New South Wales Consolidated Acts

WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT 2011 - SECT 171

171 Power to require production of documents and answers to questions

(1) If an inspector enters a workplace under this Division, or has within the last 30 days entered a workplace under this Division, the inspector or another inspector may--

(a) require a person to tell the inspector who has custody of, or access to, a document, or

(b) require a person who has custody of, or access to, a document to produce that document to the inspector while the inspector is at that workplace or within a specified period, or

(c) require a person at the workplace to attend before the inspector at a stated reasonable time and place to answer questions put by the inspector.

(2) A requirement under subsection (1) (b) must be made by written notice unless the circumstances require the inspector to have immediate access to the document.

(3) An interview conducted by an inspector under subsection (1) (c) must be conducted in private if--

(a) the inspector considers it appropriate, or

(b) the person being interviewed so requests.

(4) Subsection (3) does not limit the operation of section 166 or prevent a representative of the person being interviewed from being present at the interview.

(5) Subsection (3) may be invoked during an interview by--

(a) the inspector, or

(b) the person being interviewed,

in which case the subsection applies to the remainder of the interview.

(6) A person must not, without reasonable excuse, refuse or fail to comply with a requirement under this section.

: Maximum penalty--

(a) in the case of an individual--115 penalty units, or

(b) in the case of a body corporate--575 penalty units.

Note : See sections 172 and 173 in relation to self-incrimination and section 269 in relation to legal professional privilege.

(7) Subsection (6) places an evidential burden on the accused to show a reasonable excuse.