South Australian Current Acts

ANIMAL WELFARE ACT 1985 - SECT 31D

31D—Warrant procedures

        (1)         A magistrate must not issue a warrant for the purposes of this Part unless satisfied that the warrant is reasonably required in the circumstances.

        (2)         An application for a warrant may be made personally or, if, in the opinion of the applicant, the warrant is urgently required and there is not enough time to lodge a written application and appear before a magistrate, by fax or telephone.

        (3)         The grounds of an application for a warrant must be verified by affidavit.

        (4)         If an application for the issue of a warrant is made by fax transmission, the following provisions apply:

            (a)         the application must be in a form approved by the Chief Magistrate;

            (b)         the application must be accompanied (through fax transmission) by an affidavit made by the applicant verifying the facts referred to in the application;

            (c)         the applicant must be available to speak to the magistrate by telephone;

            (d)         the magistrate is entitled to assume, without further inquiry, that a person who identifies himself or herself as the applicant acting in the capacity of an inspector during a telephone conversation with the magistrate is indeed the applicant acting in that capacity;

            (e)         the magistrate may, on being satisfied as to the circumstances of urgency and the grounds for the issue of a warrant, make out and sign a warrant;

            (f)         the warrant is to be taken to have been issued, and comes into force, when signed by the magistrate;

            (g)         the magistrate must forward the warrant to the applicant by fax transmission.

        (5)         If an application for a warrant is made by telephone, the following provisions apply:

            (a)         the applicant must inform the magistrate of the applicant's name and identify himself or herself as an inspector and the magistrate, on receiving that information, is entitled to assume its accuracy without further inquiry;

            (b)         the applicant must inform the magistrate of the purpose for which the warrant is required, the grounds on which it is sought and the circumstances giving rise to the urgency of the application;

            (c)         the magistrate may, on being satisfied as to the circumstances of urgency and the grounds for the issue of the warrant, inform the applicant of the facts on which the magistrate relies as grounds for the issue of the warrant, and must not proceed to issue the warrant unless the applicant undertakes to make an affidavit verifying those facts;

            (d)         if the applicant gives such an undertaking, the magistrate may then make out and sign a warrant;

            (e)         the warrant is to be taken to have been issued, and comes into force, when signed by the magistrate;

            (f)         the magistrate must inform the applicant of the terms of the warrant;

            (g)         the applicant must fill out and sign a warrant form (the "duplicate warrant") that—

                  (i)         sets out the name of the magistrate who issued the original and the terms of the warrant; and

                  (ii)         complies with any other prescribed requirements;

            (h)         the applicant must, as soon as practicable after the issue of the warrant, forward to the magistrate an affidavit verifying the facts referred to in paragraph (c) and a copy of the duplicate warrant.

        (6)         A warrant, if not executed at the expiration of 1 month from the date of its issue, then expires.