Class action begins over festival strip-searches

A class action lawsuit against the state of NSW has begun in Australia over potentially unlawful strip-searches at music festivals by police officers.

More than 3,000 alleged victims have joined the legal action, which was launched by Slater and Gordon Lawyers and Redfern Legal Centre and covers the years 2016-22.

“There were many thousands of persons strip-searched at festivals in the claim period,” Kylie Nomchong SC, representing the plaintiffs, told the Supreme Court of NSW this week.

The court heard that lead plaintiff Raya Meredith was subject to a “highly invasive and humiliating” inspection “akin to sexual assault” by police, who told her to bend over while naked and remove a tampon in a makeshift cubicle at the Splendour in the Grass festival in Byron Bay in July 2018.

“A male police officer walked into the cubicle unannounced and observed the plaintiff in this position,” said Nomchong, who added the only basis for the examination had been a drug dog sniffing in Meredith’s direction. No drugs were found during the search.

“She was not asked for her consent, she was questioned during the search, the search was not done in private,” added Nomchong, as per ABC.

“This is an extraordinary story, but not an isolated one”

“This is an extraordinary story, but not an isolated one. It is a claim at the most serious end of the scale, but not the most serious.”

Nomchong alleged the state – which admitted weeks before the trial there was “no lawful basis” for the inspection – had “wholly failed” to adequately train officers on the strict rules regarding strip searches, which were only supposed to be used “in the most extreme of circumstances”.

“We say there was a pattern of conduct of NSW Police carrying out strip searches at music festivals as a matter of routine,” she said.

The Guardian reports that class action members are seeking exemplary damages, while Nomchong said Meredith would be making an additional damages claim for the “hurt and distress” caused by police initially denying her account for two years.

The case continues next week.

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