Section 46PI — Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986: President’s power to obtain information

(1) This section applies if the President has reason to believe that a person is capable of providing information (relevant information) or producing documents (relevant documents) relevant to an inquiry under this Division. (2) The President may serve a written notice on the person, requiring the person to do either or both of the following within a reasonable period specified in the notice, or on a reasonable date and at a reasonable time specified in the notice: (a) give the President a signed document containing relevant information required by the notice; (b) produce to the President such relevant documents as are specified in the notice. (3) If the notice is served on a body corporate, the document referred to in paragraph (2)(a) must be signed by an officer of the body corporate. (4) If a document is produced to the President in accordance with a requirement under this section, the President: (a) may take possession of the document; and (b) may make copies of the document or take extracts from the document; and (c) may retain possession of the document for as long as is necessary for the purposes of the inquiry to which the document relates. (5) While the President retains any document under this section, the President must allow the document to be inspected, at all reasonable times, by any person who would be entitled to inspect the document if it were not in the possession of the President.