Dangerous Goods (Road and Rail Transport) Act 2010
27Powers of authorised officers – searches
Start here
Get a plain-English read of 27
Turn the raw legal text into a practical explanation grounded in Dangerous Goods (Road and Rail Transport) Act 2010.
27 Powers of authorised officers – searches
(1) An authorised officer may, for compliance purposes, search a vehicle to which this Division applies if the officer believes on reasonable grounds that –
(a) the vehicle has been used, is being used, or is likely to be used, in the commission of an offence; or
(b) the vehicle has been or may have been involved in a dangerous situation.
(2) The officer may form the necessary belief during or after an inspection or independently of an inspection.
(3) The officer may enter the vehicle for the purpose of or in connection with conducting the search.
(4) The officer may exercise powers under this section at any time, and without the consent of the driver or other person apparently in charge of the vehicle or any other person.
(5) Without limiting the above, the power to search a vehicle under this section includes any or all of the following:
(a) the power to search for evidence of an offence;
(b) the power to search for and inspect any records, devices or other things that relate to the vehicle or any part of its equipment or load and that are located in or on the vehicle;
(c) the power to take copies of or extracts from any or all of the following:
(i) any records that are located in or on the vehicle and that are required to be carried in or on the vehicle by the regulations;
(ii) any transport documentation located in or on the vehicle;
(iii) any other records, or any readout or other data obtained from any device or thing, located in or on the vehicle that the officer believes on reasonable grounds provide, or may on further inspection provide, evidence of an offence;
(d) the power to take, in accordance with section 52A , a sample of any part of the vehicle's load.
(6) The power to search a vehicle under this section does not include a power to search a person.
(7) The officer may seize and remove a record, device or other thing from the vehicle that the officer believes on reasonable grounds provides, or may on further inspection provide, evidence of an offence.