# Certain persons may be prevented from entering or landing

> act-s249 — as in force on 2026-06-04 — C2026C00232 · Compilation No. 171 — https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2026C00232/latest/text

249 Certain persons may be prevented from entering or landing
          (1) An officer may:
                (a) prevent a person whom the officer reasonably suspects to be
                    an unlawful non-citizen from leaving a vessel on which the
                    person arrived in Australia; or
                (b) prevent a removee or deportee from leaving a vessel on
                    which he or she has been placed;
              and may take such action and use such force as are necessary for
              that purpose.
      (1AA) An officer may prevent a person from leaving a vessel on which
            the person arrived in Australia if the officer reasonably suspects
            that the person:
              (a) is seeking to enter the migration zone; and
              (b) would, if in the migration zone, be an unlawful non-citizen.









        (1A) To avoid doubt, and without limiting the generality of
             subsections (1) and (1AA), if a person of a kind referred to in
             paragraph (1)(a) or subsection (1AA) is on board a vessel (other
             than an aircraft), the actions that may be taken by an officer under
             subsections (1) and (1AA) include:
               (a) requiring the vessel to travel to a port; and
               (b) requiring the person to remain on the vessel until it arrives at
                   the port.
          (2) The master of a vessel may, in relation to persons on board the
              vessel, do all things which an officer is, under subsections (1) and
              (1AA), authorized to do.