Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1A) A relevant Commission may authorise:
(a) a member of the relevant Commission; or
(b) a member of the Australian Federal Police, or of the Police Force of a State or Territory, who is assisting the relevant Commission;
to apply for search warrants under subsection (3) in relation to matters into which the relevant Commission is inquiring. The authorisation must be in writing.
(1) Where:
(a) a relevant Commission, or a person authorised by a relevant Commission under subsection (1A), has reasonable grounds for suspecting that there may be, at that time or within the next following 24 hours, upon any land or upon or in any premises, vessel, aircraft or vehicle, a thing or things of a particular kind connected with a matter into which the relevant Commission is inquiring (in this section referred to as things of the relevant kind ); and
(b) the relevant Commission, or the person, believes on reasonable grounds that, if a summons were issued for the production of the thing or things, the thing or things might be concealed, lost, mutilated or destroyed;
the relevant Commission, or the person, may apply to a Judge of a prescribed court for the issue of a search warrant under subsection (3).
(3) Where an application under subsection (1) is made to a Judge of a prescribed court, the Judge may, if he or she is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for issuing the warrant, issue a search warrant authorising a member of the Australian Federal Police or of the Police Force of a State or of the Northern Territory, or any other person, named in the warrant, with such assistance as the member or person thinks necessary and if necessary by force:
(a) to enter upon the land or upon or into the premises, vessel, aircraft or vehicle;
(b) to search the land, premises, vessel, aircraft or vehicle for things of the relevant kind; and
(c) to seize any things of the relevant kind found upon the land or upon or in the premises, vessel, aircraft or vehicle and deliver things so seized to the relevant Commission.
(4) There shall be stated in a warrant issued under this section:
(a) a statement of the purpose for which the warrant is issued, which shall include a reference to the matter into which the relevant Commission is inquiring and with which the things of the relevant kind are connected;
(b) whether entry is authorised to be made at any time of the day or night or during specified hours of the day or night;
(c) a description of the kind of things authorised to be seized; and
(d) a date, not being later than one month after the date of issue of the warrant, upon which the warrant ceases to have effect.
(5) If, in the course of searching, in accordance with a warrant issued under this section, for things of a particular kind connected with a matter into which a relevant Commission is inquiring, the person executing the warrant finds:
(a) any thing of another kind that he or she believes on reasonable grounds to be connected with that matter; or
(b) any thing that he or she believes on reasonable grounds to be connected with another matter into which the relevant Commission is inquiring;
and he or she believes on reasonable grounds that it is necessary to seize that thing in order to prevent its concealment, loss, mutilation or destruction, the warrant shall be deemed to authorise the person to seize that thing.
(5A) The references in this section to a relevant Commission do not include references to one or more members of a Commission holding an authorised member hearing.
(6) A reference in this section to a Judge of a prescribed court shall be construed as a reference to:
(a) a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia; or
(b) a Judge of a court of a State or Territory (other than a Judge, or an acting Judge, of the Local Court of the Northern Territory).
(7) In this section, thing includes a document.