Police Wanding Powers in Australia: NSW's Designated Areas and Queensland's Jack's Law (2026)

Police in every Australian state and the Northern Territory now have some power to require a hand-held scanner search without a warrant. This page details the New South Wales and Queensland powers, which are structured differently. NSW's power applies inside police-declared designated areas; Queensland's applies at a defined list of public venues with no prior declaration, and a senior officer can authorise it at other public places.

Jurisdiction scope: This page details warrantless hand-held scanner ("wanding") powers in New South Wales and Queensland, verified 21 July 2026, and summarises the scanner powers in Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania, South Australia and the Northern Territory, checked 27 October 2026. It does not cover every detail of each jurisdiction's search powers, and it is not legal advice about a specific search or detention.

New South Wales: Designated Areas Under LEPRA Part 4A

The Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW) contains a dedicated Part 4A, spanning ss 45D to 45R, that governs the warrantless use of a hand-held scanner. The operative power is s 45K, "Authorised use of hand-held scanner without warrant in designated areas": "A police officer may, without a warrant, require a person in a designated area to stop and submit to the use of a hand-held scanner." The power does not extend to using a scanner on board a public transport vehicle inside a designated area; s 45K(2) says so expressly, and a note to the section explains that a separate provision, s 45L, covers scanner use on board public transport vehicles in more limited circumstances. A senior police officer (Assistant Commissioner or above) may declare a public transport station, shopping precinct, sporting venue or other prescribed public place a designated area for up to 12 hours, but only if, in the previous 12 months, the place saw at least one offence by a person armed with a knife or other weapon, at least one serious indictable offence involving violence, or more than one offence of possessing a knife or prohibited weapon (ss 45F-45I). Part 4A commenced on 9 December 2024. Under the s 45R sunset clause it is due to cease operation on 10 December 2027 unless that clause is repealed or amended, according to the NSW Government's March 2026 consultation paper for the statutory review of Part 4A; check the current Act for any later change.

Queensland: Jack's Law and a List of Relevant Places

Queensland's equivalent power, commonly referred to as "Jack's Law," is set out at Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 (Qld) s 39BA, "Use of hand held scanner without warrant in relevant places." Unlike the NSW model, it does not require police to first declare a designated area. Instead, the power applies directly at a defined list of "relevant places": licensed premises, a public transport station, a public transport vehicle, retail premises, a safe night precinct, a shopping centre, a sporting or entertainment venue, or a designated business and community precinct. Section 39BA(2) allows a police officer who starts to exercise the power at a relevant place to continue exercising it in a public place in relation to that same person, even after the person leaves the relevant place. A senior police officer can also issue a hand held scanner authority for any other public place, which has effect for 12 hours, and within it police may require a person to stop and submit to a scanner without a warrant (ss 39C-39E). According to the NSW Government's March 2026 consultation paper, Jack's Law began as a trial on 2 April 2023 and became permanent on 18 July 2025.

Victoria: Designated Areas With Electronic Device Searches

Victoria's designated-area search power is in the Control of Weapons Act 1990 ss 10D-10L. In a public place within a designated area, a police officer may, without a warrant, stop and search a person and anything in their possession for weapons (s 10G). A police officer authorised to search under s 10G may carry out an initial electronic device search, passing an electronic metal detection device over or close to the person's outer clothing (Sch 1 cll 2-3). A 2025 amendment allows some designated areas to be declared for up to 6 months (s 10D(3)), and since 10 December 2025 an event declaration can include nearby key transit points such as bus stops, railway premises and tram stops (s 10D(2A)).

Other States and the Northern Territory

The other jurisdictions have also adopted warrantless scanner powers, each with its own trigger and limits:

• Western Australia: a senior police officer may declare a designated area of up to 3 square kilometres for up to 12 hours, and within it police may require a person in a public place to stop and submit to a metal detector without a warrant (Criminal Investigation Act 2006 ss 61B-61C, in force since 20 December 2024).
• Tasmania: a police officer in a prescribed place may, without a warrant, require any person there to undergo an electronic metal detection device search (Police Offences Act 1935 s 15CAA, since 16 June 2025).
• South Australia: the Commissioner of Police may authorise searches in a specified public place for up to 6 hours where violence or disorder is reasonably feared, and the search must start with a metal detector (Summary Offences Act 1953 s 66Z, as described by the SA Law Handbook).
• Northern Territory: police screen with hand-held scanners under a wanding authority that can last up to 72 hours (NT Police, Fire and Emergency Services).

What a Wanding Power Does Not Do

Both the NSW and Queensland powers are confined by their own statutory limits. NSW's power operates only inside an area that has actually been declared a designated area; outside that area, the ordinary rules governing police search powers apply. Queensland's power operates at the relevant places its legislation lists, at a public place covered by a 12-hour hand held scanner authority, or in a public place once the power has already started being exercised at one of those places. Neither provision authorises a general power to scan any person in any public place at any time. This page describes the structure of these powers; it does not advise a specific reader on how to respond to, or avoid, a scanner search, and any question about a specific encounter with police should be directed to a legal practitioner admitted in the relevant state or territory.

Why Two States Built Different Models for the Same Problem

NSW and Queensland arrived at broadly the same policy goal, letting police screen for weapons in high-risk public settings without needing a warrant for every individual search, by building structurally different legal mechanisms. NSW's designated-area model requires an upfront administrative step, a formal declaration against set criteria, before the power becomes available anywhere; this creates a documented, time-and-place-limited authorisation that can be checked after the fact against the criteria that justified it. Queensland's relevant-places model instead builds the authorisation into the class of location itself, a licensed venue or shopping centre is always a relevant place once the Act commenced there was no need for a preceding declaration for that category of location. For other public places, Queensland uses a senior officer's 12-hour hand held scanner authority (s 39C). Neither model is simply a copy of the other, and a comparison between the two states should not assume that the same set of places, or the same procedural safeguards, apply in both.

See how the items police search for are classified in prohibited weapons in Australia and knife laws in Australia. For the full cluster, see the Australia weapons law hub.

This page provides general legal information about warrantless hand-held scanner powers in New South Wales and Queensland, verified 21 July 2026, with a summary of the other states and the Northern Territory checked 27 October 2026. It does not cover every detail of each jurisdiction's powers, and it is not legal advice about a specific search, detention or encounter with police. For advice about a specific situation, consult a legal practitioner admitted in the relevant Australian state or territory.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can NSW police scan me with a metal detector anywhere?

No. NSW police can only use the warrantless hand-held scanner power inside an area that has been specifically declared a "designated area" under Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW) Part 4A. It does not apply to on-board use on a public transport vehicle within that area, which is governed by a separate, narrower provision.

What is Jack's Law in Queensland?

It is the name commonly used for the hand-held scanner power in Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 (Qld) s 39BA, which allows police to require a person to submit to a scanner search without a warrant at a defined list of relevant places, such as licensed premises, public transport, retail premises, safe night precincts, shopping centres, sporting or entertainment venues and designated business and community precincts, without needing a prior area declaration. A senior police officer can also authorise scanning at other public places for 12 hours (ss 39C-39E).

Does Jack's Law require police to declare an area first, like NSW does?

No. That is the key structural difference. Queensland's power applies directly at its listed relevant places, and a senior police officer can issue a 12-hour authority for other public places. NSW's power applies only inside an area police have separately declared a designated area.

Can Queensland police keep scanning me after I leave a shopping centre?

Under s 39BA(2), if a police officer starts exercising the scanner power while a person is at a relevant place, the officer may continue exercising it in a public place even after the person leaves that relevant place.

Does Victoria have the same kind of wanding law as NSW or Queensland?

Victoria's designated-area search power under the Control of Weapons Act 1990 ss 10D-10L includes wanding. In a declared designated area police may search without a warrant, including an initial search with an electronic metal detector (s 10G and Schedule 1 cl 3).

Do other states have wanding powers?

Yes. Western Australia (Criminal Investigation Act 2006 Part 7A, designated areas of up to 12 hours), Tasmania (Police Offences Act 1935 s 15CAA, prescribed places), South Australia (Summary Offences Act 1953 s 66Z, authorisations of up to 6 hours) and the Northern Territory (wanding authorities of up to 72 hours) all allow warrantless scanner searches in defined circumstances.

Can I refuse a wanding search in a designated area or relevant place?

This page does not advise on how to respond to a specific police search. For a question about a specific encounter, contact a legal practitioner admitted in the relevant Australian state or territory.

Why do NSW and Queensland use different wanding models?

NSW requires a formal, criteria-based declaration before the power becomes available in a given area. Queensland instead builds the power into a defined list of location types, such as licensed premises and shopping centres, without needing a location-specific declaration. They pursue the same broad goal through different legal structures.