43Removal of things obstructing public streets

### 43 Removal of things obstructing public streets > *\[Section 43 Amended by 25 Geo. V No. 78 \]**\[Section 43 Amended by No. 36 of 1958, s. 4 and Sched. 5 \]*[*\[Section 43 Substituted by No. 104 of 2001, s. 16, Applied:01 Jan 2002\]*](/view/html/inforce/2002-01-01/act-2001-104#GS16@EN) > > > (1)  In this section – > > > > > ***article*** includes rubbish and goods, but does not include a vehicle; > > > > > ***authorised person*** means –  > > > > > > > > (a) in the case of a public street anywhere in the State, a police officer; or > > > > > > > > > (b) in the case of a public street in a municipal area, a person who is an employee or agent of the responsible council and has the approval of that council to exercise power under this section within that area; > > > > > ***relevant authority*** means – > > > > > > > > (a) in relation to an authorised person who is a police officer, the Commissioner of Police; or > > > > > > > > > (b) in relation to an authorised person who is an employee or agent of a council, that council. > > > (2)  If an article is placed or left in a public street to the obstruction, annoyance or danger of road users, nearby residents or other persons, an authorised person may – > > > > > > (a) remove the article or cause it to be removed; and > > > > > > > (b) take the article, or cause it to be taken, to a place of safety; and > > > > > > > (c) detain the article, or cause it to be detained, until the expenses of removing, taking and detaining it are paid to the relevant authority. > > > (3)  The relevant authority must, as soon as practicable after the removal, take reasonable steps to inform the article's owner of the action taken and the terms of this section. > > > (4)  If – > > > > > > (a) reasonable steps to inform the owner within 30 days after the date of removal prove unsuccessful; or > > > > > > > (b) the owner is informed of the removal within those 30 days but does not pay the required expenses within 14 days after the date of being so informed – > > > > the relevant authority may cause the article to be disposed of in such manner as the authority sees fit and use the proceeds, if any, to defray those expenses. > > > (5)  If the proceeds of disposal exceed the amount of the expenses, the relevant authority must hold those balance proceeds for a period of 3 months from the date of disposal and, if not claimed by the owner during that period – > > > > > > (a) [*\[Section 43 Subsection (5) amended by No. 4 of 2017, Sched. 1, Applied:01 Jul 2019\]*](/view/html/inforce/2019-07-01/act-2017-004#JS1@Ja131@GC2@EN) pay the balance into the Public Account if the relevant authority is the Commissioner of Police; or > > > > > > > (b) dispose of the balance as the relevant authority sees fit if it is a council.