264Inspector may give directions

#### 264 Inspector may give directions (1) If an inspector believes, on reasonable grounds, that: (a) a person is not complying with this Act in respect of a thing; and (b) one of the following applies: (i) it is necessary to exercise powers under this section in order to protect the health and safety of people or to protect the environment; (ii) it is desirable in the public interest, having regard to the matters specified in subsection (2), for the inspector to exercise powers under this section; the inspector may give directions to the person, by written notice, requiring the person, within the period specified in the notice, to take such steps in relation to the thing as are reasonable in the circumstances for the person to comply with this Act. (2) For the purposes of deciding under subparagraph (1)(b)(ii) whether it is desirable to exercise powers under this section to give directions to a person, the inspector must have regard to the following: (a) whether measures have been, or are being, taken to address the non‑compliance with this Act that the inspector believes is occurring (the suspected non‑compliance); (b) the likelihood of the person not complying with this Act at a future time; (c) the severity of the suspected non‑compliance; (d) whether, on one or more occasions, the person: (i) has been charged with or convicted of an offence against this Act; or (ii) has been given a direction under this section; (e) other means available to the inspector to address the suspected non‑compliance; (f) whether, in the inspector’s opinion, the suspected non‑compliance is deliberate; (g) the desirability of deterring future non‑compliance with this Act. (3) A person contravenes this subsection if the person does not take the steps specified in a notice under subsection (1) within the period specified in the notice. Fault‑based offence (4) A person commits an offence if the person contravenes subsection (3). Penalty: 60 penalty units. Inspector may arrange for steps to be taken (5) If the person does not take the steps specified in the notice within the period specified in the notice, the inspector may arrange for those steps to be taken. Costs (6) If AMSA incurs costs because of arrangements made by the inspector under subsection (5), the person is liable to pay to AMSA an amount equal to the costs, and the amount may be recovered by AMSA as a debt due to AMSA in an eligible court. Reasonable period (7) A period specified in a notice under subsection (1) must be reasonable having regard to the circumstances.