Community Services Act 2007

An application under section 35 may be made by phone, fax, email, radio, videoconferencing or another form of electronic communication if the authorised officer reasonably considers it necessary because of—

urgent circumstances; or

other special circumstances, including, for example, the authorised officer’s remote location.

The application—

may not be made before the authorised officer prepares the written application under section 35(2); but

may be made before the written application is sworn.

The magistrate may issue the warrant (the original warrant) only if the magistrate is satisfied—

it was necessary to make the application under subsection (1); and

the way the application was made under subsection (1) was appropriate.

After the magistrate issues the original warrant—

if there is a reasonably practicable way of immediately giving a copy of the warrant to the authorised officer, for example, by sending a copy by fax or email, the magistrate must immediately give a copy of the warrant to the authorised officer; or

otherwise—

the magistrate must tell the authorised officer the date and time the warrant is issued and the other terms of the warrant; and

the authorised officer must complete a form of warrant, including by writing on it—

the magistrate’s name; and

the date and time the magistrate issued the warrant; and

the other terms of the warrant.

The copy of the warrant mentioned in subsection (4)(a), or the form of warrant completed under subsection (4)(b) (in either case the duplicate warrant), is a duplicate of, and as effectual as, the original warrant.

The authorised officer must, at the first reasonable opportunity, send to the magistrate—

the written application complying with section 35(2) and (3); and

if the authorised officer completed a form of warrant under subsection (4)(b)—the completed form of warrant.

The magistrate must keep the original warrant and, on receiving the documents under subsection (6)—

attach the documents to the original warrant; and

give the original warrant and documents to the clerk of the court of the relevant magistrates court.

Despite subsection (5), if—

an issue arises in a proceeding about whether an exercise of a power was authorised by a warrant issued under this section; and

the original warrant is not produced in evidence;

This section does not limit section 35.

In this section—relevant magistrates court, in relation to a magistrate, means the Magistrates Court that the magistrate constitutes under the Magistrates Act 1991.