MEDIA RELEASE
Monday 29 June 2026
The Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) Limited (ALS) is deeply concerned about the NSW Government’s announcement that it will extend controversial knife-wanding laws which allow police to publicly search people without any reasonable suspicion.
The extension of these laws, first introduced in 2024, will lead to further disproportionate targeting of Aboriginal people by police.
“Giving police powers to stop and scan people without any reasonable suspicion is not improving public safety. It is just giving police another tool to target and harass Aboriginal people and other marginalised communities,” said Sharif Deen, ALS Acting CEO.
“Whenever police can choose when and how to exercise their powers, we see worse outcomes for Aboriginal people. Already, our people are disproportionately stopped, searched, arrested, charged, and subjected to excessive use of police force.
“Aboriginal people are more over-represented than ever in police charges and in NSW prisons. It’s deeply concerning that the Minns Government is continuing to enact policies that risk making the situation worse and fly in the face of Closing the Gap,” Mr Deen said.
Discretionary decision-making by police is directly linked to the over-representation of Aboriginal people in prison, with the number of Aboriginal people charged by police having increased by more than 40% since 2019.
NSW Police use of knife-wanding powers against ALS clients has rarely led to weapons charges. Instead, in a number of cases, it has led to unnecessary escalation and charges for minor, unrelated alleged offences such as possession of small quantities of drugs for personal use.
Some ALS clients have been subjected to invasive and traumatic strip-searches, without any indication they were carrying a weapon. For clients who are survivors of sexual violence, these searches contribute to further re-traumatisation and mistrust of police.
“We all want people to be safe and to enjoy public spaces without fear. But when police are given a free pass to target anyone, this causes significant fear for Aboriginal people. Not only are these knife-wanding laws ineffective – they’re causing harm,” Mr Deen said.
Evidence from other jurisdictions, including Queensland and the United Kingdom, shows that police knife-scanning powers fail to reduce crime.
Since NSW Police’s knife-wanding operation began under the new laws, fewer than 1% of scans have resulted in a weapon being seized.
