Section 252AA — Migration Act 1958: Searches of detainees—screening procedures

(1) An authorised officer may, without warrant, conduct a screening procedure in relation to a detainee, other than a detainee to whom section 252F applies, for any of the following things on the detainee’s body, in the detainee’s clothing or in a thing in the detainee’s possession: (a) a weapon or escape aid; (b) a prohibited thing. (1A) An authorised officer may conduct a screening procedure under subsection (1) in relation to a detainee for a thing mentioned in that subsection whether or not the officer has any suspicion that the detainee has such a thing on the detainee’s body, in the detainee’s clothing or in a thing in the detainee’s possession. (2) An authorised officer who conducts a screening procedure under this section must not use greater force, or subject the detainee to greater indignity, than is reasonably necessary in order to conduct the screening procedure. (3) This section does not authorise an authorised officer to remove any of the detainee’s clothing, or to require a detainee to remove any of his or her clothing. (5) In this section: conducting a screening procedure, in relation to a detainee, means: (a) causing the detainee to walk, or to be moved, through screening equipment; or (b) passing hand-held screening equipment over or around the detainee or around things in the detainee’s possession; or (c) passing things in the detainee’s possession through screening equipment or examining such things by X-ray. screening equipment means a metal detector or similar device for detecting objects or particular substances.