Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) If a thing is seized under section 140 and:
(a) before the end of 60 days after the seizure; or
(b) before the end of a period previously specified in an order of a magistrate under this section;
proceedings in respect of which the thing may afford evidence have not commenced, the Commissioner of Police of the Australian Federal Police may apply to a magistrate for an order that he or she may retain the thing for a further period.
(2) If the magistrate is satisfied that it is necessary for the Commissioner to continue to retain the thing:
(a) for the purposes of an investigation as to whether an offence has been committed; or
(b) to enable evidence of an offence to be secured for the purposes of a prosecution;
the magistrate may order that the Commissioner may retain the thing for a period specified in the order.
(3) Before making the application, the Commissioner must:
(a) take reasonable steps to discover who has an interest in the retention of the thing; and
(b) if it is practicable to do so, notify each person who the Commissioner believes has such an interest that the application has been made.