Division 1 General provisions concerning impounding

5   Who can impound and what can be impounded

(1)  Impounding officers can impound certain animals and articles, as provided by this Act. The power to impound conferred by this Act on an impounding officer of Roads and Maritime Services is limited to the impounding of motor vehicles, unless the regulations otherwise provide.

(2)  Occupiers of private land can impound certain animals, as provided by this Act.

(3)  A police officer has and may exercise the powers of any impounding officer (as if he or she had been appointed as an impounding officer by each impounding authority). This does not make a police officer subject to the direction or control of an impounding authority.

Note. Impounding officers are persons appointed as impounding officers by impounding authorities. See the definitions of impounding officer and impounding authority in the dictionary.

See the definition of animal in the dictionary for the types of animals to which this Act applies.

6   Areas in which impounding officers can impound

(1)  An impounding officer may impound something under this Act only in the area of operations of the impounding officer.

(2)  This Act does not confer power on an impounding officer to enter a place that the officer could not otherwise lawfully enter.

(3)  Nothing in this Act prevents an impounding officer from entering private land at the invitation of the occupier, so long as it is within his or her “area of operations”.

Note. See the definition of area of operations in the Dictionary for the areas in which impounding officers can impound.

7   Dogs can be impounded in certain areas only

A dog cannot be impounded under this Act unless it is in a national park, historic site, nature reserve, state game reserve, karst conservation reserve or Aboriginal area (as defined in the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974).

Note. A dog may be able to be impounded in other areas under another law, such as the Companion Animals Act 1998.

8   When is something “impounded”?

(1)  Something is impounded as soon as an impounding officer or an occupier of private land takes possession of it under a power conferred by this Act. It continues to be impounded until it is released or disposed of in accordance with this Act.

(2)  An item does not have to be taken to a pound for it to be “impounded” for the purposes of this Act.