In the Australian state of New South Wales, the power to arrest is granted to anyone who is not a police officer by s.100 of the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002[6] of New South Wales. Under the Act, a person may, without a warrant, arrest another person if:
the person is in the act of committing an offence under any Act or statutory instrument, or
the person has just committed any such offence, or
the person has committed a serious indictable offence for which the person has not been tried.
Section 231 of the Act allows the use of such force as is reasonably necessary to make the arrest or to prevent the escape of the person after arrest. A person who arrests another person under s.100 must, as soon as is reasonably practicable, take the person, and any property found on the person, before a magistrate to be dealt with according to law. The magistrate will also decide whether or not the force applied in making the arrest was reasonable under the circumstances.
According to the Law Society of New South Wales, the arresting person should:[7]
inform the person that they are under arrest and
inform the person of the reasons for the arrest[8]
