Auditor-General Act 2009

If it is reasonably necessary for the purposes of an audit under this Act, an authorised auditor may, by written notice given to a person, require the person—

to attend before an authorised auditor, at a reasonable time and place stated in the notice, to answer questions; and

to produce to an authorised auditor, at a reasonable time and place stated in the notice, documents belonging to, in the custody of, or under the control of, the person.

The authorised auditor before whom the person attends may require answers to be verified or given on oath, either orally or in writing, and for that purpose the authorised auditor may administer an oath.

The oath to be taken by a person for this section is an oath that the answers the person will give will be true.

An authorised auditor to whom a document is produced under a notice under subsection (1)—

may keep the document for a reasonable period for the purposes of conducting the relevant audit; and

may take extracts from and make copies of the document.

While the authorised auditor has possession of the document, the authorised auditor must allow the document to be inspected at any reasonable time by a person who would be entitled to inspect it if it were not in the authorised auditor’s possession.

The regulations must prescribe scales of allowances and expenses to be allowed to persons required to attend under this section.

A person must comply with a notice under subsection (1), unless the person has a reasonable excuse.Maximum penalty—40 penalty units.

It is not a reasonable excuse for a person who is an individual to fail to comply with a notice under subsection (1) that complying with the notice might tend to incriminate the person.

An answer given by a person who is an individual under this section, or any information, document or other thing obtained as a direct or indirect consequence of the person giving the answer, is not admissible against the person in a criminal proceeding, other than a proceeding relating to the falsity of the answer if the answer might in fact tend to incriminate the person.

The fact that a document was produced by a person who is an individual under this section is not admissible in evidence against the person in a criminal proceeding, other than a proceeding relating to the falsity of the document, if producing the document might in fact tend to incriminate the person.