NSW Police can Scan People with a Hand-held Metal Detector to Check for Knives

Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Amendment (Knife Scanning) Bill 2026

10 Nov 2026: This bill has passed its first house and is now before the second house for its own debate.

Legislative Assembly

Legislative Council

Assent

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Topics

civil liberties Indigenous affairs law enforcement police powers public safety public transport

Introduced by: Michael Daley MP (ALP); The Hon Daniel Mookhey MLC (ALP)

Links to official parliament websites

Official page: progress through parliament

Effects of this bill

If this bill passes, it means that:

Police officers can require people to stop and be scanned with a hand-held scanner on public transport vehicles traveling to or from a designated area, or in public places at those stations.
Police officers no longer need to be the same sex as the person they are scanning.
If a person is charged with an offence after being scanned, police must record the person's age, gender, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status, if known.
Police officers with the rank of Superintendent or higher can declare major entertainment venues--such as stadiums or theatres with more than 1,000 people--and their surrounding areas as designated scanning zones.
Declarations for designated scanning areas can last for up to 24 hours, up from 12 hours.
The laws allowing the use of hand-held scanners will no longer automatically expire.

The Debate

What different members said when this bill was debated:

Susan Carter LIB

“I lead for the Opposition on the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Amendment (Knife Scanning) Bill 2026. I am conscious of the Minister’s statements about how important the knife scanning program, or knife wanding, has been as a community safety measure.”

Official source →

Sue Higginson GRN

“The Greens cannot support the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Amendment (Knife Scanning) Bill 2026. Unfortunately, "knife scanning" is a deeply disingenuous title to describe the purpose of this bill, because the powers this bill makes permanent are almost never used to actually find knives.”

Official source →

Rose Jackson ALP

“The New South Wales Government is committed to addressing knife crime in the community. These laws, which were introduced in 2024, have been operating successfully. It is, therefore, appropriate that they be made permanent and other amendments are made to improve the operation of the laws, whilst retaining appropriate safeguards, as recommended by the statutory review.”

Official source →

News articles and press releases

Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Amendment (Knife Scanning) Bill 2026

Mr MICHAEL DALEY, Attorney General — 2026-06-25

The bill implements in full the recommendations of part 4A of the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act [LEPRA] 2002, which provides powers for police to scan a person with a handheld metal scanner, colloquially known as knife wanding. The statutory review, conducted by the Department of Communities and Justice in consultation with the NSW Police Force, makes seven important recommendations to improve the operation and transparency of the scheme. The report from the statutory review was tabled on the 23 June 2026.