Inspections and enforcement
Your rights during an inspection
It's important that you understand your rights if/when your business is inspected. Your rights include:
- when you're required or advised to do something, you have the right on request to a written explanation of what you need to do, by when and why and whether it's a legal requirement or a recommendation of good practice
- when immediate enforcement is taken, you have the right to a written explanation as to why this action was necessary
- when another enforcement action is taken or proposed, you have the right to have your point of view heard and for any alternative action (which must be equally effective) to be discussed
- when enforcement action is taken, you have the right to be told of any appeals mechanisms
- if items are seized, you'll be given a receipt and told how you can access or photograph them and how compensation may be payable if there was no infringement
- if items are taken away to be tested, you'll be told the results and may have the right to test the items yourself
If you're concerned about the possible implications for your business, ask the inspecting officer what will happen next.
Although the legislation we enforce is backed up by criminal penalties, in appropriate cases we'll aim to educate and advise businesses to achieve compliance rather than resort to prosecution.
Financial penalty notices and fixed penalties
In certain cases, a fixed penalty or a financial penalty notice may be issued to deal with an infringement.
Page last updated: 16 May 2023
