Police strip search powers in NSW are once again under the spotlight. A landmark class action has amplified growing concerns over how these invasive searches are conducted, particularly at music festivals.
With thousands affected and key legal safeguards questioned, let’s take a closer look at the law, the controversy, and what’s next.
The Law Behind Strip Searches in NSW
Police powers to conduct strip searches are outlined in the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (LEPRA), specifically sections 31 to 34A. Under the law:
Strip searches may be conducted:
- At a police station or place of detention, if police have reasonable grounds to suspect it’s necessary.
- Outside those settings (like festivals), only if serious and urgent circumstances justify it. View the full legislation here.
Searches must follow strict procedures, including:
- Conducting the search in a private area, as quickly as possible.
- Ensuring the searcher is the same sex as the person being searched.
- Avoiding searches in the presence of someone of the opposite sex, unless absolutely necessary.
- Prohibiting body cavity searches or any physical touching of genital areas or breasts.
- Requiring the presence of a parent or guardian for people aged 10–18, unless there’s immediate risk.
- Absolutely prohibiting any strip search of children under 10.
See LEPRA guidelines summarised by the NSW Law Society.
While the law requires “reasonable grounds” and “serious and urgent” circumstances, these terms aren’t clearly defined. That ambiguity has allowed wide discretion in practice, and fuelled disputes about what’s lawful.
How Strip Searches Are Being Misused
Strip searches were intended to be rare, last-resort measures. Yet in the last decade, their use by NSW Police has skyrocketed more than twentyfold, particularly at music festivals. Many of these searches target young people for minor drug possession, far from the serious offences the law envisaged.
Police Strip Search NSW: What’s Going Wrong?
Routine Use, Not Rare Intervention
Officers have increasingly treated strip searches as routine, especially when drug detection dogs are involved, even though the dogs are wrong up to 70% of the time.
Traumatising and Invasive Experiences
The physical and psychological impact can be profound. Many who are searched describe the experience as degrading or even violating, particularly women, young people, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who are disproportionately targeted.
Systemic Failures to Follow the Rules
Reports have uncovered numerous breaches, including:
- Searches carried out without privacy
- Officers of the opposite sex being present
- Children searched without a guardian present
The Class Action Shaking NSW Police
A major class action brought by Redfern Legal Centre and Slater and Gordon has placed these issues front and centre. Representing thousands of individuals subjected to strip searches at music festivals, the case exposed deep flaws in police practice and accountability.
In a pivotal development, police admitted they unlawfully strip-searched the lead plaintiff, Raya Meredith, just days before the trial. This backflip came after years of denial, and after NSW Police had prepared 22 witnesses to defend the search, only to withdraw them all.
The case on police strip searches in NSW revealed:
- A lack of consistent legal interpretation and officer training
- Routine use of searches without meeting the threshold of urgency or seriousness
- The need for a legislative rethink of when and how these powers are exercised.
Mounting Pressure for Reform
Across the legal and civil rights community, calls for change are growing louder. Experts argue that without immediate reform, the misuse of strip search powers will continue to erode public trust.
Reform proposals include:
- Limiting strip searches to serious offences like drug supply or weapons, not low-level possession
- Clarifying legal definitions of “reasonable grounds” and “urgent circumstances”
- Boosting police accountability, including real-time oversight and disciplinary consequences for unlawful searches.
Police Strip Search NSW
Police in NSW are entrusted with serious powers, and the authority to carry out a strip search is among the most intrusive. While the law sets a high threshold for their use, the growing body of evidence suggests that in practice, this threshold is not being met. The class action and its revelations mark a turning point.
If reform follows, it won’t just protect individual rights, it will also support effective, lawful policing. Because respecting legal limits isn’t just good practice. It’s essential for public confidence.
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Peter O'Brien is the Principal Solicitor of O'Brien Criminal & Civil Solicitors and Australia's leading expert in intentional torts litigation, with over 25 years of experience securing landmark victories in malicious prosecution and unlawful imprisonment cases. Author of Intentional Tort Litigation in Australia and recipient of the Law Council of Australia President's Medal, Peter has achieved record-breaking compensation for clients and is widely recognised for his unwavering commitment to access to justice.
