NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley and newly appointed Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon have apologised for an invasive and unlawful strip-search of a 27-year-old woman at the centre of a historic class action against the state that is set to cost millions.

But the commissioner insisted strip-searches were still a “valid tool” for police.

In a landmark decision on Tuesday that paves the way for the state to pay millions of dollars for unlawful strip-searches, NSW Supreme Court Justice Dina Yehia awarded Raya Meredith $93,000 in damages plus interest over the unlawful strip-search at the Splendour in the Grass festival in 2018.

The search included a female officer directing the then 27-year-old to pull down her top, remove her underpants and shorts, to remove a tampon, and to bend over.

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