23Requesting information or documents from operators of aircraft or vessels

#### 23 Requesting information or documents from operators of aircraft or vessels (1) For the purposes of carrying out the Organisation’s functions, the Director‑General or an authorised person may: (a) ask an operator of an aircraft or vessel questions relating to the aircraft or vessel, or its cargo, crew, passengers, stores or voyage; or (b) request an operator of an aircraft or vessel to produce documents relating to the aircraft or vessel, or its cargo, crew, passengers, stores or voyage, that are in the possession or under the control of the operator. (2) A person who is asked a question or requested to produce a document under subsection (1) must answer the question or produce the document as soon as practicable. Offence (3) A person commits an offence if: (a) the person is an operator of an aircraft or vessel; and (b) the person is asked a question or requested to produce a document under subsection (1); and (c) the person fails to answer the question or produce the document. Penalty: 60 penalty units. (4) Subsection (3) is an offence of strict liability. > Note: For strict liability, see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code. (5) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against subsection (3) if the person charged had a reasonable excuse for: (a) failing to answer the question; or (b) failing to produce the document. (6) The Director‑General, or a person appointed under subsection (6A), may authorise, in writing, a person, or a class of persons, for the purposes of this section. (6A) The Director‑General may, in writing, appoint a senior position‑holder, or a class of senior position‑holders, for the purposes of subsection (6). (7) In this section: > authorised person means a person who is authorised under subsection (6) for the purposes of this section. > operator has the meaning given by section 4 of the Customs Act 1901.