Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000

This section applies if a Supreme Court judge or magistrate is considering an application for a missing person warrant in relation to a place.

In deciding the application, the judge or magistrate must have regard to the following—

the nature and seriousness of the disappearance of the missing person;

the likely extent of interference to be caused to the occupier of the place;

the time for which it is reasonable to maintain a missing person scene;

any submissions made by the occupier of the place.

The judge or magistrate (the issuer) may issue the missing person warrant if—

the issuer is satisfied the missing person is high-risk; and

the issuer—

for a place that is the person’s residence, place of employment, or vehicle—reasonably suspects the person may be at the place or an inspection of the place may provide information about the person’s disappearance; or

for any other place—reasonably believes the person may be at the place or an inspection of the place may provide information about the person’s disappearance; and

the issuer is satisfied it is reasonably necessary to exercise missing person powers at the place to search for the person or to gather information about the person’s disappearance.

If, before the application is considered, the place stops being a missing person scene, the judge or magistrate may issue a missing person warrant that has effect only for the time the place was a missing person scene.