Victoria's 'Anywhere, Anytime' Knife Search Plan Explained
Victorian Premier Ben Carroll announced on 16 September 2026 that a re-elected Labor government would give Victoria Police and protective services officers the power to stop and search any person in a public place for knives using handheld metal detectors. The Guardian
That promise is conditional. It would only proceed if Labor wins the November election, with the powers to start early next year. ABC Melbourne Mornings
Under the plan, police and PSOs would receive 1,200 extra detecting wands. Officers could use them on anyone in public without the current need for a designated area. Police Minister Paul Edbrooke described the idea as "Anywhere, anytime".
Labor would also recruit 150 more protective services officers and let PSOs patrol extra locations, including local shopping strips. Ben Carroll on LinkedIn
That would change the current warrantless search rules. Warrantless means without prior court approval. Police can now carry out pat-down searches without a warrant only in designated areas — zones approved for a set place and time. A six-month designation of Melbourne's CBD earlier in 2026 was ruled invalid by the Federal Court.
Both major parties now support the same approach. Labor's proposal matches a Coalition promise from last year to introduce Queensland's Jack's Law in Victoria.
The plan follows a shift by Labor. Under former leader Jacinta Allan, the party resisted wider search powers. In September 2025, then-police minister Anthony Carbines said after meeting Beasley's parents that Victoria's existing powers were sufficient.
Jack's Law is named for 17-year-old Jack Beasley, who was fatally stabbed in Surfers Paradise in 2019. Queensland passed the law in 2021. ABC World Today It allows police to screen people for weapons with a metal detector, similar to airport screening. The model has also been adopted in Tasmania, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
The broader context here is operational as well as electoral. A designated-area system needs a declaration, a boundary and a time limit, and each can be challenged in court. A statewide wand power removes that step and moves discretion from the authorising officer to the officer on patrol.
In my view, three questions will shape what follows. First, drafting: the scope of the power, when a positive scan allows detention, what data is kept, and how complaints work. Second, the PSO element: extending the power beyond sworn police to PSOs in shops and near transport widens everyday encounters, so training and supervision will matter. Third, judicial oversight: the Federal Court's rejection of the CBD designation will shape how carefully the replacement is framed.
Looking at what this means for Victoria, the November result is decisive. If Labor is re-elected, legislation and buying the wands would need to happen in parallel for an early next-year start. If the Coalition wins, a very similar framework would proceed under its mandate. Either way, Queensland-style screening would become the national template outside New South Wales and South Australia.
