148Monitoring powers of authorised officers

#### 148 Monitoring powers of authorised officers (1) For the purposes of this Act, the following are the monitoring powers that an authorised officer may exercise, in relation to premises, under section 147: (a) the power to search the premises for any compliance records that: (i) are kept at, or accessible from, the premises; and (ii) relate to a reporting entity; (b) the power to search the premises for any system used by a reporting entity at the premises for keeping those records; (c) the power to search the premises for any reports under this Act that are retained at, or accessible from, the premises; (d) the power to search the premises for any system used by a reporting entity in connection with: (i) preparing reports under this Act; or (ii) sending such reports to the AUSTRAC CEO; or (iii) retaining such reports; (e) the power to search the premises for any other thing on the premises that may be relevant to the obligations of a reporting entity under this Act, the regulations or the AML/CTF Rules; (f) the power to examine any activity conducted on the premises that may relate to information provided under this Act, the regulations or the AML/CTF Rules; (g) the power to examine any thing on the premises that may relate to information provided under this Act, the regulations or the AML/CTF Rules; (h) the power to take photographs or make video or audio recordings or sketches on the premises of any such activity or thing; (i) the power to inspect any document on the premises that may relate to information provided under this Act, the regulations or the AML/CTF Rules; (j) the power to take extracts from, or make copies of, any such document; (k) the power to take onto the premises such equipment and materials as the authorised officer requires for the purpose of exercising powers in relation to the premises; (l) the powers set out in subsections (2), (3) and (4). (2) For the purposes of this Act, monitoring powers include the power to secure a thing for no more than 24 hours if: (a) the thing is found during the exercise of monitoring powers on the premises; and (b) an authorised officer believes on reasonable grounds that: (i) the thing affords evidence of the commission of an offence against this Act or the regulations, or evidence of the commission of an offence against the Crimes Act 1914 or the Criminal Code that relates to this Act or the regulations; and (ii) it is necessary to secure the thing in order to prevent it from being concealed, lost or destroyed before a warrant to seize the thing is obtained; and (iii) the circumstances are serious and urgent. (3) For the purposes of this Act, monitoring powers include the power to operate equipment at the premises to see whether: (a) the equipment; or (b) a data storage device that: (i) is at the premises; and (ii) can be used with the equipment or is associated with it; contains information that is relevant to assessing the correctness of information provided under this Act. (4) For the purposes of this Act, monitoring powers include the following powers in relation to information described in subsection (3) found in the exercise of the power under that subsection: (a) the power to operate facilities at the premises to put the information in documentary form and copy the documents so produced; (b) the power to operate facilities at the premises to transfer the information to a disk, tape or other storage device that: (i) is brought to the premises for the exercise of the power; or (ii) is at the premises and the use of which for the purpose has been agreed in writing by the occupier of the premises; (c) the power to remove from the premises a disk, tape or other storage device to which the information has been transferred in exercise of the power under paragraph (b).