A month after a landmark court victory, the NSW government is set to appeal the decision that awarded nearly $100,000 to a festival-goer who was unlawfully strip-searched at Splendour in the Grass.
The NSW government has signalled its intention to appeal the landmark strip-search class action ruling, which examined the lawfulness of police strip searches at music festivals.
Last month, the Supreme Court of NSW heard Raya Meredith’s account of being subjected to an invasive strip search at Splendour in the Grass in 2018, during which she was ordered to remove her tampon, lift and expose parts of her body, and bend over.
Ultimately, no drugs were found on her.
Justice Dina Yehia awarded Meredith $93,000 in damages, finding that the officer’s actions went “far beyond” what was objectively necessary and describing her experience as “humiliating treatment while at a total loss of liberty”.
Slater & Gordon, which led the class action lawsuit that expanded to include hundreds of others alleging they were unlawfully strip-searched by police between 2016 and 2022, had been negotiating a settlement between the state and these claimants.
However, the national law firm revealed that the state of NSW has “now signalled an intention to appeal the judgment”.
William Zerno, senior associate in class actions at Slater & Gordon, warned that an appeal would only delay justice for those thousands affected and subjected to these unlawful strip searches.
“There were thousands of others who were searched in similar circumstances to Raya,” he said.
“Hundreds of those searches occurred at the same festival Raya attended and were undertaken by the same police officers.”
Zerno added: “An appeal against this judgment will only delay justice being served for thousands of festival goers. And it will ultimately cost the state more if it does not resolve its liability now.”
In response, Meredith expressed her deep disappointment at the NSW government’s decision to appeal, emphasising that it is time for accountability and for redress to be provided for the abuse of these extreme police powers.
“I find it very disappointing that despite the years of due diligence, research, and fact-checking that went into my judgement – a judgment that ruled my strip search by NSW police officers as unlawful, that the NSW government is arguing that searches undertaken in the same circumstances as mine are lawful,” Meredith said.
“The others in this class action deserve to have their cases heard and settled without further delay. It’s a needless waste of resources, and with the music festival season underway in NSW, I’d hate to think that the abuse of these extreme powers by police that I experienced might continue under a scenario where NSW Police appealed this judgment.
“It’s time that what is due is paid, apologies are made, and a clean slate imparted.”
In response to the NSW Drug Summit’s recommendations, Slater & Gordon noted that the NSW government said it was not “operationally feasible” to implement a model requiring police to suspect drug supply before conducting a strip search.
“If the NSW Police Force truly believes its current powers are not operationally feasible, then the appropriate path is to seek a legislative change through Parliament and not to act outside the scope of the law,” Zerno said.
“The fact the NSW government is filing a notice of intention to appeal does not render the judgment any less effective. The Supreme Court has made clear in this judgment the significant limitations on the exercise on the police powers to conduct strip searches.
“Unless and until such time as that judgment is overturned by an appeal court, the NSW Police would be ill advised to act against it.”
