Criminal Law

With summer approaching and music festivals returning across New South Wales, discussion on drug checking, searches, and harm reduction has reignited.

The past year has seen several changes to the festival landscape, including significant developments in a class action on unlawful strip searches, and the announcement of NSW’s commitment to providing drug checking services.

This article discusses the present legal landscape for festival-goers in NSW, including FAQs attendees may have. It is important to note that this article does not constitute legal advice.

Person Searches

General person searches and strip searches have been historically carried out at music festivals. The Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW) (‘LEPRA‘) outlines law enforcement’s powers for both types of searches.

A general person search is outlined in sections 21 and 30 of LEPRA. An officer must suspect on reasonable grounds that the individual has a prohibited item in their possession or control. This includes possession of illicit drugs or plants, or a stolen article. The officer may run their hands over the person’s outer clothing, ask the person to remove outer layers like jackets, shoes, or hats, examine anything in the person’s possession and use an electronic metal detector device. If the officer directs for more clothing to be removed, this could become a strip search.

Strip searches have been the centre of ongoing debate, as the appeal hearing on Meredith v State of New South Wales (No 5) [2025] NSWSC 1133, a leading authority, was heard in June. The court’s judgment on appeal is yet to be handed down.

Pursuant to section 31 of LEPRA, an officer must suspect on reasonable grounds that the strip search is necessary for the purposes of the search, and that the “seriousness and urgency” of the circumstances make it necessary. Sections 32 and 33 in LEPRA outline rules for search conduct and to preserve the person’s dignity and privacy.

In 2018, Raya Meredith, the plaintiff, was entering a festival gate when a police dog sniffed in her direction before moving away. She was directed to a makeshift inspection area by police before being directed to remove her top, pants and underwear, as well as remove her tampon and bend over. A male officer entered during the search. Nothing was found, and she was eventually able to leave.

Meredith became the lead plaintiff in a class action with 3000-plus registered class members who alleged they had experienced similar unlawful searches between 22 July 2016 to 22 July 2022.

Meredith’s strip search was found unlawful, and she was awarded $93,000, including aggravated damages, with exemplary damages to be quantified later. The calculation of the damages is among the issues presently under appeal.

Importantly, this case affirmed that drug dog detection, by itself, is not enough to justify a strip search. It also established that suspicion of mere possession may not satisfy the “seriousness and urgency” requirement in LEPRA.

Both “reasonable grounds” and “seriousness and urgency” are still relatively ambiguous. However, they have proved to be a high and narrow threshold for law enforcement to satisfy.

Moreover, festival-goers should be aware that strip searches of children under 10 are unlawful under section 34 of LERPA.  Children aged between 10 and 18 may be strip searched in the presence of a parent, guardian, or person capable of representing the interests of the child. However, police are not required to have a parent or guardian present if they suspect on reasonable grounds that a delay would lead to evidence being concealed or destroyed, or that an immediate search is necessary to protect a person’s safety.

Drug Checking Services

On 2 September 2026, the New South Wales government announced it would commit to providing drug checking services at many festivals across the State. The announcement followed a trial that ran for a year from March 2025. Twelve festivals were part of the trial, including Lost Paradise and Knockout, and more than 1800 people visited the services. It was concluded that testing was associated with reduced rates of drug-related hospital presentations.

From October 2026, the government will provide drug checking at festivals that are associated with a high probability of drug harm. In the trial, festivals identified as most likely to benefit from the service were electronic dance music (EDM) festivals, large multi-day festivals in regional areas, festivals attended by younger people, and festivals held in hot conditions.

In the trial, the checking generally worked as follows: participants entered through a shared entry way where feasible, they spoke to a harm reduction service provider and had their drugs checked with a peer worker. Participants could watch the analysis and ask questions. They then had a discussion of the results, received further harm reduction training and services, and were provided with naloxone and naloxone training.

However, the final report noted that:

‘A consistent concern for service users online was the conflict between policing activities (such as drug detection dogs) and access to the service site, which may have dissuaded potential service users from accessing harm reduction services.’

This flagged a substantial problem, being that despite the increase in drug checking, drug laws in NSW have not changed. While NSW Police Force and NSW Health agreed that police would not ‘target, monitor, or frequently attend the drug checking location’, possession remains illegal. This means there is no legislative protection for people who use the service.

In New Zealand, the Drug and Substance Checking Legislation Act 2021 ‘allows licensed drug checking providers to legally possess illicit drugs for drug checking purposes’. This legislation protects people who choose to use drug checking services.

Altogether, research suggests drug checking is associated with harm reduction. However, the lack of legislative protections for those who use testing services may necessitate discussion on legislative change.

FAQs