A woman who was illegally strip-searched by New South Wales police has been awarded $93,000 in a landmark class action that lawyers believe will “render thousands of strip-searches” at music festivals unlawful.
Justice Dina Yehia handed down her findings in the NSW supreme court on Tuesday in a class action brought by Slater and Gordon Lawyers and the Redfern Legal Centre against the state of NSW over the allegedly unlawful strip-searches conducted by police at music festivals between 2018 and 2022.
Yehia said there had been a “flagrant” disregard for the rights of the lead plaintiff, Raya Meredith, and also that the instructions by police to lift her breasts and remove her tampon during the search were “egregious”.
Meredith was awarded $93,0000 in damages, which included $43,000 in compensation and $50,000 in aggravated damages. She was also entitled to exemplary damages, but this figure had not yet been determined.
Samantha Lee, a senior solicitor at Redfern Legal Centre, said: “This has been powered by the courage of young people and children. It is their courage that has brought this case before the court.”
Read the full article published by the Guardian on September 30 2025
