158Appointment and identification of inspectors

158 Appointment and identification of inspectors

(1)  The Commission may appoint any of the following persons as inspectors for the purposes of this Act:

(a) a member of staff of the Commission;

(b) a person belonging to a class of persons prescribed by the regulations.

(2)  The Commission may only appoint a person to be an inspector if the Commission is satisfied that the person –

(a) has the necessary expertise or experience to exercise functions under this Act; or

(b) has satisfactorily completed training approved by the Commission.

(3)  The Commission may revoke the appointment of a person as an inspector.

(4)  The Commission is to cause each inspector to be issued with a means of identification in an approved form.

(5)  In the course of exercising the functions of an inspector under this Act, the inspector must, if requested to do so by any person affected by the exercise of any such function, produce the inspector’s identification for inspection by the person, unless to do so would defeat the purpose for which the function is to be exercised.

(6)  The Commission may enter into an arrangement with the Commissioner of Police for a police officer to exercise the functions of an inspector under this Act.

(7)  A police officer who exercises the functions of an inspector in accordance with the arrangement under subsection (6) is taken to be an inspector for the purposes of this Act.

(8)  An inspector must, within 14 days after the person’s appointment as an inspector is revoked, return the inspector’s identification to the Commission.

Penalty:  Penalty not exceeding 50 penalty units.

(9)  A function of the Commission under section 156 may be exercised by an inspector authorised under section 156(2) to exercise the function.