Mental Health Act 2016

For an application made under section 379, the magistrate may issue the warrant for apprehension of the person (the original warrant) only if the magistrate is satisfied—

it was necessary to make the application under section 379; and

the way the application was made under section 379 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 person, including, for example, by sending a copy by fax or email, the magistrate must immediately give a copy of the warrant to the authorised person; or

otherwise—

the magistrate must tell the authorised person the information mentioned in section 378(3); and

the authorised person must complete a form of warrant, including by writing on it the information mentioned in section 378(3) told to the person 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 authorised person must, at the first reasonable opportunity, send to the magistrate—

the written application complying with section 377(3) and (4); and

if the authorised person 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.

Despite subsection (3), 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;

In this section—