Environmental Offsets Act 2014

For an application made under section 59, the magistrate may issue the warrant (the original warrant) only if the magistrate is satisfied—

it was necessary to make the application under section 59; and

the way the application was made under section 59 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 enforcement officer, including, for example, by sending a copy by fax or email, the magistrate must immediately give a copy of the warrant to the enforcement officer; or

otherwise—

the magistrate must tell the enforcement officer the information mentioned in section 58(2); and

the enforcement officer must complete a form of warrant, including by writing on it the information mentioned in section 58(2) provided by the magistrate.

The copy of the warrant mentioned in subsection (2)(a), or the form of warrant completed under subsection (2)(b) (in either case the duplicate warrant), is a duplicate of, and as effectual as, the original warrant.

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

the written application complying with section 57(2) and (3); and

if the enforcement officer completed a form of warrant under subsection (2)(b), the completed form of warrant.

The magistrate must keep the original warrant and, on receiving the documents under subsection (4)—

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.

Subsection (7) applies 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.

Despite subsection (3), the onus of proof is on the person relying on the lawfulness of the exercise of the power to prove a warrant authorised the exercise of the power.

This section does not limit section 57.

In this section—