Search Warrants Act 1997

An issuing officer may issue a warrant to search premises if the officer is satisfied by information on oath that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that there is, or there will be within the next 72 hours, any evidential material at the premises.

If an issuing officer issues a warrant, the issuing officer is to state in the warrant – the offence to which the warrant relates; and a description of the premises to which the warrant relates; and the kinds of evidential material that are to be searched for under the warrant; and the name of the police officer who, unless he or she inserts the name of another police officer in the warrant, is to be responsible for executing the warrant; and the period for which the warrant remains in force, which is not to be more than 28 days; and whether the warrant may be executed at any time or only during particular hours; and that the warrant authorises the seizure of a thing (other than evidential material of the kind referred to in paragraph (c)) found at the premises in the course of the search that the executing officer or a person assisting believes on reasonable grounds to be – evidential material in relation to an offence to which the warrant relates; or evidential material in relation to another offence – if the executing officer or person assisting believes on reasonable grounds that seizure of the thing is necessary to prevent its concealment, loss or destruction or its use in committing an offence; and that the warrant authorises the executing officer or a person assisting who is a police officer to conduct an ordinary search and a frisk search of any person who is at or near the premises when the warrant is executed if the executing officer or person assisting suspects on reasonable grounds that theperson has any evidential material or seizable items in his or her possession; and that the warrant authorises the seizure of a thing (other than evidential material of the kind referred to in paragraph (c)) found, in the course of a search of a person, on or in the possession of the person that the executing officer or a person assisting who is a police officer believes on reasonable grounds to be – evidential material in relation to an offence to which the warrant relates; or evidential material in relation to another offence – if the executing officer or person assisting believes on reasonable grounds that seizure of the thing is necessary to prevent its concealment, loss or destruction or its use in committing an offence.

Subsection (2)(e) does not prevent the issue of successive warrants in relation to the same premises.

If the application for the warrant is made under section 15, this section applies as if – subsection (1) referred to 48 hours rather than 72 hours; and subsection (2)(e) referred to 48 hours rather than 28 days.