Queensland Consolidated Acts

BODY CORPORATE AND COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT ACT 1997 - SECT 271

271 Investigative powers of adjudicator

(1) When investigating the application, the adjudicator may do all or any of the following—

(a) require a party to the application, an affected person, the body corporate or someone else the adjudicator considers may be able to help resolve issues raised by the application—

(i) to obtain, and give to the adjudicator, a report or other information; or

Example—

an engineering report

(ii) to be present to be interviewed, after reasonable notice is given of the time and place of interview; or

(iii) to give information in the form of a statutory declaration;

(b) require a body corporate manager, service contractor or letting agent who is a party to the application or an affected person to give to the adjudicator a record held by the person and relating to a dispute about a service provided by the person;

(c) invite persons the adjudicator considers may be able to help resolve issues raised by the application to make written submissions to the adjudicator within a stated time;

(d) inspect, or enter and inspect—

(i) a body corporate asset or record or other document of the body corporate; or

(ii) common property (including common property the subject of an exclusive use by-law); or

(iii) a lot included in the community titles scheme concerned.

(2) If the application is an application referred to the adjudicator for department adjudication, the commissioner must give the adjudicator all reasonable administrative help the adjudicator asks for in investigating the application.

(3) If a place to be entered under subsection (1) (d) is occupied, the adjudicator may enter only with the occupier’s consent and, in seeking the consent, must give reasonable notice to the occupier of the time when the adjudicator wishes to enter the place.

(4) If a place to be entered under subsection (1) (d) is unoccupied, the adjudicator may enter only with the owner’s consent and, in seeking the consent, must give reasonable notice to the owner of the time when the adjudicator wishes to enter the place.

(5) The body corporate or someone else who has access to the body corporate’s records must, as requested by an adjudicator and without payment of a fee, do either or both of the following—

(a) allow the adjudicator access to the records within 24 hours after the request is made;

(b) in accordance with the request, give the adjudicator copies of the records or allow the adjudicator to make the copies.

Penalty—

Maximum penalty—20 penalty units.

(6) A person who fails to comply with a requirement under subsection (1) (a) or (b) , or obstructs an adjudicator in the conduct of an investigation under this part, commits an offence unless the person has a reasonable excuse.

Penalty—

Maximum penalty—20 penalty units.

(7) It is a reasonable excuse for a person not to comply with a requirement mentioned in subsection (6) to give information or a document, if giving the information or document might tend to incriminate the person.