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Victoria police have revoked their declaration of Melbourne\u2019s CBD and surrounds as a designated area four months earlier than planned, meaning they will no longer be able to conduct warrantless searches from 11.59pm on Friday.<\/p>\n
Police on Friday morning updated their website to confirm the declaration, which was meant to run until 11.59pm on Friday 29 May, will instead end at 11.59pm on 9 January 2026.<\/p>\n
They did not provide a reason. However, an urgent hearing of a challenge to the declaration<\/a>, brought on by Invasion Day rally organiser Tarneen Onus Browne and environmental activist Benny Zable, will begin in the federal court on Monday.<\/p>\n Sign up: AU Breaking News email<\/sub><\/a><\/p>\n Legal and human rights groups had been critical of the six-month declaration, which gave police and protective services officers (PSOs) the power to stop and search anyone, without a warrant or reasonable grounds, in the CBD, Docklands, Southbank and the sporting and entertainment precinct and parts of East Melbourne and South Melbourne.<\/p>\n Searches may involve an electronic wand or a pat-down and people may be asked to remove outer clothing, face coverings that could conceal a person\u2019s identity and to empty bags or pockets. Vehicles can also be searched.<\/p>\n Under the act, it is an offence to \u201cobstruct or hinder\u201d an officer or PSO conducting a search. Failing to comply with a police direction to leave the designated area is also an offence.<\/p>\n Gemma Cafarella, the president of civil rights organisation Liberty Victoria, welcomed police\u2019s decision to revoke the declaration.<\/p>\n \u201cWe consider it to be an unlicensed limitation on people\u2019s privacy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n A Liberty Victoria report, released last March,found illicit items, including weapons, were seized in only 1% of searches, conducted without a warrant or reasonable suspicion, in designated areas over a two-year period.<\/p>\n Cafarella said this showed these powers were not effective. She said data obtained via freedom of information laws showed these police powers disproportionately affected First Nations people and people of colour.<\/p>\n Victoria police has previously said it has a \u201czero tolerance towards racial profiling\u201d with officers \u201cwell trained to police in response to a person\u2019s behaviour, not their background\u201d.<\/p>\n Cafarella said Liberty Victoria remained concerned about the legislation that allows police to \u201cgive themselves such tremendous powers\u201d.<\/p>\n In November, Victoria police declared multiple locations in the city as a \u201cdesignated area\u201d<\/a> until 29 May 2026. Designated areas are often declared to allow police to manage major planned protests or demonstrations.<\/p>\n At the time, Inner Melbourne Community Legal described the six-month designation as a \u201cvast overreach\u201d. The legal centre\u2019s chief executive, Nadia Morales, said it was unprecedented in its geographic scope and proposed length of time.<\/p>\n Guardian Australia has previously revealed that Victoria police would inform the state\u2019s anti-corruption watchdog that it did not comply with the law<\/a> when it used wide-ranging powers to search people for weapons on 23 separate occasions dating back eight years.<\/p>\n The non-compliant searches were uncovered during an internal audit police conducted of all designated areas declared between March 2017 and March 2025.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Victoria police on Friday said it has ended the planned six-month weapons search declaration in Melbourne\u2019s CBD.<\/p>\n \u201cAll searches and seizures conducted under the declaration between 30 November 2025 and 9 January 2026 remain valid,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n Victoria police is considering making a new declaration with the duration and size yet to be determined, a statement said.<\/p>\n \u201cVictoria police continues to make use of weapons search declarations to keep the public safe, with several made in just the last few weeks,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe also maintain a highly visible police presence in Melbourne\u2019s CBD through targeted and regular operations.\u201d<\/p>\n