§ 51 — Powers of entry, etc., at premises

51.—(1) An authorised officer may, with such assistants and workmen as are necessary, enter at any reasonable time any land which the authorised officer reasonably believes to be or may be the subject of —(a)

an application for a planning permission or conservation permission in relation to the land;

(b)

an application to the Authority to vary a restrictive covenant in a State title relating to the land; or

(c)

a lodgment of any plans for a development of the land deemed authorised without express written permission,

and do all or any of the activities mentioned in subsection (2) for the relevant purposes.

(2) An authorised officer may, after entering any land mentioned in subsection (1), do all or any of the following:(a)

examine any thing or observe any activity conducted in or on the land;

(b)

make a still or moving image or recording of the land and any thing in or on the land;

(c)

inspect any document on the land and take extracts from, or make copies of, any such document;

(d)

take into or onto the land such equipment and materials as the authorised officer requires for the purpose of exercising powers in relation to the land;

(e)

operate electronic equipment in or on the land;

(f)

under a warrant of a Magistrate’s Court or District Court, seize any thing found in or on the land which the authorised officer reasonably suspects is evidential material relevant to an offence under this Act or its subsidiary legislation.

(3) The power under subsection (2)(e) to operate electronic equipment in or on any land includes the power —(a)

to use a disk, tape or other storage device that is in or on the land and can be used with the equipment or in association with the equipment;

(b)

to operate electronic equipment in or on the land to put the relevant data in documentary form and remove the documents so produced from the land; and

(c)

to operate electronic equipment in or on the land to transfer the relevant data to a disk, tape or other storage device that —(i)

is brought to the land for the exercise of the power; or

(ii)

is in or on the land and the use of which for that purpose has been agreed in writing by the occupier of the land,

and to remove the disk, tape or other storage device from the land.

(4) Sections 370, 371 and 372 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 apply, with the necessary modifications, when an authorised officer seizes any thing under this section.

(5) In this section and section 52, “relevant purpose” means —(a)

to determine compliance with this Act and its subsidiary legislation, including whether an offence under this Act or its subsidiary legislation has been committed;

(b)

to determine whether information provided to the Authority under a provision of this Act or its subsidiary legislation is correct; or

(c)

to investigate whether there are grounds to cancel a deferment determination.

—(1) An authorised officer may, with such assistants and workmen as are necessary, enter at any reasonable time any land which the authorised officer reasonably believes to be or may be the subject of —(a)

an application for a planning permission or conservation permission in relation to the land;

(b)

an application to the Authority to vary a restrictive covenant in a State title relating to the land; or

(c)

a lodgment of any plans for a development of the land deemed authorised without express written permission,

and do all or any of the activities mentioned in subsection (2) for the relevant purposes.

(2) An authorised officer may, after entering any land mentioned in subsection (1), do all or any of the following:(a)

examine any thing or observe any activity conducted in or on the land;

(b)

make a still or moving image or recording of the land and any thing in or on the land;

(c)

inspect any document on the land and take extracts from, or make copies of, any such document;

(d)

take into or onto the land such equipment and materials as the authorised officer requires for the purpose of exercising powers in relation to the land;

(e)

operate electronic equipment in or on the land;

(f)

under a warrant of a Magistrate’s Court or District Court, seize any thing found in or on the land which the authorised officer reasonably suspects is evidential material relevant to an offence under this Act or its subsidiary legislation.

(3) The power under subsection (2)(e) to operate electronic equipment in or on any land includes the power —(a)

to use a disk, tape or other storage device that is in or on the land and can be used with the equipment or in association with the equipment;

(b)

to operate electronic equipment in or on the land to put the relevant data in documentary form and remove the documents so produced from the land; and

(c)

to operate electronic equipment in or on the land to transfer the relevant data to a disk, tape or other storage device that —(i)

is brought to the land for the exercise of the power; or

(ii)

is in or on the land and the use of which for that purpose has been agreed in writing by the occupier of the land,

and to remove the disk, tape or other storage device from the land.

(4) Sections 370, 371 and 372 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 apply, with the necessary modifications, when an authorised officer seizes any thing under this section.

(5) In this section and section 52, “relevant purpose” means —(a)

to determine compliance with this Act and its subsidiary legislation, including whether an offence under this Act or its subsidiary legislation has been committed;

(b)

to determine whether information provided to the Authority under a provision of this Act or its subsidiary legislation is correct; or

(c)

to investigate whether there are grounds to cancel a deferment determination.