Drug Premises Charges in NSW

The three drug premises offences

Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW), Part 2A: it is an offence to organise drug premises (s 36X), for an owner or occupier knowingly to allow premises to be used as drug premises (s 36Y), or to enter or be on drug premises (s 36Z).

Part 2A creates three distinct offences around one defined place:

• Organising drug premises — conducting, organising or assisting in the running of the premises, including acting as a lookout, door person or guard. The net is deliberately wide: the person on the door is charged under the same section as the person running the operation.
• Allowing use as drug premises — the owner's and occupier's offence: knowingly permitting the premises to be used for the unlawful supply or manufacture of prohibited drugs.
• Entering or being on drug premises — the visitor's offence, and the one that surprises people most, because it requires no drugs, no supply and no role beyond presence.

Aggravated forms apply where children are involved — including where a child is exposed to the supply or manufacture occurring on the premises — and carry higher maximums.

What makes a place "drug premises"?

Drug premises are premises used for the unlawful supply or manufacture of prohibited drugs. A terrace house, an apartment, a garage or a shopfront can all qualify — the character comes from the use, not the building. Because direct proof of supply can be elusive, the legislation lets courts draw the inference from indicators found on search: fortifications such as reinforced doors and barred windows; lookouts or warning systems; scales, resealable bags and cutting agents; quantities of cash; and the pattern of short visits police observed before executing the warrant.

That inferential structure is also where these prosecutions are tested. Indicators are not destiny — a security door in a rough street is not a fortification, and what police call paraphernalia often has innocent explanations. Whether the premises were drug premises at all is frequently the real issue in the case.

No drugs found on you? You can still be charged

The instinct of everyone caught in a drug premises raid is the same: they found nothing on me, so I'm fine. With these offences, that instinct is wrong. The s 36Z offence is committed by being on the premises — and it carries a reverse onus: it is for you to satisfy the court that you were there for a lawful purpose, or that you did not know the premises were drug premises. Almost everywhere else in criminal law the prosecution must prove every element against you; here, part of the burden shifts. It is one of the few offences in NSW built this way, which is exactly why no one should answer police questions about why they were at an address — or plead to the charge — without advice first.

Landlords and occupiers — quiet exposure

The s 36Y offence reaches owners and occupiers who knowingly allow their premises to be used for supply or manufacture. The element doing the work is knowledge: an unwitting landlord commits no offence, and a landlord who acted once they knew is in a different position from one who collected rent and looked away. But wilful blindness is dangerous territory — fortifications appearing on a rental property, neighbour complaints, agents reporting refused inspections. A landlord or head-tenant contacted by police about a property should treat it as a legal matter from the first call, not a conversation to be helped along.

First offence, second offence — the escalation is the point

Each Part 2A offence carries 12 months' imprisonment and/or a $5,500 fine (50 penalty units) for a first offence — a summary matter, dealt with in the Local Court. For a second or subsequent offence the maximum jumps to 5 years and/or a $55,000 fine (500 penalty units), and the matter can proceed on indictment. The scheme is explicitly designed to escalate, so the first charge is the one to defend properly: a conviction now is what arms the heavier charge later. Outcomes on first offences span the full range, including non-conviction orders in appropriate cases — every matter turns on its own facts.

Drug premises charges rarely travel alone. Where drugs were located, supply charges — including deemed supply — typically lead the charge sheet, and the premises count sits behind them. Understanding how the counts interact is where defence strategy starts; see our drug offences overview for the wider landscape.

How Lenz Legal approaches drug premises charges

Three questions, in order. Was the search lawful — because everything flows from the warrant and its execution. Were these drug premises at all — testing the indicators against their innocent explanations. And what was your role — organiser, occupier and visitor are different offences with different exposure, and people are routinely charged a rung above where the evidence puts them. If police have charged you or want to talk about an address you own, occupy or visited, get advice before saying anything at all.

Drug premises — your questions answered