Queensland Consolidated Acts

POLICE POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES ACT 2000 - SECT 150

(1) A police officer may apply for a warrant to enter and search a place (a search warrant)—

(a) to obtain evidence of the commission of an offence; or

(b) to obtain evidence that may be confiscation related evidence in relation to a confiscation related activity; or

(c) to find a vehicle that is or is to be impounded under chapter 4 or 22; or

(d) to find criminal organisation control order property.

(2) The application may be made to any justice, unless the application must be made to a magistrate or Supreme Court judge under subsection (3) or (4).

(3) Unless the application must be made to a Supreme Court judge under subsection (4), the application must be made to a magistrate if the thing to be sought under the proposed warrant is—

(a) evidence of the commission of an offence only because—

(i) it is a thing that may be liable to forfeiture or is forfeited; or

(ii) it may be used in evidence for a forfeiture proceeding; or

(iii) it is a property tracking document; or

(b) evidence of the commission of an indictable offence committed in another State that, if it were committed in Queensland, would be an indictable offence in Queensland; or

(c) confiscation related evidence; or

(d) criminal organisation control order property.

Example for paragraph (a)(ii)—

The search may be for evidence for which an application for a restraining order may be made under chapter 2 or chapter 3 of the Confiscation Act.

(4) The application must be made to a Supreme Court judge if, when entering and searching the place, it is intended to do anything that may cause structural damage to a building.

(5) An application under this section must—

(a) be sworn and state the grounds on which the warrant is sought; and

(b) include information required under the responsibilities code about any search warrants issued within the previous year in relation to—

(i) the place or a person suspected of being involved in the commission of the offence or suspected offence to which the application relates; or

(ii) the confiscation related activity to which the application relates.

(6) Subsection (5)(b) applies only to—

(a) information kept in a register that the police officer may inspect; and

(b) information the officer otherwise actually knows.

(7) The justice, magistrate or judge (the issuer) may refuse to consider the application until the police officer gives the issuer all the information the issuer requires about the application in the way the issuer requires.

Example—

The issuer may require additional information supporting the application to be given by statutory declaration.