Can Australian police ‘steal’ your car to use in an emergency?

Blame it on pop culture, but the idea of a police officer taking your vehicle in an emergency has been a fictional mainstay throughout film and TV history.

On a normal Friday night, I’m prone to bingeing my fair share of cheesy police shows (I'm looking at you, Law and Order: SVU and Brooklyn 99).

Almost without question, each season, there’s at least one situation involving a police officer forcing a regular citizen out of their car so they can use the vehicle to pursue a suspect.

And while Hollywood is fuelled by suspense and high-speed action, TV shows don't always base their episodes on real-life scenarios. Which begs the question, can police actually take your vehicle and use it in an emergency? Drive finds out.

Generally speaking, yes, road authorities including police have the power to seize and use your vehicle in an emergency. Though it's not as dramatic as pop culture would have you believe.

Using a private vehicle during an operation is rare, a spokesperson for New South Wales Police told Drive.

“Police can commandeer private vehicles for emergency use in extreme situations such as when there is a risk to life," the spokesperson said.

Unlike in TV shows, police officers aren’t as determined or aggressive when it comes to seizing private vehicles for emergency use.

A spokesperson for Victoria Police said officers rely heavily on the “trust, confidence and cooperation” of various communities.

“We find that community members are more than likely to help police in times of emergencies,” they told Drive.

“If police find themselves needing, but without a vehicle in their response to an emergency, any commandeering of a vehicle must not only pass the legal test, but also the pub test.”

Depending on the state or territory where the incident occurred, if a police officer uses your vehicle and damages it in an emergency, compensation can be murky.

In Victoria, police have separate funds to compensate residents whose property has been destroyed in various situations, such as during the pursuit of an alleged suspect.

“Should a person’s vehicle be damaged while loaned to police responding to an emergency, the police involved may apply for restitution, ensuring the civilian was adequately compensated to fix their vehicle or replace it,” the Victoria Police spokesperson told Drive.

However, in NSW, police said damage compensation could depend on the driver's insurance policy, meaning motorists could be forced to foot the repair bill in the event an officer wrecks their car vehicle during an emergency.

But according to the Australian Federal Police – the national policing body – motorists could apply for a 'defective administration' compensation claim.

The AFP website states that in order for the claim to be successful, claimants must prove the responsible officers did not properly institute administrative procedures and any detriment suffered "must have been reasonably foreseeable" by police.

Ethan Cardinal graduated with a Journalism degree in 2020 from La Trobe University and has been working in the fashion industry as a freelance writer prior to joining Drive in 2023. Ethan greatly enjoys investigating and reporting on the cross sections between automotive, lifestyle and culture. Ethan relishes the opportunity to explore how deep cars are intertwined within different industries and how they could affect both casual readers and car enthusiasts.

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