504Consent acknowledgement

504 Consent acknowledgement

504 Consent acknowledgement

(1) If the consent is given, the authorised officer may ask the occupier to sign an acknowledgement of the consent.

(2) The acknowledgement must state—

(a) the purpose of the entry, including the powers intended to be exercised to achieve the purpose of the entry; and

(b) that the following have been explained to the occupier—

(i) the purpose of the entry, including the powers intended to be exercised to achieve the purpose of the entry;

(ii) that the occupier is not required to consent; and

(c) that the occupier gives the authorised officer consent to enter the place and exercise the powers; and

(d) the time and day the consent was given; and

(e) any conditions of the consent.

(3) If the occupier signs the acknowledgement, the authorised officer must immediately give a copy to the occupier.

(4) However, if it is impractical for the authorised officer to give the occupier a copy of the acknowledgement immediately, the officer must give the copy as soon as practicable.

(5) If the acknowledgment states some but not all the powers exercised or intended to be exercised to achieve the purpose of the entry—

(a) the acknowledgment is not necessarily invalid merely because of the omission; but

(b) if an issue arises in a proceeding about the validity of the acknowledgment—the court has a discretion to decide if the acknowledgment is invalid on the ground that the exercise of the power was of such significance in the particular circumstances as to have warranted its inclusion in the acknowledgment.

(6) If—

(a) an issue arises in a proceeding about whether the occupier consented to the entry; and

(b) an acknowledgement complying with subsection (2) for the entry is not produced in evidence;

the onus of proof is on the person relying on the lawfulness of the entry to prove the occupier consented.