The lawsuit centers around an unlawful strip-search that occurred during the 2018 Splendour in the Grass music festival, where Meredith was forced to undress and remove her tampon after a drug dog indicated her direction.

Raya Meredith is leading a class action lawsuit against the New South Wales Police Force, representing over 3,000 individuals who were subjected to potentially unlawful strip searches at music festivals between 2016 and 2022.

During her testimony, Meredith described the emotional trauma of being strip-searched in a makeshift tent, which police later admitted was illegal.

Justice Dina Yehia expressed concerns about the police's defense strategy, questioning the validity of their practices in Meredith's case due to the absence of officer recollections and proper documentation.

Strip searches are highly invasive and must adhere to strict statutory guidelines, which were not followed in Meredith's case, as no justifiable reasons for the search were documented.

Her lawyer, Kylie Nomchong SC, argued that there was an 'abject failure' of the NSW Police to ensure adequate training and supervision for conducting strip searches, emphasizing the lack of documentation and accountability.

The withdrawal of 22 witnesses, primarily police officers, by the NSW police significantly reduced the trial duration from 20 days to just three, raising questions about the police's accountability.

Nomchong argued that the police should focus on preventing unlawful searches rather than merely responding to complaints, as the prevalence of such searches indicates systemic issues within the force.

The defense presented statistics suggesting that unlawful searches were not widespread, citing only a handful of upheld complaints out of hundreds of thousands of searches, but this was met with skepticism.

A Sydney judge expressed serious concerns over the police's defense in the class action, particularly regarding a last-minute admission of wrongdoing after denying the search was unlawful for 2.5 years.

Nomchong is seeking $5,000 for the unlawful search and additional aggravated damages, urging the court to award exemplary damages to reflect the serious breaches of the Law Enforcement Powers and Responsibilities Act.