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The New South Wales Government has conceded that there was “no lawful basis” to strip search a woman at a music festival amidst an ongoing class action.
On Wednesday (April 2nd), it was revealed that the State of New South made the admission just weeks out from a trial put forward by a woman who alleges she was unlawfully strip searched at Splendour in the Grass in 2018.
“The State have also admitted that in the course of the strip search the plaintiff was unlawfully directed to remove a tampon and that a male police officer walked in when she was undressed,” a statement issued on Wednesday read.
“The admission by the State include that the strip search of the plaintiff constituted an assault, false imprisonment and battery.
“The damages to which the representative plaintiff is individually entitled will be one of the matters to be determined at the trial of the class action which is scheduled to commence on 5 May 2025.”
The class action, filed in July 2022, alleges unlawful strip searches of “thousands” of attendees at music festivals by NSW Police between July 2016-2022.
The State will still seek to maintain that the search of thousands of other festivalgoers were lawful.
“After having denied and disputed her allegations for over two and half years, the State has, without any explanation, has now made an eleventh-hour admission as to the truth of the plaintiff’s complaint, but while still seeking to argue that the searches of other group members at music festivals were lawful,” Slater and Gordon Practice Group Leader in Class Actions Rory Walsh said on Wednesday.
“Making this admission weeks out from the trial has meant that the representative plaintiff has had the prospect of being cross examined as to her experience of being strip searched, hanging over her head for the last two and half years.
“It should not have taken this long for the NSW Police to admit to the truth of what happened to the plaintiff, but we are pleased that she has finally been believed.
“The strip searches which the plaintiff was subjected to, is now conceded to not only being without a lawful basis but also failing to comply with safeguards for the exercise of Police searching powers.”
According to Walsh, over 3,000 people have registered with the firm as it relates to the allegations.
“This trial is an important step in holding NSW Police accountable for the degrading strip searches that thousands of festivalgoers were subjected to,” Redfern Legal Centre Supervising Solicitor Sam Lee said.
“For decades, people have been humiliated, intimidated and often left traumatised by these experiences of police officers abusing their powers. This class action is about securing justice for those individuals and ensuring we put an end to these invasive and unlawful practices.
“This isn’t just about music festivals. It’s about the rights of everyone and the need for police to follow the law. Strip searches should never have been allowed to become routine practice.”
NSW Police declined to comment when contacted by Rolling Stone AU/NZ.
