Firearms Prohibition Orders and Weapons Prohibition Orders in NSW

The Police generally must have reasonable grounds to conduct a search of a person without a warrant. See more on police search persons without warrant laws here.

Police do not need reasonable grounds or a warrant to conduct a search of a person who is subject to a Firearms Prohibition Order (FPO) or a Weapons Prohibition Order (WPO). Police have broad powers to search under the firearms an weapons laws of New South Wales.

However, even when a person is subject to an FPO or a WPO, search powers are not unconstrained, and there may be a basis to argue that a FPO or WPO search was unlawful. If a police search is declared by a court as unlawful, it may serve to exclude any incriminating evidence obtained as a consequence of that search pursuant to section 138 of the Evidence Act- known as the discretionary exclusionary provision.