South Australian Numbered Acts South Australian Numbered Acts62—Substitution of section 67
Section 67—delete the section and substitute:
67—General investigative powers of authorised officers
(1) An authorised officer who enters a place under this Part may exercise any 1 or more of the following powers:
(a) investigate whether the provisions of this Act are being or have been complied with;
(b) examine and test any gas infrastructure or gas installation to find out whether the infrastructure or installation is safe and complies 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;
(c) require a report on any testing conducted under paragraph (b)
;
(d) investigate an accident suspected to involve gas;
(e) investigate a suspected interference with gas infrastructure or a gas installation;
(f) investigate a suspected theft or diversion of gas;
(g) search for, examine and copy or take an extract from a document or record of any kind;
(h) take photographs or make films or other records of activities in the place and gas infrastructure or gas installations in the place;
(i) take possession of any object that may be evidence of an offence against this Act;
(j) 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;
(k) require a person, by written notice served on the person, to attend at a specified time and place.
(2) An authorised officer may only exercise the powers conferred by subsection (1)
as reasonably required for the administration or enforcement of this Act.
(3) If an authorised officer takes possession of an object that may be evidence of an offence—
(a) the authorised officer must give the occupier of the place a receipt for the object; and
(b) the object must be returned to its owner—
(i) 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
(ii) if proceedings have been so instituted—on completion of the proceedings, unless the court, on application by the Commission or Technical Regulator (as the case may be), orders confiscation of the object.
(4) 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.
(5) If the court orders the confiscation of an object, the Commission or Technical Regulator may dispose of the object.
(6) A person who—
(a) 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
(b) refuses or fails to comply with a requirement or direction of an authorised officer under this section; or
(c) 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 fail to provide such assistance,
is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: $20 000.
(7) In this section—
"designated period" means 1 year or such longer period as a magistrate may, on application by the Technical Regulator, allow.