Electricity Act 1996

An authorised officer who enters a place under this Part may exercise any 1 or more of the following powers:

investigate whether the provisions of this Act are being or have been complied with;

examine and test electrical infrastructure, electrical installations or equipment to find out whether the infrastructure, installations or equipment are safe and comply with the requirements of this Act, or cause or require it to be so examined or tested, or seize it or require its production for such examination or testing;

require a report on any testing conducted under paragraph (b);

investigate a suspected electrical accident;

investigate a suspected interference with electrical infrastructure or an electrical installation;

investigate a suspected theft or diversion of electricity;

search for, examine and copy or take an extract from a document or record of any kind;

take photographs or make films or other records of activities in the place and electrical infrastructure, installations or equipment in the place;

take possession of any object that may be evidence of an offence against this Act;

require a person who the authorised officer reasonably suspects has committed, is committing or is about to commit, a contravention of this Act to state the person’s full name and usual place of residence and to produce evidence of the person’s identity;

require a person, by written notice served on the person, to attend at a specified time and place.

An authorised officer may only exercise the powers conferred by subsection (1) as reasonably required for the administration or enforcement of this

If an authorised officer takes possession of an object that may be evidence of an offence—

the authorised officer must give the occupier of the place a receipt for the object; and

the object must be returned to its owner—

if proceedings for an offence are not instituted within the designated period after the authorised officer takes possession of the object—at the end of that period; or

if proceedings have been so instituted—on completion of the proceedings, unless the court, on application by the Commission or

A court may order the confiscation of an object of which an authorised officer has taken possession under subsection (1) if of the opinion that the object has been used for the purpose of committing an offence or there is some other proper reason for ordering its confiscation.

If the court orders the confiscation of an object, the Commission or

A person who—

having been asked a question under this section, does not answer the question to the best of his or her knowledge, information and belief; or

refuses or fails to comply with a requirement or direction of an authorised officer under this section; or

being the person in charge of a place subject to an inspection and having been required to provide reasonable assistance to facilitate the inspection, refuses or fails to provide such assistance, is guilty of an offence.

In this section—