facilitate the exercise of the power) to any person—
in or on the vehicle concerned, or
in the vicinity of the vehicle concerned.
Preconditions for exercise of vehicle search power An authorised officer may give a direction referred to in subsection (2) only if, before giving the direction, the authorised officer—
provides evidence to the person that he or she is an authorised officer (unless the authorised officer is a police officer in uniform), and
in the case of a police officer in uniform—provides his or her name and place of duty, and
informs the person of the reason for the direction, and
warns the person that a failure to comply with the direction may be an offence.
Offence A person must (unless the person has a reasonable excuse for not doing so)—
stop a vehicle the person is in charge of when directed under this section to do so by an authorised officer, or
comply with any other direction given under this section by an authorised officer.
Maximum penalty—50 penalty units or 12 months imprisonment, or both.
Definition In this section—
vehicle search power means any of the following powers—
a power to stop a vehicle transporting stock for the purposes of determining whether or not—
the person in charge of the vehicle is in possession of the transported stock statements required by section 120, or
the person responsible for the stock is in possession of the transported stock statements required by section 121 (2),
the power to inspect any of the statements referred to in paragraph (a),
the power to search a vehicle (whether or not stopped under paragraph (a)) transporting stock for the purposes of determining whether stock being transported appear to be the stock to which transported stock statements in the possession of the person in charge of the vehicle, or who is responsible for the stock, relate and to give reasonable directions to any person in the vehicle for the purpose of facilitating the search,
the power to take possession of any stock or object found in the course of such a search that the authorised officer conducting the search suspects on reasonable grounds constitutes evidence of an offence under this Act or under any other law.
This Act’s bill:Explanatory memorandumSecond reading speech
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