BYRON BAY — The state of New South Wales admitted in May 2025 to unlawfully strip-searching Raya Meredith at the 2018 Splendour in the Grass music festival. The state has filed an application to appeal a class action and damages ruling related to unlawful strip-searches at music festivals between 2018 and 2022.
During the 2018 incident, a female police officer instructed Meredith to remove all her clothing, bend over, bare her bottom, drop her breasts, and remove her tampon. A male police officer entered the search area during the procedure without announcement. Meredith was 27 years old and postpartum at the time of the search. The search did not recover any drugs or illegal items.
Justice Dina Yehia awarded Meredith $93,000 in total damages, which included $20,000 in aggravated damages for the state's conduct in the case. The state disputes a $40,000 compensatory damages award for false imprisonment and assault. It alleges that the injuries for each claim were double-counted.
The state withdrew 22 witnesses, including the officer who conducted Meredith's search, days before the trial hearing. This reduced the trial hearing schedule from 20 days to five days. Meredith was the only witness to testify in the class action trial. Perry Herzfeld, arguing on behalf of the state, stated that its conduct did not meet the legal threshold for aggravated damages.
The state argues that Justice Yehia incorrectly ruled that police lack express authority to use reasonable force to move a person's body parts during a strip-search.