(1) For the purposes of this Act an authorised person is —
(a) any member of the Police Force;
(b) any person appointed as such under subsection (2) within the area of jurisdiction entrusted to him by the appointment;
(c) any person appointed as such under subsection (3) within the area of jurisdiction entrusted to him by the appointment.
(2) The Minister may appoint any person who is or acts in the office of —
(a) an inspector, under the Environmental Protection Act 1986; or
(b) a conservation and land management officer, forest officer, wildlife officer or ranger, under the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984; or
[(c), (d) deleted]
(e) an honorary warden, under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972; or
(f) an inspector or honorary warden, under the Waterways Conservation Act 1976; or
(g) a fisheries officer referred to in the Fish Resources Management Act 1994; or
(ga) a person who is authorised by the CEO under the Road Traffic (Administration) Act 2008 section 22 to perform a function that can be performed by a warden; or
(h) a prescribed officer of a public authority,
to be an authorised person for the purposes of this Act either in respect of the whole of the State or any part thereof defined in the appointment.
(3) A person is appointed as an authorised person under this subsection if the person is appointed under the Local Government Act 1995 section 9.10(2) to be an authorised person for the purposes of this Act either in respect of the whole of a district or any part of a district specified in the appointment.
(4) A person who is appointed as an authorised person under subsection (2) or (3) —
(a) has within the area of jurisdiction entrusted to him by the appointment the duties and powers of an authorised person under this Act, and may exercise such powers within that area; and
(b) may exercise the powers conferred upon him by this Act in relation to any person or vehicle which he has reason to believe is concerned in a contravention of this Act notwithstanding that such person or vehicle is not then within the area of jurisdiction entrusted to him if that person or vehicle was pursued from that area or is known to have been in that area at the time of the contravention; and
(c) may, for the purposes of this Act in the course of his duty, enter on any land or, using only such force as is necessary, may enter a vehicle for the purpose of removing it; and
(d) must be issued with a certificate of his appointment as an authorised person in the prescribed form, evidencing the area of jurisdiction entrusted to him under this Act, which he must, on reasonable demand, produce for inspection by any person.
(4A) Subsection (4)(d) does not apply in the case of a person appointed as an authorised person under subsection (3).
(5) The Minister may appoint any person to be an honorary inspector under this Act, and a person so appointed has within the area of jurisdiction entrusted to him by the appointment the powers conferred on an honorary inspector by this Act, including the power to issue infringement notices, and the duty to report to the local government contraventions of this Act, and any such person must be issued with a certificate of his appointment in the prescribed form and must, on reasonable demand, produce that certificate for inspection.
(6) A person must not wilfully obstruct any authorised person or an honorary inspector acting in the execution of this Act.
(7) Where an authorised person or an honorary inspector has reasonable grounds to believe that a person has contravened or that a vehicle contravenes, or was used or driven in contravention of, the provisions of this Act, the authorised person or inspector may stop that person or vehicle and may request that person to furnish his name and address to the authorised person or inspector or to produce any license, registration, permit or exemption relating to the vehicle in his possession, and to give full information as to the ownership, use, construction and equipment of that vehicle and where such a person fails or refuses to do so, or furnishes a name or address or other information that the authorised person or inspector reasonably believes to be false, he must be treated as having wilfully obstructed the authorised person or inspector for the purposes of subsection (6).
(8) An authorised person may require any person to permit him to examine and test drive a vehicle in the possession of that person and may require that person to unlock or open any such vehicle and to deliver any key relating thereto, and where he has reason to believe that any vehicle is so constructed or in such condition that it is likely to occasion danger to any person or damage to property or otherwise does not comply with the prescribed requirements for vehicles registered under this Act he may attach to the vehicle a notice, in a prescribed form, prohibiting the use of that vehicle, except for the purpose of presenting it for inspection and such other purposes as may be specified in that notice, either forthwith or on or after a date specified in the notice, until —
(a) the defects specified in the notice have been remedied or the requirements specified in the notice have been met; and
(b) the vehicle has been presented for further inspection at a place designated by the Director General and the notice has been removed by or on behalf of the Director General after an inspection of the vehicle has been made.
(9) Where an authorised person under subsection (8) orders a driver to discontinue using a vehicle for which the driver is not a responsible person the driver must bring the notice to the attention of a responsible person.
(10) A person who uses a vehicle in respect of which a notice under subsection (8) is in force otherwise than for a purpose specified in that notice or for the purpose of presenting the vehicle to the Director General for inspection by or on behalf of the Director General, or who wilfully removes, damages or obliterates any such notice attached to a vehicle, commits an offence.
(11) An authorised person may without warrant stop, seize and detain any vehicle which he has reason to believe contravenes, or was used or driven in contravention of the provisions of this Act if —
(a) the vehicle appears to him to be neither licensed under the Road Traffic (Vehicles) Act 2012, nor registered under this Act; and
(b) the identity of a responsible person for, or a driver of, the vehicle can not be established to the satisfaction of that authorised person,
and may cause the vehicle to be conveyed to a place of safe custody until such time as it may be dealt with according to law.
(12) Any member of the Police Force may without warrant stop, seize and detain —
(a) any off‑road vehicle; or
(b) any vehicle licensed under the Road Traffic (Vehicles) Act 2012, when in use otherwise than on a road or private land by consent,
if the vehicle is in his opinion so constructed or in such condition that it is likely to occasion danger to any person or damage to any property, and may cause the vehicle to be conveyed to a place of safe custody until such time as it may be dealt with according to law.
(13) No authorised person or other person acting in the performance of his duties is liable for anything done or seizure made under this Act for which there is reasonable cause, nor in respect of any loss or damage, however arising, during any period in which a vehicle is detained under this Act.
(14) Regulations made under this Act may make provision in respect of the removal and detention of vehicles pursuant to this Act, and for the custody, disposal or sale of such vehicles, and in respect of recouping the costs of the removal, custody, and disposal or sale whether by deduction from the proceeds of sale or by recovery from a responsible person in a court of competent jurisdiction, and for the payment or appropriation of the proceeds of any such sale or other moneys relating thereto.
(15) If a vehicle is seized under subsection (11), it may be detained until the authorised person is satisfied —
(a) that it is licensed under the Road Traffic (Vehicles) Act 2012 or registered under this Act; or
(b) as to the identity of the owner or driver,
or until an order is made under section 42, whichever happens first.
(16) A person claiming to be a responsible person for a vehicle seized under subsection (11) or (12) may apply to the Magistrates Court for an order that the vehicle be delivered to him.
(17) A vehicle detained —
(a) under subsection (11) or (12) by a member of the Police Force; or
(b) under subsection (11) by an authorised person appointed under subsection (2),
is to be taken to be detained in the name of the Director General.
(18) A vehicle detained under subsection (11) by an authorised person appointed under subsection (3) is taken to be detained by the local government concerned.
[Section 38 amended: No. 106 of 1981 s. 34; No. 24 of 1995 s. 53; No. 53 of 1994 s. 264; No. 14 of 1996 s. 4; No. 76 of 1996 s. 26 and 27; No. 39 of 2000 s. 58 and 59; No. 59 of 2004 s. 141; No. 28 of 2006 s. 359; No. 8 of 2012 s. 68; No. 16 of 2019 s. 102 and 104; No. 27 of 2021 s. 345(2); No. 23 of 2023 s. 26; No. 8 of 2025 s. 14 and 15.]