A dog's simple sniff at a music festival could lead to a multimillion-dollar payout in a massive class action lawsuit targeting police strip searches.
Thousands of people were strip searched at music festivals as officers allegedly given inadequate training and supervision routinely conducted the inspections over a six-year period.
An "extraordinary" and unlawful strip search by police at a popular music festival and the conduct of authorities defending it is leading the class action in NSW.
Raya Meredith alleged she was subjected to assault, battery and false imprisonment by police at the Splendour in the Grass music festival in July 2018 after a drug detection dog sniffed in her direction, before moving on.
She was stopped and directed to a makeshift inspection area of open cubicles with tarpaulin screens near the entrance.
A male police officer allegedly walked in to the area where Ms Meredith was being searched, as a female officer interrogated and inspected her.
She had not consented to the search, which was allegedly conducted with inadequate privacy, and was threatened with ejection from the festival, barrister Kylie Nomchong SC told the Supreme Court on Monday.
She said the humiliating inspection, which did not comply with legislated safeguards, and found nothing, left her client shocked and degraded.
"This is an extraordinary story … but it is not an isolated one," Ms Nomchong said.
The state allegedly deployed large numbers of officers to music festivals with the intention of routinely doing strip searches en masse between 2016 and 2022.
The directions given were "woefully inadequate" and senior echelons of the force failed to ensure officers were properly trained and supervised.
Ms Meredith was asked to strip, expose her genitals and remove a tampon during the search - "akin to things that would happen during a sexual assault," Ms Nomchong told the court.
The state's conduct in defending the claim had also increased the harm to the lead plaintiff and aggravated damages would be sought, Ms Nomchong told the court.
Over a two-and-a-half year period, the state persisted with hurtful allegations and unjustifiable, arrogant conduct towards Ms Meredith, the lawyer said.
The state conceded in March she was unlawfully strip-searched but has not accepted fault in relation to more than 3000 others part of the class-action.
The state's barrister Julian Sexton SC told the court there may be limitations on damages and the amount that could be paid.
A sum of $50,000 sought for exemplary damages could exceed $150 million if applied across the class action participants, for what are alleged to be systemic failures rather than individual instances, Mr Sexton said.
NSW Police blamed a change in priorities during COVID-19 public health orders and restrictions when acknowledging failures highlighted in a watchdog's audit of strip searches in 2023.
They included a finding more than half of the officers who carried out strip searches in preceding years had not completed specialist training.
The case, initially scheduled to be heard over four weeks, has been adjourned until May 13 with further written submissions due in the coming days.
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