Raya Merideth was recently awarded $93,000 after an unlawful strip-search at a Byron Bay music festival in 2018.

Police strip-searched Merideth after a sniffer dog singled her out as a drug carrier at Splendour in the Grass. They took her to a makeshift tent where a female officer asked her to undress and remove her tampon, among other confronting activities. A male officer later came into the tent unannounced to return her bag. Officers found no drugs on the post-partum Meredith’s person.

This case is the largest of its kind in NSW. It is also the first to define laws around strip-searching. The findings specify that field officers cannot legally strip-search unless it’s “necessary” for the search. The search must also be considered “serious”, “urgent”, and on “reasonable grounds”. In theory, strip searching should be unlawful at large-scale events and in public spaces based on the suspicion of drug possession.

After Meredith’s unlawful and humiliating strip-search, she launched her legal case. She later became the lead plaintiff in a Supreme Court case with 3000 people. The case was brought to court by Redfern Legal Centre and Slayter and Gordon Lawyers. The police have unlawfully strip-searched the plaintiffs between 2016 and 2022.

The NSW government may have to pay an additional $150 million from the class-action. This award will be for the inadequate training of field officers. The lead judge of the case, Justice Yehia, has yet to make a judgment on this extra payout.

2ser’s Amy Hosking spoke to one of the supervising lawyers on the case, Samantha Lee from the Redfern Legal Centre. They discussed the case, as well as the protocols for strip searching.