Part 7.2 Authorised officers and enforcement officers

187   Appointment of authorised officers

(1)  The EPA may appoint any person (including a class of persons) as an authorised officer for the purposes of this Act.

(2)  Any other regulatory authority may appoint any officer or employee of the authority (including a class of such officers or employees) as an authorised officer for the purposes of this Act.

(2A)  In addition, a regulatory authority that is a local council may appoint any officer or employee of another local council (including a class of such officers or employees) as an authorised officer for the purposes of this Act in respect of the appointing local council’s area.

(3)  In this section:

employee of an authority includes a person whose services are used by the authority and who is, in respect of those services, subject to the direction and control of the authority.

188   Scope of authority

(1)  An authorisation of a person as an authorised officer can be given generally, or subject to conditions, limitations or restrictions or only for limited purposes.

(2)  If such authorisation is given subject to conditions, limitations or restrictions or only for limited purposes, nothing in this Act authorises or requires the authorised officer to act in contravention of the conditions, limitations or restrictions or for other purposes.

(3)  The authorisation of an authorised officer appointed by a regulatory authority other than the EPA is limited to matters concerning the functions of the regulatory authority under this Act.

(4)  Despite subsection (3) and any other provision of this Chapter, an authorised officer of a regulatory authority may exercise powers under this Chapter (other than under Part 7.6) for the purpose of determining whether a matter concerns the functions of the regulatory authority.

189   Identification

(1)  Every authorised officer or enforcement officer, who is not a police officer, is to be provided with an identification card as an authorised officer or enforcement officer by the regulatory or other authority that appointed the officer.

(2)  In the course of exercising the functions of an authorised officer or enforcement officer under this Act, the officer must, if requested to do so by any person affected by the exercise of any such function, produce to the person the officer’s identification card, issued in accordance with this section, or, in the case of a police officer, the officer’s police identification.

(3)  It is sufficient compliance with subsection (2) if an enforcement officer, acting in the capacity of an enforcement officer, who is also an authorised officer produces his or her identification card as an authorised officer.

189A   Powers of enforcement officers

An enforcement officer has, in respect of any of the officer’s responsibilities or functions as an enforcement officer under this Act or the regulations, the functions of an authorised officer under this Chapter (other than section 204 (2) and Part 7.6) and this Chapter applies accordingly.