I understand and agree with what you're saying, but I don't think it's too hard (or too whimsical) for officers to come up with some degree of suspicion and contrary to your legal advice, your reaction can, according to a ex-fed cop family member who spent a deal of time at MEL airport, be used to establish reasonable cause to escalate the matter. Certainly not to the extent of strip/internal searches or arrest, but to investigate further and holding you up in the process.
Let's role play the situation....
Customs/Immigration officer: Good morning Madam. Returning from Malaysia eh? Was that a work trip or holiday? (or insert similar non-compulsory question).
Traveller: That's not relevant to any of the questions I've completed on the incoming passenger card and I'd rather not go into any details with you.
Customs/Immigration officer: Damn! You've trumped my limited powers with those pesky legal rights of yours. Well played. But Malaysia is a well known centre for movie piracy and we want to be sure that you're not carrying any pirated movies. Please proceed to that room where your luggage will be searched. Now, where did I put that fine-tooth comb?
You should ask your counsel how it would be possible for you to argue the difference between a case of "you being punished for exercising your legal rights" and a case of the officer using their powers to ensure you're not breaking the law.
Sadly, it's a risky strategy to stamp your legal rights because although you'll win the war (assuming you don't have prohibited items), you'll lose the battle. And that might be all the officer is interested in.
Yes I see what you mean.
But the advice that I was given was referring to if you were ALREADY selected (or preselected) for a 100% search which is the most they can do anyway. This is where you are taken from the queue and directed to a seperate counter of your own and questioned and searched, case emptied and xrayed, contacts from phone downloaded etc.
Of course if you were going through the x-ray only queue where they ask a few simple things and it's next person in the queue this would slow you down as they would and could upgrade it then to a 100% search.
If you're getting a 100% search they follow protocol.
It is then (from your perspective) irrelevant whether or not you answer the non compulsory questions, because they will continue the search until all steps possible are taken and protocol followed and the only thing left to upgrade to then is an internal search if grounds are found.
They will also not stop half way through the search and say "oh she's answered all our questions no need to bother with the rest of this 100% search I'm satisfied we'll put this down as a 65% search and let her go".
Also, there is no 200% search they can escalate it to should you refuse to answer non compulsory questions, you've already got the maximum.
A 100% search is the maximum they can do to you.
So you see my counsels point now. They may not like it, but they simply can't escalate it to anything else because there's no room to move, (unless something is found during the search). There's nothing they can do, other than bluff for a while to see if you comply, treading a fine line as to not apply duress (which is what was explained to me later.)
The next step is an internal search which they must seek permission for, this is a non event, they simply wouldn't have grounds, the decision is not theirs for this anyway.
They follow protocol (I'm told) to ensure that any evidence they obtain, is admissable in court should something be found.
You still have the impression they want you to have, and that I once had, that they are out to get you, and will attempt to punish non compliance.
This couldn't be further from the truth, both in my experience and the advice I had. Reason for that, is that if you're placed under any form of duress during any search, or pressured into a search when you've previously said no, the evidence obtained under duress is inadmissable, or will not be heard. Officers would be cross examined and would be very unlikely for them to lie on the stand and risk jail time.
Payouts for this kind of behaviour start at around 100K.
You may like to look up the "tasty raid", where police didn't follow proper search procedure in the mid 1990's in Victoria. The police budget was used up paying the class action lawsuits out to the many people who sued. Millions in compensation was paid out plus costs.
So they are most careful not to do that.
I hope I've explained it the best I heard and understood it.
There are set guidelines and protocols followed which are set in stone.
Bad things cannot happen to you because you've pissed someone off or because someone doesn't like you.
If you refuse to answer non compulsory questions, they will simply continue with the 100% search as planned, may check with a supervisor to see if you're wanted for anything, then let you go. Their optioins exhausted.
I remember now when I was being questioned and refused to answer a question, he immediately stopped his aggressiveness and started being friendly and changed his line of questioning. It's obvious to me now the reason he did this was because he didn't want me to exercise my legal right to silence because there's not a thing he can do about it if I do.
Like I said I hope I explained it.
From what I was told they attempt to get you to volunteer to say and do things, this is how they are trained.
If you start refusing, there's little they can do.
You'll note, that it's almost impossible to find out information of what your rights are on these matters anywhere on any governmental website.
The reason for this is simple, they don't want you to know.