(1) For the purpose of ensuring compliance with this Act and the regulations, and for any other purpose related to carrying out the Secretary’s or Authority’s functions, the Secretary or Authority may authorise a person in writing—
(a) to enter any land, building, vehicle or vessel at any reasonable time, and
(b) to carry out there any examination or inspection in connection with any structure or work, whether or not it has been completed.
(2) This section does not apply to a person making an inspection for the purpose of preparing a report under Division 1.
(3) This section does not empower an authorised person to enter a part of premises used only for residential purposes without the permission of the occupier or the authority of a search warrant.
(4) An authorised person may, at premises lawfully entered, do anything that, in the authorised person’s opinion is necessary to be done for a purpose specified in subsection (1).
(5) An authorised person may do one or more of the following—
(a) examine and inspect a thing,
(b) take and remove samples of a thing,
(c) make examinations, inquiries, measurements or tests the authorised person considers necessary,
(d) take photographs or other recordings the authorised person considers necessary,
(e) direct a person to produce records for inspection,
(f) examine and inspect records,
(g) copy records,
(h) seize a thing the authorised person has reasonable grounds for believing is connected with—
(i) an offence against this Act or the regulations, or
(ii) a defect in a building,
(i) move a seized thing from the place where it is seized or leave it at the place where it is seized and take reasonable action to restrict access to it,
(j) direct the occupier of the premises where a thing is seized to keep it at those premises or at another place under the control of the occupier,
(k) open up, cut open or demolish residential building work if the authorised person has reasonable grounds for believing that it is necessary to do so because the work is connected with—
(i) an offence against this Act or the regulations, or
(ii) a defect in a building,
(l) anything else authorised by or under this Act.
(6) The power to examine and inspect a thing includes a power to use reasonable force to break open or otherwise access a thing, including a floor or wall containing the thing.
(6A) (Repealed)
(7) The power to test a thing includes a power to destructively test a thing or a sample of a thing if that is a reasonable test in the circumstances.
(8) The power to seize a thing connected with an offence includes a power to seize—
(a) a thing for or with which the offence has been committed, and
(b) a thing that will give evidence of the commission of the offence, and
(c) a thing used for the purpose of committing the offence.
(9) The power to do a thing under this section includes a power to arrange for the thing to be done, whether at the premises or elsewhere.
(10) A power to do something under this section in relation to a thing may be exercised without the consent of the owner of the thing.
(11) When exercising a power of entry under this section, an authorised person may be accompanied by assistants the authorised person considers necessary.
(12) In this section, a reference to an offence includes a reference to an offence that there are reasonable grounds for believing has been committed.
(13) An investigator appointed under the Fair Trading Act 1987, section 18 is taken to be a person authorised under subsection (1).
s 126: Am 1991 No 92, Sch 2; 1996 No 122, Sch 5 [9]; 1998 No 120, Sch 1.22 [6]; 2002 No 103, Sch 4.46 [1] [2] [4]; 2002 No 134, Sch 2.1 [18]; 2017 No 28, Sch 1 [75] [76]; 2020 No 25, Sch 2.4[1]; 2023 No 44, Sch 1[14].