Queensland Consolidated Acts

NATURE CONSERVATION ACT 1992 - SECT 146

146 Entry and search—evidence of offences

(1) Subject to subsection (3) , if a conservation officer has reasonable grounds for suspecting that there is in a place a particular thing (
"the evidence" ) that may afford evidence of the commission of an offence against this Act, the officer may—

(a) enter the place; and

(b) exercise the powers set out in section 147 .

(2) If the conservation officer enters the place and finds the evidence, the following provisions have effect—

(a) the officer may seize the evidence;

(b) the officer may keep the evidence for 6 months or, if a prosecution for an offence against this Act in the commission of which the evidence may have been used or otherwise involved is instituted within that period, until the completion of the proceeding for the offence and any appeal in relation to the proceeding;

(c) if the evidence is a document—while the officer has possession of the document, the officer may take extracts from and make copies of the document, but must allow the document to be inspected at any reasonable time by a person who would be entitled to inspect it if it were not in the officer’s possession.

(3) A conservation officer must not enter the place or exercise a power under subsection (1) unless—

(a) the occupier of the place consents to the entry or exercise of the power; or

(b) a warrant under section 149 that was issued in relation to the evidence authorises the entry or exercise of the power.

(4) If, while searching the place under subsection (1) under a warrant under section 149 —

(a) a conservation officer finds a thing that the officer believes, on reasonable grounds, to be—

(i) a thing (other than the evidence) that will afford evidence of the commission of the offence mentioned in subsection (1) ; or

(ii) a thing that will afford evidence of the commission of another offence against this Act; and

(b) the officer believes, on reasonable grounds, that it is necessary to seize the thing to prevent—

(i) its concealment, loss or destruction; or

(ii) its use in committing, continuing or repeating the offence mentioned in subsection (1) or the other offence, as the case may be;

subsection (2) applies to the thing as if it were the evidence.

(5) In this section—

"place" does not include a vehicle, boat or aircraft.