The NSW Labor government will continue to use sniffer dogs and strip-searches at music festivals, despite the recommendations of a report it commissioned earlier this year.
That report, released in April, listed 56 recommendations to reduce drug-related harm at festivals, including a ban on the use of drug dogs and strip-searches at events where pill testing is being trialled.
While the government introduced pill testing at some events, including at Yours and Owls festival back in March, NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley said the stance on sniffer dogs and drug searches hasn’t changed.
“We’re not changing it,” Catley said, per The Guardian, adding that the two methods of drug detection are important “investigative tools for the NSW Police” at music festivals.
The government ignoring the advice of the report comes in light of last month’s successful class action against NSW Police over the unlawful strip-search of an attendee at Splendour in the Grass in 2018 — a landmark ruling that awarded Raya Meredith $93,000.
Asked about that ruling in terms of the government’s continuation of strip-searches, Catley said the matter is “all before the court at the moment, and we need to wait until that process continues and concludes”.
Read the full article published by pedestrian on October 30 2025
