56Entry or search with consent

56 Entry or search with consent

(1) For the purpose of monitoring compliance with this Act or the regulations, an inspector, with the consent of the occupier of the premises, may—

(a) enter and search the premises; and

(b) examine and seize any thing found on the premises which the inspector believes on reasonable grounds to be connected with a contravention of this Act or the regulations; and

(c) inspect and make copies of, or take extracts from, any document found on the premises; and

(d) make any still or moving image, audio recording or audio-visual recording.

(2) An inspector must not enter and search any premises with the consent of the occupier unless, before the occupier consents to that entry, the inspector—

(a) has produced the inspector's identity card for inspection; and

(b) has informed the occupier of the purpose of the search and that—

(i) the occupier may refuse to give consent to the entry and search or to the seizure of any thing found during the search; and

(ii) the occupier may refuse to consent to the taking of any copy of, or extract from, a document found on the premises during the search; and

(iii) any thing seized or taken during the search with the consent of the occupier may be used in evidence in proceedings.

(3) If an occupier consents to an entry and search, the inspector who requested consent must, before entering the premises, ask the occupier to sign an acknowledgement stating the inspector has complied with the requirements set out in subsection (2).

(4) If an occupier consents to the seizure or taking of any thing during a search under this section, the inspector must, before seizing or taking the thing, ask the occupier to sign an acknowledgement stating—

(a) that the occupier has consented to the seizure or taking of the thing; and

(b) the date and time that the occupier consented.

(5) An occupier who signs an acknowledgement must be given a copy of the signed acknowledgement before the inspector leaves the premises.

(6) In this section—

occupier, in relation to a premises that is a room in a rooming house occupied by one or more residents of the rooming house, means the resident of that room or, if there is more than one resident, all the residents occupying that room.