Public Health Act 2016

For the purposes of this Act, an authorised officer may, at any reasonable time, do any one or more of these —

enter and inspect any premises —

in respect of which a registrable activity is registered under Part 8 Division 2; or

at which a licensable activity is carried on that is authorised by an activity licence granted under Part 8 Division 3; or

to which an improvement notice or an enforcement order relates;

enter and inspect any premises at which the authorised officer reasonably suspects an offence under this Act has been or is being committed;

enter and inspect any premises that the authorised officer reasonably suspects are used in connection with a public health risk;

enter and inspect any premises in which the authorised officer reasonably suspects there are any documents that relate to a public health risk, including a public health risk that might foreseeably arise from a child or children not having been immunised against a vaccine preventable notifiable infectious disease, or to an offence under this Act;

open and examine any equipment;

take samples of anything that the authorised officer reasonably suspects may be connected with a public health risk or may be used as evidence that an offence under this Act has been or is being committed, and for that purpose operate any machinery, equipment or other thing or facilities situated on the premises or brought into the premises by the authorised officer;

examine any documents referred to in paragraph (d), make copies of those documents or any part of them and, for that purpose, take away and retain any of those documents or any part of them for any time that may be reasonably necessary;

analyse, examine or test any samples taken under paragraph (f);

stop any vehicle that the authorised officer is authorised by this subsection to enter, or require that a person in charge of the vehicle —

stop the vehicle; or

not move the vehicle; or

move the vehicle a reasonable distance to a place specified by the authorised officer;

open, or require to be opened, any container or other thing that the authorised officer reasonably suspects to contain anything connected with a public health risk;

make any recording (by whatever means) of images or sounds, or both, that the authorised officer considers necessary;

take any readings or other measurements, and make sketches or drawings or any other type of record;

require a person to provide information or answer questions in connection with the authorised officer’s functions under this Act or to produce any document or thing that an authorised officer is authorised to examine under this Act;

require a person to give the authorised officer any or all of the person’s personal details, and, if the authorised officer reasonably suspects that a personal detail given by the person is false, require the person to produce evidence of the correctness of the detail;

generally make any investigations or inquiries that may be necessary to ascertain whether a public health risk exists or an offence under this Act has been or is being committed.

An authorised officer may at any time enter and inspect any premises if the authorised officer reasonably suspects —

there is an immediate public health risk connected with those premises; and

the entry is necessary to enable the authorised officer to investigate, prevent, control or abate the risk.

This section does not authorise entry into any premises, or any part of any premises, being used solely for residential purposes, except —

where subsection (2) applies; or

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

under the authority of a warrant issued under section 249.

For the purposes of subsection (3)(b), an occupier of premises gives informed consent if the occupier consents after being informed by the authorised officer —

of the powers that the authorised officer wants to exercise in respect of the premises; and

of the reason why the authorised officer wants to exercise those powers; and

that the occupier can refuse to consent to the authorised officer doing so.

An authorised officer exercising a power under this section may be assisted by a police officer or other person.