10

A friend of mine recently went through customs at Melbourne airport. They were on an incoming flight from Manila, Philippines. At Australian customs they were cavity searched and x-rayed. Their personal belongings (shoes, backpack, suitcase) were taken and cut open. Officers were looking for drugs. They found none.

Now, this is obviously a horrendous experience nobody should have to live, especially if they are innocent and not attempting to smuggle drugs. The questions are: what rights do travellers have when being cavity/strip searched for drugs in Australia? Can one refuse to be searched? What happens if one does? Can one claim any sort of compensation for such a distressful experience? Can one claim compensation for the damaged personal belongings?

Ideally I'd like answers to cover both the case of an Australian citizen, as well as someone traveling on a foreign passport.

Improve this question
7
  • I would think that when you are entering a foreign country, you can expect to be searched for illegal items without compensation. If you refused to be searched, you could be not allowed past the border. You don't have any rights as you are not in your home country. If you have nothing to hide, then why refuse a search?
    – Michael
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 20:05
  • 3
    @MichaelC. I would expect most travelers to not want to be subject to a cavity search or unnecessary x-rays even if they have nothing to hide.
    – Zach Lipton
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 20:14
  • 1
    The cancer risk from the X-rays while small is not negligible. Cavity searches are not pleasant. I see plenty of reasons why people would want to avoid both those things whether or not they're smuggling anything.
    – rhialto
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 20:15
  • I agree with both of you, and I've never been cavity searched before (knock on wood). But if it were me, I would just let them do it because I know I have nothing to hide.
    – Michael
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 20:17
  • 1
    Officers were looking for drugs Was your friend acting shady or didn't give clear cut answers ? Unless the customs officer was being a dick, I would assume your friend might have provided the reasons to go through with the search.
    – DumbCoder
    Commented Mar 28, 2017 at 9:45

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
7

The Customs Act 1901 grants customs officers fairly extensive powers, and refusal to co-operate is generally taken as probable cause to detain for further investigation. Specifically, while you have the right to say no to invasive searches, X-rays etc by a Customs officer, if you do so, you will be detained and Customs will ask for a judge's authorisation for a medical professional to search you:

Circumstances where a person does not consent to having an internal search conducted, the customs or police officer must obtain an order from a judge, which would allow a medical practitioner to undertake a search.

http://www.findlaw.com.au/articles/5983/are-customs-officers-allowed-to-conduct-random-sea.aspx

So you're damned if you do, damned if you don't.

And for what it's worth, I've entered Australia many times as both an Aussie and a foreigner, but am not a lawyer and have managed to avoid the rubber glove treatment at the border so far.

Improve this answer
6
  • Does "a judge's authorisation for a medical professional to search you" imply that your consent is no longer required and you will be restrained & searched by whatever means necessary? Or is this more of a case of personal preference where someone might be more likely to consent if the search is conducted be a medical professional? The former would seem to violate all sorts of human-rights principals, while the latter seems a bit pointless.
    – brhans
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 20:23
  • 2
    In most countries, if you refuse a cavity search, you're detained with access only to a special toilet with a grill installed over the bowl, to prevent flushing away evidence. So truth will out, so to speak.
    – lambshaanxy
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 21:51
  • 1
    Which seems perfectly reasonable - I'm just trying to figure out what 'an order from a judge allowing a medical practitioner to undertake a search' actually means in practice, since a court order is unlikely to change the mindset of the individual in question.
    – brhans
    Commented Mar 27, 2017 at 22:11
  • Were you ever "offered" the rubber glove treatment? If so how did you avoid it?
    – JoErNanO ♦
    Commented Mar 28, 2017 at 8:48
  • 6
    Also, can one claim compensation for personal items damaged in the process? As well as for the definitely unpleasant experience?
    – JoErNanO ♦
    Commented Apr 3, 2017 at 16:17

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .