Criminal Code Act 1983

(1) A person shall not be arrested without warrant except in accordance with this Code or an Act expressly giving power to arrest without warrant.

(2) A person, not being a member of the Police Force, may without warrant arrest a person (the offender) where the person:

(a) finds the offender committing an offence or doing an act or behaving or conducting himself, or in such circumstances, that the person believes on reasonable grounds that the offender has committed an offence and that the arrest of the offender is necessary:

(i) to ensure the appearance of the offender before a court of competent jurisdiction; or

(iii) to prevent the continuation or repetition of the offence or the commission of a further offence; or

(iv) for the safety or welfare of members of the public or of the offender; or

(b) is instructed to do so by a member of the Police Force having power under an Act to apprehend the offender; or

(c) believes on reasonable grounds that the offender is escaping from legal custody or aiding or abetting another person to escape from legal custody or avoiding apprehension by some person having authority to apprehend the offender in the circumstances of the case.

(2A) A reference in subsection (2) to a member of the Police Force does not include a person who has not taken an oath under section 26 of the Police Administration Act 1978.

(3) A person who is arrested under subsection (2) and in custody shall not be questioned in relation to an offence other than by a member of the Police Force in accordance with the Police Administration Act 1978.

(4) As soon as practicable after a person is arrested under subsection (2), the person shall be delivered to a member of the Police Force, and the Police Administration Act 1978 shall apply to and in relation to the person and the member as if the arrest had been made under that Act.

(5) A person who is arrested under subsection (2)(a) shall be held in custody only while the reason for the person's arrest, as referred to in that paragraph, continues.

(6) A person who is arrested under subsection (2)(a) shall be released immediately from custody where it becomes apparent that the person did not commit the offence for which the person was arrested.

(7) For the purposes of subsection (2)(a), offence does not include a contravention of or failure to comply with an instrument of a legislative or administrative character.