New South Wales Consolidated Acts

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1993 - SECT 423

423 Access to and production of documents

(1) The Auditor-General or a person authorised by the Auditor-General (an
"authorised person" ) is entitled at all reasonable times to full and free access to the council's accounting records and other records necessary in order to carry out the Auditor-General's functions under this or any other Act.

(2) The Auditor-General or an authorised person may exercise the following functions for the purposes of any audit or inspection carried out by the Auditor-General under this Act--

(a) direct a councillor, the general manager or any other member of staff of the council to produce books, records or other documents in the person's custody or under the person's control to the Auditor-General or authorised person within a specified period,

(b) direct a councillor, the general manager or any other member of staff of the council to appear personally before the Auditor-General or authorised person at a specified time and place to produce books, records or other documents in the person's custody or under the person's control,

(c) direct a councillor, the general manager or any other member of staff of the council to answer any question that is relevant to that purpose,

(d) direct a councillor, the general manager or any other member of staff of the council to provide any necessary authorities to gain access to books, records or other documents under the person's control,

(e) make copies of or take extracts from any document to which the Auditor-General or authorised person gains access under this section.

(3) If any document required by a direction to be produced is in electronic form or a form other than writing, the document is required to be produced in writing, unless the direction otherwise provides.

(4) The Auditor-General or an authorised person is entitled to exercise functions under this section despite--

(a) any rule of law which, in proceedings in a court of law, might justify an objection to access to books, records, other documents or information on grounds of public interest, or

(b) any privilege of a council that the council might claim in a court of law, including a claim based on legal professional privilege, or

(b1) any books, records or other documents being accessed, provided or produced being or including Cabinet information, or

(c) any duty of secrecy or other restriction on disclosure applying to a council or a member of staff of a council.

(6) In this section, a reference to a council includes a reference to a council entity.