The conditions for the existence of (polynomial in the velocities) contact symmetries of constrained systems that are described by quadratic Lagrangians is presented. These Lagrangians mainly appear in mini-superspace reductions of gravitational plus matter actions. In the literature, one usually adopts a gauge condition (mostly for the lapse N) prior to searching for symmetries. This, however, is an unnecessary restriction which may lead to a loss of symmetries and consequently to the respective integrals of motion. A generalization of the usual procedure rests in the identification of the lapse function N as an equivalent degree of freedom and the according extension of the infinitesimal generator. As a result, conformal Killing tensors (with appropriate conformal factors) can define integrals of motion (instead of just Killing tensors used in the regular gauge fixed case). An example of a relativistic particle in a pp-wave space-time and under the influence of a quadratic potential is illustrated.
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