Victoria police have made the unprecedented move of assigning a 10 sq km area of inner Melbourne as a ‘designated area’ for six months. It means that from 30 November 2025 to 29 May 2026, police can conduct pat-downs and search vehicles for weapons without a warrant. How are they allowed to do this? Guardian Australia’s Victorian state correspondent Benita Kolovos explains the new powers being used by the police chief commissioner for the first time
‘Vast overreach’: police allowed to conduct warrantless pat-downs of people across inner Melbourne for six months
Police can now search anyone without a warrant in inner Melbourne. How will it affect you?
