Requirements that may be imposed for investigations under ch 4 or 5A
543 Requirements that may be imposed for investigations under ch 4 or 5A
For carrying out an investigation of a complaint or investigation matter or a chapter 5A investigation in relation to a relevant person, an investigator may, by notice served on the person, require the person to do any 1 or more of the following—
to produce, at or before a stated time and at a stated place, any stated document, or a copy of the document;
to produce, at a stated time and stated place, any stated document, or a copy of the document;
to provide written information on or before a stated date, verified by statutory declaration if the requirement so states;
to otherwise help in, or cooperate with, the investigation of the complaint in a stated way.
For carrying out an investigation of a complaint or investigation matter in relation to an Australian lawyer, the investigator may, on production of his or her identity card, require an associate or former associate of a law practice of which the lawyer is or was an associate, or any other person (but not including the lawyer) who has or has had control of documents relating to the affairs of the lawyer, to give the investigator either or both of the following—
access to the documents relating to the affairs of the lawyer the investigator reasonably requires;
information relating to the affairs of the lawyer the investigator reasonably requires, verified by statutory declaration if the requirement so states.
Examples of another person—
auditor, external examiner, external intervener, liquidator
A person who is subject to a requirement under subsection (1) or (2) must comply with the requirement unless the person has a reasonable excuse for not complying with it.
Maximum penalty—100 penalty units.
A notice served on a person under subsection (1) must state a reasonable time for compliance.
In this section—
relevant person, for an investigation or complaint, means—
for an investigation into the conduct of an Australian lawyer to whom a complaint or investigation matter relates under chapter 4—the lawyer; or
for an investigation into whether the conduct of an Australian lawyer, law practice employee or external entity contravenes a claim farming provision—any person the investigator considers has information relevant to the investigation.
This Act’s bill:Explanatory memorandum
The statute text is free to read above. View subscription options to unlock the case-law research tools for each provision.