NSW Government Ordered To Pay Woman $93,000 In Damages In Illegal Strip Search Case

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A Sydney woman will receive $93,000 in damages from the New South Wales government, after it was found that she was subjected to an illegal strip search at Splendour In The Grass festival in 2018.

The ABC reports that Supreme Court Justice Dina Yehia shared her ruling today (30 September). Yehia found that Raya Meredith, who was 27 and post-partum at the time, had suffered “humiliating” treatment at the hands of NSW Police before she could even enter the 2018 festival.

Meredith launched the case after she was strip-searched at the festival, where a police officer allegedly asked her to remove a tampon while she was naked.

Earlier this year, the state government admitted that the NSW Police were at fault and acted unlawfully towards Meredith.

Judge Yehia has ordered the state to pay $93,000 in compensation and “aggravated damages for assault, battery and false imprisonment” in how the case was conducted.

Sharing her relief that the case is over, Meredith described the ordeal as “harrowing and traumatising,” yet shared pride in herself for sharing her experience.

In addition to her case, Meredith is the lead plaintiff in a class action suit, which involves 3,000 people who have come forward with allegations of illegal strip searches at music festivals by NSW Police between 2016 and 2022.

In May 2020, the Redfern Legal Centre and Slater & Gordon announced their plans to launch a class action suit against allegedly unlawful strip searches conducted at music festivals by NSW Police.

At the time, Slater & Gordon Lawyers and Redfern Legal Centre alleged that NSW Police “carried out unlawful acts including assault, battery and false imprisonment” by strip-searching festivalgoers to find illicit substances.

If the class action is successful, the NSW Government could be forced to pay “millions” in damages.

William Zerno, Senior Associate at Slater & Gordon, stated that the ruling in Meredith’s case “could render thousands of strip searches unlawful.”

Zerno added that Meredith wasn’t alone and “thousands like her” shared similar stories, many of whom are contributing to the class action.

“We’re urging the state to bring this shameful chapter of police abuses to an end and negotiate a settlement for the remainder of the group,” Zerno commented.

In August 2022, it was reported that NSW Police strip-searched over 100 children and 4,400 adults in two years. Some of the children were as young as thirteen.

In 2020, an inquest found that four strip searches – one at Splendour In The Grass 2018 and three at Lost City 2019 – were deemed unlawful.