72Power to enter premises and vehicles

72 Power to enter premises and vehicles (1) For compliance purposes or otherwise for this Act, an authorised person may— (a) at any reasonable time, enter premises or a vehicle that the public is entitled to use or that are open to the public (whether or not on payment); or (b) at any reasonable time, enter premises occupied or controlled by a person involved in the transport of dangerous goods, and enter any vehicle at the premises; or (c) at any time, enter premises or a vehicle with the occupier’s consent; or (d) enter premises or a vehicle in accordance with a warrant; or (e) at any time, enter premises or a vehicle if the authorised person suspects on reasonable grounds that the circumstances are so serious and urgent that immediate entry to the premises or vehicle without the authority of a warrant is necessary.

(2) However, subsection (1) (a) or (b) does not authorise, without consent, entry into premises— (a) that are apparently unattended, unless the authorised person believes on reasonable grounds that someone is in attendance; or (b) used, or a part of the premises used, predominantly for residential purposes. (3) To remove any doubt, premises are not being used for residential purposes only because temporary or casual sleeping or other accommodation is provided in the premises for drivers of vehicles. (4) Before an authorised person enters premises under subsection (1) (b), the authorised person must give the occupier of the premises reasonable notice of the intention to enter, unless giving notice would be reasonably likely to defeat the purpose for which it is intended to enter the premises. (5) An authorised person may, without the consent of the occupier of premises or a vehicle, enter the following land to ask for consent to enter the premises or vehicle: (a) land that is around, or part of, the premises; (b) land that is around the vehicle. (6) To remove any doubt, an authorised person may enter premises or a vehicle under subsection (1) without payment of an entry fee or other charge. (7) An authorised person may— (a) for subsection (1) (a), (b), (c) or (e)—enter premises or a vehicle with necessary assistance; and

(b) for subsection (1) (d)—enter premises or a vehicle with necessary assistance and force. Note A search warrant to enter premises or a vehicle, issued under this Act, permits an authorised person to enter premises or the vehicle with any necessary assistance and force (see s 89). (8) However, only a police officer may use force against a person. (9) In this section: necessary assistance, for an authorised person entering premises or a vehicle, includes the attendance of 1 or more people who, in the opinion of the authorised person, have knowledge or skills that could assist the authorised person to carry out the authorised person’s function. reasonable time, for entry into premises, includes a time when the public is entitled to use the premises or when the premises are open to or used by the public (whether or not on payment of money).