Report finds 29% of airport searches unlawful because one or more officers not authorised to conduct the search

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Australian Border Force officers are conducting unlawful searches at airports and of people’s homes because many of its officers are not properly trained, the government’s auditor has found.

The Australian National Audit Office’s report into Border Force’s use of its statutory powers found that 29% of airport searches examined were unlawful because one or more of the officers involved was not authorised to conduct the search.



The auditor found examples where Border Force officers illegally searched houses without a warrant and detained people. In one example highlighted by the auditor, in June 2016 three “unlawful non-citizens” were detained following a search of a house by 10 Border Force officers for which they had no authority.



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Many of the breaches resulted from failures of training or record-keeping, or other bureaucratic oversights.



“Some personal searches of passengers at international airports examined by the ANAO were unlawful or inappropriate, indicating weaknesses in the control framework,” the auditor said. “A number of searches of premises under the Migration Act potentially exceeded the authority of the warrant which authorised them, and officers routinely questioned people without documenting their legal authority to do so.”

In February 2016 a Border Force board meeting noted that “training was needed in relation to the powers of officers as this was currently an area of huge legal risk”.



Border Force internal reviews found there was little training for officers in the “use of force” during operations and most officers delegated the power to issue search warrants had not been properly trained.



In response to the auditor’s report, Border Force said it “agrees primarily” with the report’s recommendations.



“The department notes the report’s conclusions that the ANAO found instances of potentially unlawful searches … the department contends these instances are in the category [of] inadvertent and administrative breaches rather than deliberate and intentional breaches,” it said.



“Notwithstanding, the department is conducting a detailed review to verify whether the searches were conducted lawfully/appropriately, identify and address any control weaknesses and, if recommended by the review, will take necessary remedial actions.”