Tragedy in Victoria: Understanding Sovereign Citizens and Police Protections in NSW

On Tuesday 26 August 2025, 2 police officers died and another was seriously wounded while carrying out a search warrant at a property in Victoria. Police have named a suspect who is reported to be a ‘sovereign citizen.’

Sovereign citizens are people who believe they are born with free rights and that those rights are being constrained by ‘corporations’, including the Government, and that citizens are in oppressive contracts with the Government. By declaring themselves “natural people”, they believe they break free of the oppressive contract and are no longer bound by the restrictions of taxes and laws, and reject the authority of the Government. Sovereign citizens, whilst existing in Australia for a significant period of time, gained significant public attention during COVID -19 Lockdowns and the movement against the restrictions imposed at that point in time.

The reality, however, is that they are still bound by the laws of the jurisdiction they are in.

The tragic incident in Victoria occurred in the context of a search warrant being carried out by Police. When properly executed, a Police officer may enter a premises and search for things connected with the alleged offence that has given rise for the search warrant and, if not covert, Police must advise the occupant of the warrant and that they are in attendance to conduct a search.

It is an offence in New South Wales to hinder a Police officer during the execution of their duty. ‘Hinder’ here means any action which obstructs or interferes with an officer executing their duty, such as the interference of carrying out a search warrant. This carries a maximum penalty of 12 months imprisonment and/or a fine of $2,200.00.

To assault a Police officer in the execution of their duty is also an offence in New South Wales, with varying maximum penalties based on the resulting injury from the assault. For example, assaulting a police and occasioning actual bodily harm carries a maximum penalty of 7 years imprisonment.

In New South Wales, a mandatory life sentence exists for the offence of murdering a Police Officer during the execution of their duty.