Arrested at a Music Festival: What You Need to Know About Drug Possession, Supply & Strip Searches in NSW
| | | |

Arrested at a Music Festival: What You Need to Know About Drug Possession, Supply & Strip Searches in NSW

ByHornsby Criminal Lawyers

You’re lining up for a set, the bass is thumping, you’ve got friends, glitter, maybe a drink in hand… and then you see them: sniffer dogs, high-vis police, and a line of people being pulled aside.

Every festival season in NSW, thousands of young people are:

  • Stopped because a dog “sat” next to them
  • Searched (including strip searched) under LEPRA
  • Charged with drug possession or even drug supply based solely on quantity

And increasingly, courts are being asked to decide whether police actually followed the law in how they searched and charged festival patrons.

In 2025, the NSW Supreme Court awarded $93,000 in damages to Raya Meredith, who was unlawfully strip searched at Splendour in the Grass 2018, a lead case in a class action covering thousands of festival-goers strip searched between 2016–2022.

At National Criminal Lawyers®, our festival drug possession lawyers in Sydney regularly defend clients stopped at events like Splendour, Lost Paradise, Field Day and others. This blog breaks down:

  • The charges you might face
  • How deemed supply works (and why a few caps can mean “supply”)
  • The law on strip searches and sniffer dogs
  • How courts are treating unlawful searches
  • What to do if you’re stopped, searched or charged at a festival

1. Common festival charges: it’s not “just a pill”

The Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW) (“DMTA”) applies at a festival the same way it does on the street, but you’re far more likely to be caught because of the concentrated police and drug dog presence.

The most common festival-related charges are:

(a) Possession, s 10 DMTA

To prove possession, police must show you:

  1. Had a prohibited drug, and
  2. Knew it was there and what it was (or believed it was likely a drug).

At festivals, this is often a few MDMA caps, LSD tabs, bags of cocaine or cannabis. “Small quantity” thresholds are tiny, for example, around 0.25–0.8g of MDMA will usually be treated as possession, depending on purity and form.

First-time offenders with small amounts sometimes avoid conviction via:

But that is not guaranteed, and much depends on the defence strategy and how the search occurred.

(b) Supply, s 25 DMTA

“Supply” is very broadly defined in NSW law. It includes:

  • Selling drugs
  • Giving them to friends
  • Holding drugs for someone else
  • Having drugs in your possession for the purpose of supply

Penalties escalate quickly based on:

  • The type of drug (MDMA, cocaine, LSD, cannabis, etc.)
  • The quantity (small, indictable, commercial, large commercial)
  • Your role (user/dealer/organiser)

For MDMA, a commercial quantity is 125 grams, and a large commercial quantity is 500 grams, with maximum penalties up to 20 years’ imprisonment.

Media regularly report festival-based supply prosecutions, such as the young woman charged after allegedly being found with 1,000 MDMA tablets at a festival in NSW

(c) “Deemed Supply” – s 29 DMTA

This is where many festival-goers get a nasty shock.

Under s 29 DMTA, if you’re caught with at least a “traffickable quantity” of a drug, the law can presume you possessed it for supply, even if there’s no evidence of actual dealing.

Examples of traffickable quantities:

  • 0.75 g of MDMA
  • 3 g of amphetamine
  • 300 g of cannabis

Once the prosecution proves you possessed that amount, the burden shifts to you to show, on the balance of probabilities, that it was for personal use only (or some lawful purpose).

This is why being caught with a bag for “you and your mates” can suddenly become a serious supply charge, with far higher maximum penalties and harsher sentencing ranges.

2. Sniffer dogs & search powers: where it all begins

Police at festivals commonly use:

  • Drug detection dogs
  • General searches (pat-downs, pockets)
  • Strip searches

The legal basis for these searches comes from the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW)(“LEPRA”).

(a) General stop & search powers, s 21 LEPRA

Police may stop, search and detain you without a warrant if they “suspect on reasonable grounds” that you:

  • Have a prohibited drug in your possession, or
  • Have something used in connection with an offence

A sniffer dog indication alone does not automatically equal reasonable suspicion. The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) and the recent strip search class-action judgment have emphasised that a dog “sitting” beside you is not enough, by itself, to justify an invasive search

(b) Strip searches, s 31 LEPRA

Strip searches are legally different and far more intrusive. Under s 31 LEPRA, police can only conduct a strip search in the field (like at a festival) if:

  1. They have reasonable suspicion you possess something like drugs; and
  2. The seriousness and urgency of the circumstances make a strip search necessary; and
  3. The search is conducted in a private area, as quickly and respectfully as possible, by an officer of the same sex, and without touching your body.

There are extra protections for under-18s, including a requirement for a parent/guardian or support person to be present unless it’s urgently impracticable.

Multiple investigations, including the LECC’s 2020 Inquiry into NSW Police strip search practices and its 2023 audit of festival searches, have found widespread non-compliance with these legal safeguards.

In 2019, a NSW police officer admitted that all 19 strip searches he conducted at Splendour in the Grass 2018 may have been illegal.

In 2025, the Supreme Court held that the strip search of Raya Meredith at Splendour was unlawful and “egregious”, criticising police for:

  • Requiring her to remove all clothing, including a tampon
  • Conducting the search in a makeshift, insecure environment
  • Relying essentially on a drug dog indication and past use
  • Failing to document the legal basis for 143 searches carried out that day

Similar stories have emerged in other festival-related cases, including an underage boy forced to strip naked after an erroneous dog indication at an all-ages event.

3. If the search was unlawful, can the evidence be thrown out?

Yes, and this is one of the key ways a festival drug possession lawyer in Sydney can defend you.

Even if drugs are found, if the court concludes the search was unlawful, your lawyer can ask the court to exclude the evidence under s 138 of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW), the “illegally or improperly obtained evidence” discretion.

The court must weigh:

  • The seriousness of the police misconduct;
  • Whether you were vulnerable (young, intoxicated, under 18);
  • Whether there were alternative, less intrusive methods available;
  • The importance of the evidence to the prosecution case;
  • The need to deter future breaches.

Recent decisions and the Meredith class action show courts are increasingly prepared to call out unlawful strip searches and compensate victims, a strong signal that blind reliance on festival strip searches is no longer acceptable.

If the drugs are excluded as evidence, the prosecution often has no case left, and the charges may be dismissed.

4. Young people and sentencing: how bad can it get?

For first-time, small-quantity possession, especially for young people, sentencing can be quite lenient if handled properly:

  • Cannabis cautions (for small cannabis amounts meeting specific criteria)
  • CROs without conviction (section 10 equivalents) – as seen in cases like Lost Paradise festival possession, where a client received a no-conviction CRO for two drug possession charges.

However, where deemed supply or actual supply is charged, penalties escalate quickly, even for young adults. Judicial Commission tables for MDMA show real-world sentences including:

  • Community-based orders for small supply with strong mitigation
  • Full-time imprisonment for higher quantities or repeat offending

For children under 18, the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987 (NSW) emphasises rehabilitation, but serious supply still risks control orders and long-term consequences.

5. Defence strategies in festival drug & strip search matters

At National Criminal Lawyers®, typical defence strategies in festival cases include:

(a) Challenging the lawfulness of the search

We examine:

  • Did police have genuine reasonable suspicion, or just a dog indication?
  • Did they consider less intrusive options before strip searching?
  • Were LEPRA requirements followed: privacy, same-sex officer, urgency, necessity?
  • Were you under 18 and denied proper safeguards?

If the search breached LEPRA, we seek exclusion of the drugs under Evidence Act s 138.

(b) Challenging possession: knowledge & control

Possession is not just proximity. We may argue:

  • The drugs belonged to someone else;
  • Multiple people had access to the bag/area;
  • You had no knowledge the substance was a drug;
  • Contamination or chain-of-custody issues exist.

(c) Fighting “deemed supply”; proving personal use

For s 29 deemed supply, we focus on proving personal use:

  • Evidence of tickets for the entire weekend (planning to consume over days)
  • Chat logs showing pooling money for shared use
  • Lack of deal lists, cash, separate bags, or scales
  • Expert evidence on typical user consumption patterns

If successful, the charge may be downgraded from supply to simple possession, radically reducing the sentencing range.

(d) Mental health & youth-based options

Where appropriate, we consider:

  • Mental Health Applications (s 14 MHCIFP Act) to divert matters out of the criminal system
  • Youth-specific responses for under-18s, including cautions and conferencing

6. Your rights if police stop you at a festival

While this isn’t individual legal advice, some general principles in NSW:

  • You usually must give your name and address if lawfully required.
  • You have a right to silence, you don’t have to answer questions about where you got drugs, who else was involved, etc.
  • You can politely ask:
    • “Am I under arrest?”
    • “On what basis are you searching me?”
  • Don’t physically resist a search, that can lead to extra charges like resist/hinder police.
  • If you are strip searched and feel it is unlawful, note details (time, location, names, what was said) as soon as possible and get legal advice.

Later, your strip search rights lawyer in NSW can use that information in both your criminal defence and any civil claim for unlawful search.

7. How National Criminal Lawyers® can help

When you’re charged at a music festival, you’re not just dealing with a minor ticket. You’re dealing with:

  • A possible criminal record
  • Visa and travel consequences
  • Employment and professional risks
  • The trauma of an invasive or unlawful search

Our team at National Criminal Lawyers®:

  • Analyses whether your search was legal under LEPRA
  • Challenges sniffer dog-based suspicion using LECC findings and case law
  • Fights deemed supply allegations with evidence of personal use
  • Seeks no-conviction outcomes where appropriate (CROs, s 10, mental health)
  • Coordinates with civil rights firms where unlawful strip searches warrant compensation

We understand music festival culture, but more importantly, we understand how festival policing and drug laws actually operate in NSW courts.

Final word: Don’t let one festival ruin your future

One night out should not define the rest of your life. But a poorly handled festival charge can:

  • Limit your career
  • Impact your studies
  • Block overseas travel
  • Follow you in background checks for years

If you’ve been stopped, searched, or charged at a festival, speak to an experienced festival drug possession lawyer in Sydney as early as possible.

📞 Call 1800 CRIM LAW

Similar Posts