Designated Areas

“Designated areas” are places where:

• police have extra powers, and
• where PSO’s are allowed to use their powers.

Police and PSOs also have additional powers inside a designated area to:

• search people,
• order people to remove face coverings (this is questionable since the COVID-19 pandemic), and
• order people to leave the area.

Some places are always designated areas. These include:

• Train stations, bus stops, and tram stops
• Car-parks, taxi ranks, and bus stops near train stations
• Areas around train stations
• Roads and footpaths that access train stations

(PSOs also work at other places like Parliament House and the courts.)

Other places can be made a “designated area” for a limited period of time. 

Under the Control of Weapons Act 1990 (Vic) (“CW Act”), the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police may declare an area to be a “designated area” at short notice. 

The Chief Commissioner may declare an area to be a “designated area” if:

• there has been more than one act of violence or disorder with a weapon in the past 12 months and there is a likelihood that there will be violence or disorder with a weapon again; or
• there has been violence or disorder with a weapon at a previous event or celebration, this event is happening again and there is a likelihood that there will be violence or disorder with a weapon at this event again

The declaration should be published on the Victoria Police website and in the Victorian Government Gazette.

Some examples of these types of “designated areas” include:

• the CBD over New Years Eve;
• the first and last days of the St Kilda Festival;
• parts of the CBD over Friday and Saturday nights;
• areas around sporting events where there has been weapons violence a past events;
• protests where there has been weapons violence at similar past events.

Some of the information on this page has been adapted from the Victoria Police website on “designated areas“.