Retirement Villages Act 2016

An authorised officer may (subject to any conditions of the officer's appointment) exercise the following powers for the purposes of the administration or enforcement of this Act:

subject to subsection (2)—enter and inspect at any reasonable time premises, a place or a vehicle that the authorised officer believes on reasonable grounds are used for purposes connected to the management of or carrying on of the business of a retirement village and use such force as may be reasonably necessary to gain entry;

require a person to produce documents in the person's possession or control for inspection;

require a person who has been issued a document under this Act, or who is required to keep records under this Act, to produce the document or records for inspection;

inspect, take copies of or extracts from, or make notes from, any documents or records produced and, for that purpose, take temporary possession of any such documents or records;

take possession of any documents or records produced (if the authorised officer considers it necessary to do so for the purpose of obtaining evidence or protecting evidence from destruction);

take such photographs, films and audio, video and other recordings as the authorised officer considers necessary;

require any person in the premises, place or vehicle to answer questions or otherwise furnish information in relation to the carrying on of the business of a retirement village or a contravention of a provision of this Act;

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

require the owner or occupier (including a resident) of the premises, place or vehicle to provide the authorised officer with such assistance and facilities as is or are reasonably necessary to enable the authorised officer to exercise the functions of an authorised officer under this Act.

An authorised officer cannot exercise the power conferred by subsection (1)(a) to enter a part of premises used for residential purposes except—

with the consent of the owner or occupier of the premises; or

on the authority of a warrant issued by a magistrate.

A magistrate must not issue a warrant under this section unless satisfied on information given on oath, personally or by affidavit, that there are reasonable grounds for the issue of a warrant.

In the exercise of powers under this Act, an authorised officer may be assisted by such persons as the officer considers necessary in the circumstances.