The Australian state of New South Wales has agreed to pilot a free pill-testing service at music festivals.
After its approval by the state government last month, the 12-month trial program will allow festivalgoers to have a small sample of drugs tested for strength, purity, and potency by a health professional, The Guardian reports.
The completely anonymous and free-to-use service will run at festivals in New South Wales for the entirety of 2025 and follows over a decade of calls from health experts for the government to heed harm reduction advice and end “harmful” drug policing practices, according to The Guardian.
“No parent wants to be given the news that something has happened to their child at a music festival, and that they are now in an emergency department or worse,” New South Wales premier Chris Minns said. “The trial has a clear purpose—to reduce harm and save lives.”
Arriving at the peak of the Australian festival season during the country’s summer months, the New South Wales pill-testing trial follows other Australian states that have introduced pill-testing services, including Canberra, which launched its program in 2022, and Queensland, which became the first state to launch two permanent testing clinics in March 2024.
In October 2023, two young men died of speculated drug overdoses after attending Sydney’s Knockout Outdoor festival. At the time, the Minns government had rejected renewed calls to introduce state-supported pill testing in New South Wales.
In Victoria, Australia, local officials have also called for regulated pill testing in their jurisdiction following the death of a 23-year-old man due to a suspected drug overdose at the Pitch Music & Arts Festival last year. The festival’s 2024 edition was also cut short due to extreme heat.
The New South Wales pill-testing trial officially began this weekend at the popular New Year’s Eve festival, Beyond The Valley.
Featured image courtesy: Beyond The Valley.
